Dr. Sandi Stuart is an Emergency room physician in the Melbourne/Cocoa Beach area of Florida. She also just received her IFBB pro card in Fitness this past May at the 2009 NPC Jr USA Fitness Championships. To ignore the incredible accomplishments of Sandi, given her hectic, adrenaline-pumping, lifestyle, would be to analogous to neglecting superwoman; therefore, Rx Muscle has decided to find out, firsthand, what makes this unique woman tick! Read on!
RX: Sandi, you started out doing figure competitions, right?
SS: Yes. The truth is, I started getting a little bored with Figure, but mainly, I was annoyed with the constant questions. People didn't understand what figure was and I was always comparing it to the Fitness competitions that people seemed more familiar with. So I decided I wanted to give Fitness a try.
RX: What kind of athletic background do you have; gymnastics, dance, cheerleading?
SS: Nope....none. I actually started taking gymnastics as an adult.
RX: Really? Was it hard to find a class for adults?
SS: Actually, I had to hire a coach to teach me private lessons. That was no easy task, either. Everywhere I went had an age limit because of their insurance. I think it was 25 or something, so I told them I was 23 years old.
RX: That's funny! And you actually first started competing in figure when you were how old?
SS: I started when I was 30. So I was actually about 31 when I started gymnastics.
RX: When you and I first spoke, you were working at a booth. Are you a sponsored athlete already?
SS: That day I was helping a friend of mine out. I am, however, sponsored by MuscleTech. MuscleTech has contracted me as their physician to endorse one of their products. I think I'm going on three years with them already.
RX: In what ways have you noticed your life changing since you received our pro card?
SS: Not really a whole bunch. Umm...more people in the gym have decided I must be the authority on fitness and they constantly ask questions and seek advice. I'm a little bit of a local celebrity, but that's silly!
RX: Do you have time to train people?
SS: No, not really. I do 10 hour shifts in the ER about 14 or 15 times a month and the rest of the time I spend with my husband, my 2 dogs, 2 cats and training.
RX: How often do you train?
SS: In the off season I do about three 30 minute cardio sessions per week, 1 routine training session, and I lift three times a week. During contest season, I'll have more routine practices, but not too many. I've found that more practices equal more injuries. That's part of the reason that I continue gymnastics year round. Gymnastics becomes a head game, too. If I stop, then I have to talk myself through the unnatural moves all 
over again. Its not like when we're kids and we haven't learned to be afraid yet. As adults, we have a fear of hurting ourselves, and if I stop for any length of time, I have to almost re-learn the moves again.
RX: What is your weight training routine like?
SS: Well, I do 1 upper body day, 1 lower body day, and I throw in a lot of metabolic circuit style training. I'll do sprint intervals, kettle bell swings, squat thrusts, box jumps, push ups, plyometric training; you get the idea. This style of training also prevents me from having to practice my routines in order to stay conditioned. My workouts mimic many of the movements I use in my routines and I stay conditioned and (hopefully) injury-free year round that way.
RX: How long have you been a physician?
SS: 5 years.
RX: Do you find the people that you work with in the healthcare industry are judgmental in any way? In other words, do they voice their opinions while you're dieting down for a contest, maybe a little dehydrated?
SS: It's not too bad. I hear how I look better when I'm "not so skinny", or how I'm starting to "look old" but I'm sure it's no different from what anyone else hears when they're prepping. I'm sure you bodybuilding girls get a lot worse sometimes. I've heard people say things like: "Wow, you're so huge" when really you're about 20 or more pounds less than your normal weight but people just aren't used to seeing the muscle definition.
RX: So true. Are you prepping right now for anything? What's next for you?
SS: I'm actually getting ready for the Ft. Lauderdale Pro Show. I'd like to qualify for the Olympia and crack the top six.
RX: How often do you plan to compete as a pro?
SS: I like to listen to my body. If I don't, then I end up with injuries and that's never any fun. When it stops being fun then there's no sense in doing it.
RX: Does anyone help you with your routines or your diet?
SS: I did my own routine for the Jr USA's, and Eric Levine has been helping me with my diet most recently.
RX: Do you have any hobbies?
SS: I like to stone suits for other competitors as well as my own. I think that's kind of a hobby, although I'm getting pretty busy doing it. Word seems to have spread that I've been doing it. I have a table full of suits right now that I'm going to be working on today.
RX: It seems like we might just be seeing a few more Fitness competitors lately than we have in the recent past. What would you say is the reason that more girls don't participate in it?
SS: I think some of the reason is because it is more expensive than Figure. You may have to pay for choreography, a routine outfit, private lessons, special music, then you have all the other expenses that everyone else has, too.
RX: Would you say that people who may be interested can find some experienced pros who are willing to help?
SS: Oh DEFINITELY!!! I'd love to think that I could inspire someone else, but I know that girls like Tanji 
Johnson, Shannon Dey and Jen Henderschott are very encouraging. If you are interested in getting involved in Fitness, those girls are more than willing to help!
RX: Any advice for anyone who is thinking about giving fitness competitions a try?
SS: A coach told me one time: "Don't say you can't do something until you've tried and fallen at least a hundred times." That has proven to be very true for me. If I try enough times, I find that I can do anything.
Also, if you're interested in competing, talk to some of the experienced girls first! They have already learned so much through their own trial and error; if you can avoid making some of the very same mistakes and skip a couple of steps to start out, then let them help you.
RX: That's some great advice for life, in general. Is there anyone you want to thank?
SS: Yes. Valerie and Tony Haines, Eric Levine and Chris Walker - my gymnastics coach. Also, my husband, Scott. He cooks the majority of my food and makes my life so simple. I literally couldn't do it without him. He makes it so that all I have to do is train, work at the hospital, and empty the cat pan!
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