Body Assessment #4: Mandy
August 12, 2008 by Valerie Waters
My goals are to be fit and healthy. My legs are too big and bulky from powerlifting and bodybuilding, I would like nice toned feminine legs and also a set of calves that actually look like calves! HA! I would like to have my shoulders more developed and my arms a little bit more smaller and tighter. I still want to be muscular but more toned.
I always train too heavy b/c I get nothing from using 5/8 lb. dumbbells.
I would love to have the tummy back I had before giving birth to my son!
I currently train 4 days a week, weights and cardio. I use to compete in powerlifting and have been training for about 10 years. I know how to train heavy and train like a powerlifter but I can’t seem to do what I need to do to get the look I want! I know eating is a huge part and that is probably mostly my problem.
I would appreciate your help so much. I am so unhappy with my body right now and it’s taking a toll on me, any help you can give would be great!
I am a very hard worker and will do what it takes! I know you are a miracle worker!!!!!
Thanks,
(monster legs)
Mandy
Great advice, Valerie!
I prefer that lean/thin-but-toned look myself, but I’ve been told (like many other women) that women cannot get too muscular, so it’s always refreshing listening to you, Val, because you know exactly what I mean.
Mandy, you look great now with your amazing muscles, if that’s what you were going for while training, but I know that you can get to a leaner physique if you want. Just keep your head up, girl!
Just one more thing–you DO NOT have “monster legs!”
Loved your advice there..I too let my legs get bigger than I planned on. Have dropped the weights in the last couple week, but it really is hard mentally to pul back. Hate losing ground on the strength I’ve developed, but don’t want ‘man’ legs either. Thanks..
BAD NEWS???!!!??!!! am i that bad off!!! LOL
mandy
Mandy - Gosh no! Please don’t take it like that!
My so-called marketing genius friend put me up to using that subject line..
He said more people would open the e-mail!
You’re beautiful!
Ooh! I was hoping for somebody muscular trying to tone it down a bit. This I can relate to. I still need to be told over and over again that I can use an 8lb dumbbell and achieve something. It’s so hard to pick up the 8 when you know you can curl 30. Like it’s an ego thing (or a completely ingrained habit) to always be stronger, lift heavier, train harder, but if it’s not producing the look or results we want, it’s time to reassess.
Explaining the cumulative effect of all the exercises together helps me wrap my brain around going lighter. Maybe one set of 8lb curls wouldn’t do much, but multiple sets stacked with numerous other exercises in a circuit IS challenging, just in a different way. So, thanks for that bit of insight.
Also, I love the silly dogs crisscrossing in the background of the video.
well tell him that was mean!!! HA!
i will give the circuits a whirl again with all you said in mind! it’s going to be a “mental” game for sure with the pounds i am supposed to use! i have been doing KB workouts (swings, etc) can i continue with this or add it in my circuits?
thanks again for your advice!
Mandy -
I’m the friend Val was talking about.
I promise I didn’t mean for it to be mean.. that was purely just for intrigue purposes.
(I actually told her I thought you were hot)
My bad!
I just want to say that I opened that email immediately to get the “bad news.” I thought the Red Carpet Ready Club had been hit by lightning, or that breathing was making us fat or something. So the marketing trickery totally worked, Ryan. You rascal!
Nice to see that the bad news is, Mandy is beautiful and overly fit! LOL
i am blushing!!!! thanks ryan! i wish i felt hot these days!!! but i will. i am really going to do this! i need some kind of electric shock to shock me if i go into the squat rack or grab the 45 lbs. DB!!!!!!
no hard feelings my skin is tougher and thicker than that!
Mandy, I’m with you..cutting down my weights..hate it, but have to! I LOVE kettlebells–they are such a total body workout. I’ve also cut down my weight on those..my last couple workouts were where one was cut down big on weight and the next was ‘almost’ a whole bodyweight workout. Well, let me tell you, I upped the reps and really focused on the move and I felt that workout as if it was a fully loaded one. Just go with Val and give this whirl..the only you have to lose is inches/pounds–it’s a win-win for you.
Linda! thanks for the advice! i am ready to give 100%. i love training with KB and you don’t have to use the big ones if you do them right and enough reps they can kick your butt!!!!!
i am sure my joints will love the change of pace. i know i train too heavy, i just can’t help it!
This was a good assessment. It confirms that I am doing everything right to slim down my muscular physique. I have been doing bodyweight circuts and High Intensity interval training, mixed with the eatstopeat diet and staying away from the nuts!!! I love peanuts/almond butter, but the calorie intake is more that we realize if we don’t measure.
Mandy- I bet in 3 weeks you will feel like another person! Keep up 5 hours in the gym/week - 20-30 min bodyweight circuts (which can really kick your butt if you got a good one!) and I have been doing 1 hour of cardio. (20 min. sprinting interval, 20 min stair stepper, 20 min elliptical).
