At one time, I ran a blog called Fitterverse: A universe of fitness. One of my favorite features of that blog was an interview series I did with a variety of people at different stages in their fitness journey. Thanks to the Wayback Machine, I’ve been able to recapture the text of those interviews. I’ve published them here on their original publication dates.
We were lucky enough to catch Amanda Shelton, SNBF professional bodybuilder and 35-year-old mother of three, after a workout at our local LA Fitness for an interview.
FV: Amanda, what got you started in bodybuilding?
AS: I guess originally it was because my dad got really into bodybuilding. He would drag me with him now and then. I realized I really enjoyed it, that I got that high off of it. Then I went off to college, did that whole thing, got away from it. I got other jobs, and one day I got laid off.
Getting laid off was the end of the world! My husband and I talked about me being a stay-at-home mom, but I knew I couldn’t do it unless I had something that was still my own. So I said to myself “Okay, I’m going to get back into working out. I’m going to lose the baby weight. I’m going to get my personal training certification.”
I hit the ground running hard. I did two hours a day. The first hour was full-body weight training. The second hour I was trying to burn 1,000 calories a day. That was weight loss mode because I’d gained 60 pounds with my kids. Then the high comes back, and I’m thinking “Oh, I love this.”
The main turning point was people started to ask me – “Do you compete?” I’d ask “What is competing? I don’t know. Do I look like I compete?” It kept happening so much that finally I decided “Let’s look into this.”
It was a tough road from that point forward. I didn’t know the federations, the divisions, I didn’t know anything. But everyone else thought I could do it. I didn’t think I could do it, and then I asked myself “Why don’t I think I can do it?”
FV: And what made you decide to compete as a natural bodybuilder?
AS: Natural’s good because I get to be successful and still have the physique that I want. I don’t want to get real big. I don’t want to have any manly features or there be a question of what gender I am. I also want to be good to my body. At the end of the day it’s all about being healthy and doing what’s right for your body.
FV: And what are the restrictions put on you as a natural?
AS: There’s a banned substance list and I just have to stay away from any of that. I check the ingredients of anything that I use, but I really don’t use a lot. I’ve got three different types of protein shake – your basic whey isolate for the morning or if there’s a gap where I can’t get a meal. There’s