Good Luck! You already look fantastic- can’t wait to see your updated pictures!
-Tiffany
Thank you! I’m so tired of people telling me it’s impossible for me to get too muscular. If it’s too muscular for me, then it’s TOO MUSCULAR!
Great assessment, great advice. I am loving RCR!
I just wanted to say that I saw the comment on stop eating peanuts and almond butter….
That is not correct..it should state eat 1 tablespoon of peanut butter or almond butter or 1 oz of almonds….our bodies as women need it..w/o it we find that we are more prone to health issues if we dont. Women just need to look at how much is too much!
I think too many times , we get so caught up with how Hollywood women look …..and we are not Hollywood women..we are normal women who have kids, husbands, jobs….a real life…we do not get paid to look like Jessica Alba or Nicole Kidman, nor can most of us afford one. Im sure those Holly wood women do a minimum of 3-5 hours a day and only eat 800 calories a day.
I know because I went through this phase…yes i weighed 95-98lbs a couple of years back but i was miserable, cranky, irritable….it was not a way to live…i loved that I could go into any store and everything looked great on me …but it was not a way of life. I missed periods, i was sick…and guess what ? Im paying for it now.
I actually sent Val some pics of what i currently look like now at 107 lbs…Im not in the greatest of shape and yes Val i could use some advice! I dont work out for three hours anymore and i dont run 13 miles + ….so i have DEFINATELY ruined my metabolism. ..not to mention the way I look at myself. There are days that i look at my 107lb body and think it is so ugly but yet I go to the doctors office and i am at a healthy BMI of 19.6%. Ive also ruined my knees due to all the pavement pounding..so even lunges on Val slides kill me.
Im 38 years old now and would love to hear a more tailored plan for being fit for the everyday women and how I would go about obtaining a more toned figure but not to the point where I’m obsessing over exercise or nutrition.
Id like to see something that can work for the rest of our lives and that we can keep doing when we are in our 40’s and 50’s and even 60’s . I eat fairly healthy…i rarely snack on junk food.
And for all you muscular women out there..don’t obsess ..you guys look great.
I have many friends who are built like Mandy b/c they are triathletes. They are beautiful and strong.
Great Assessment! Mandy you and I are a lot alike, I also want to get long and lean, but mentally I can’t get past the lifting lighter concept. I look forward to seeing you progress toward your goal! Valerie, thanks for this awesome site!
Mandy~
Wow! You look great already… Have tried the RCR? I am and if you haven’t got it yet, get it ! I have “lifted, Low carb, no carb, many carbs” Been there. But with the RCR circuts I am getting my butt kicked, I can still eat real foods and I don’t have to count..
I did clean my kitchen, restocked it and I am loving it.
I was so impressed with the circuts. Matter of fact, I still am wishing I had bought higher kitchen chairs, because everytime I go to sit down my legs are BURNING!!
I too like you am hoping to be “assessed” My legs are my problem too, but my top is to small. Every personal trainer that I have been to, bulks them (my legs) up I just want to look “even” without the bulk.
I am excited for you and would love to chat sometime..
Best of luck and we will all be cheering for you./
Laura
thanks laura we can chat anytime!
i hear ya on the bulky legs i swear i can walk past a squat rack and me damn legs grow!
mandy
Thanks for clarifying the “bad news” bit. I felt like a total monster after reading that! Have been wearing long-sleeved tops in work to cover up over-muscular arms
Don’t really like those kind of e-mails anyway. They’re too common in people trying to sell me stuff!
Mandy, I think you look fabulous. You do not, in any way, have monster thighs. I’d be very happy to look like you!
Again, it was me who told Val to use ‘bad news’ in the subject line.
and I apologize if you were offended..
The only thing I was trying to “sell” was the opening of the email. And it worked.. sometimes you have to do things to rise above the rest of the noise.
I’m trying to be transparent here - it was all me. And I meant no offense.. I swear.
dang ryan you are such a meanie!!! HAAAAAA!!!!!!
you sold it! you did your job well!!!!!! i like that quote sometimes you have to do things to rise above the rest of the noise! that’s a good one!
mandy
Is there any difference in opening rates between one titled “good news!” and one titled “bad news” I wonder? Do more people open one that says it has bad news? Interesting….:-)
Mandy - I feel bad that you feel so bad about your body - you are so pretty, and so strong! This is something to celebrate! Doing RCR to re-shape to another look (and really, your very developed muscles are one “look”, the RCR is just another type!)is another adventure on your already awesome achievements!
Sorry to sound like your mom or your nurse - I am both and have a hard time not putting in my two cents!
“Bad News” Mandy - Haha, nah I’m not that mean.
(I’m calling Mandy “bad news” now.. cool nickname, I think!)
and thanks!
Gráinne - it’s part of human nature.
We’re naturally drawn to things that are “bad” or that we’re not supposed to look at ..
Everyone has it..
I didn’t exactly test “good news” vs. “bad news” but I have tested positive vs negative (in email subject lines) and every single time - negative wins. I try to spin it in the email to turn it around, but that initial click.. “bad news” wins.
If anyones interested more than 90% of people opened that “bad news” email which is absolutely unheard of.. 20% is considered pretty great.
–
But I’m getting off topic. Mandy’s hot and that’s the bottom line.
it’s true he really does call me “bad news” HA!!!
That’s really interesting Ryan! Suppose they do say that ” bad news sells”….:-)
But you’re right. Main issue is that Mandy looks great! I’m increasingly sorry that I took my photos first thing on a Sunday morning, after a cheat day, having been up late the night before, and without doing my hair or make-up. Talk about warts and all photo!
And thanks for managing to get my name right. Not many do!
And Mandy, maybe you can be “bad news” in the kind of good looking seductress in the movies? The one all the other women are jealous of?
You can definitely work the glamourpuss look!
aww thanks but i don’t think anyone will be jealous of me!
Mandy~
How is it going so far?
FYI there are woman out there who woudl love your body type.. Have you picked up Oxygen magazine lately?
That was how I started… I looked so funny with HUGE A** legs and then skinny ole arms.. The squat rack thing had me cracking up, me too…
I am just craving some definition.
Once I stopped the “LIFTING” my muscle soon faded to JIGGLE and I thought I could beat it by cutting back to once a day eating.. What a mistake.. My metabolism slowed down and I was starving!
AS a Nurse Practitoner I was not practicing what I preached to my patients.. I just thought it would never work for me… Eat more, yeah right…
Well This is day 11 of RCR and minus a few bites of my son’s doughnuts I am staying on track.
I switched to a new protein mix, adn I am not sure I amliking the “bloat” from the whey, I amy go back to the old stand bye and see if I can rid myself of this uncomfortable feeling..
Well anyway take care
I am hoping that the forums go up soon and then this scrolling won’t be an issue.
Laura
Yeah, BN..
How are those crazy 8’s going?
(psst.. Laura, she was actually IN Oxygen magazine before. But she doesn’t talk about that)
Again, big announcements this week re: forum etc.
Stay tuned.
Ryan don’t tell all of my secrets!!!
Laura hi! I am doing very well training. I am incorporating some of the RCR stuff but can’t bring myself mentally to pick up those crazy 8’s as my dear friend puts it! I love to train. I can’t help it!
Actually I am considering dieting down and doing a figure show this spring so I don’t want to get rid of too much muscle until then! I have cleaned up my diet and have been doing more cardio and circuit training. I already look different. Maybe I’ll be brave and post new pictures, If Ry doesn’t call me something like “Really bad news”!
Thanks for your compliments and I do love Oxygen mag! Oh and have you tried Syntha 6 protein by BSN? if not try it. it is so yummy and mixes very easily. all of the flavors are good!
Mandy
WOW.. THat is great about Oxygen, I have subscribed for 3 years now…
Alot of changes there…
Has anyone had any luck DL the Abs work out? FOr me it said corrupt file… Ryan can you help with this issue?
Mandy and Val~
Any suggestions for the Thunder Thighs that i am started to develop?
Laura
Some people are having a hard time with that file.. it’s baffled me.
I think we may have figured it out though.
I’m catching a flight back to LA in a couple hours, i’ll post a new file when i get there.
laura i am sure you do not have “thunder thighs” if you are afraid your legs are too big figure out if its from weight training if so back off on the weights you use and try circuit training and use your body weight for resistance. if it’s fat cardio, cardio!!!! and of course watch your diet.
for me i love lunges any kind. sometimes i make several trips around the whole gym or even in the parking lot. legs are my “big” issue too. i hate mine so i guess i’m probably not the best one to give advice! but thats my opinion.
and yes you are right oxygen has made many changes i personally like the older issues better. so much more info and training. now it’s all advertisments and a bunch of BS!!!!
Laura did you have an Assessment done? look forward to chatting with you more!
mandy
hmm, Mandy… Wait. I am hoping to have my assessment done, I did send pics along with the 12,000 others..
But I have been doing no weights, and circuts from RCR. I am exactley 12 days in.
Diet well has been mostly veggies, some lean protein (I am not a meat lover). very few carbs, just my oats in the morning..
BUt like I said, I really screwed myself up from the “starvation diet” then to Adkins (made me a witch) back to starvation.. I’d rather not eat, or eat once a day then have no carbs…
It is Fat… I worked out for a long time in my home gym, and then with the birth of my son (no excuse he is 4!!!!) I quit. So everything turned to flab. Then at 35 my metabolism said forget you and slowed way down..
So now I guess I will work the upper body a bit more, cut down on the lunging and add more cardio… AHhh.
Thaks for the great advice..
Yeah, I found that O2 mag. has alot of contradictions in it… One month it says don’t do this, the next it says do this for a lean this..
WHen it clearly states in most of their mags that you can not target fat off… I mean loose in your glutes alone, or your belly alone…?
Oh well..
I am hoping that we get areas where we can log in and do emails if we choose , so others don’t get sick of reading all the blah that people like me write, although I will admit, I read each assessment each night to see what others write..
I was hoping others would make this like o2 site where they have little blogging areas and people can add to their blogs… DO you see this coming?
Laura
Hi Mandy,
It sounds like you are doing great and getting lots of support. Don’t mind Ryan, he is a bit of a flirt. I want to be clear that I address what people ask me about but I don’t have a judgement on a particular body type. I myself have been all over the map. I use to train like a bodybuilder when I was younger and still want to lift heavy sometimes to feel strong and powerful. Because of my client base and what look they wanted, I moved into a less muscular look. It works better for me now because I am not super strict on my diet and would look huge if I put on too much muscle. My whole point is “women can get too muscular, for what they want” in spite of what the men might tell you. “Too muscular” is a relative term. If you want to be a figure competitor, then I applaud you because it takes dedication. I really just want people to understand that just as sprinter has a different training program from a marathon runner, so too are there different programs for different desired looks. Just make sure you are using the right one for you. val
Thanks Val, great advice as always! And I don’t mind Ryan one bit, I know he is a flirt! LOL I am backing down on the weights I use for my legs and back. I love using the valslides. I took your advice and held a kettlebell while doing reverse lunges i loved it!
my diet is the hard part but i’m getting there. sometimes i get so busy with my son i forget to eat! oops!
Laura, it sounds like you are on the right track! Hopefully we will be able to e-mail in the future!!!
Mandy
Hey Mandy~
I know that Ryan said he would try to get the Ab workout link working, but I was wondering if you or any of the other ladies were able to DL it? If so Maybe you could attach it to an email to me?
I’ll check back later before posting an email address.
Thanks
Laura
Laura, try it again.
http://www.redcarpetready.com/club/thanks.html
hey laura did u get it?
u can email me if u want to chat more about training
mandy7777@columbus.rr.com
how is your training going?
mandy
Yeah!! I did get it..
It fnally worked for me and it looks great.. HMM, debating on doing these on cardio days..
Training is going great.. I did have a slip this weekend.. Hubby bought donuts!!! So of course after fighting with the donut for oh well about an hour. I gave in, and guess what? I am pretty sure it is hanging with me on my inner thigh.
I do know that I need to bump up my cardio. I just have been doing 30 minutes every other day.
I also find that after my son finally goes to bed and I get that Mommy cleaning house, laundry and email time, that I crave something sweet. Problem is I ate about 6-7 pm and it is now around 12:00 and I can not justify eating before bed.
So that I need to work on too.
How about you?
Are you still considering the show?
Laura
around that time you are craving something sweet here is what i would do. brush your teeth sounds crazy but it makes you not want to eat! HA serious it works. or either drink something warm like green tea. usually if you have something warm in your tummy it makes you feel full! those are just a few of my tricks.
i have been good with the diet. had too much wine watching football the other night and today i will be snacking watch all the games but i am doing more cardio and training like crazy! i love football!
i am considering the show. i already have someone that will do my hair,tanning and nutrition. just don’t know if i have it in me. we will see i have a while yet. i’m training like i will be doing it.! i use to compete in powerlifting totally different sport.
i am loving the valslides and band its making a big difference in my glute training. i acutally came up with something great to do with the val band!
thanks for checking in on me and sharing your progress too!
Mandy
Good call on brushing your teeth.
Hey Ryan! Glad you liked that! HAH!
Mandy
WOW, thanks Mandy, somebody finally states my problem. I am soooo damn tired of hearing you cannot get to muscular, my biceps are bigger than most men, I have problems buying shirts!! Thanks. I found this by googling “slim down too muscular body”. I am actually depressed. I work out 6 times a week and I devote at least a hour to aerobics. I am just realy upset because I have been doing this for at least 3 months and the scale is not changing much… I did not see the routine that was recommended to you, was I to click on another website?
Hi Mandy,
I am very glad I found this site because like many other women here, I feel my thighs are too muscular from being an tennis player all my life. I was wondering about the cardio workouts you were prescribed. Do you do running interval workouts or does this make your legs retain their muscle? Should I just do steady state but at an intensity of 70%Heart rate? Any help is really appreciated!
Thanks guys!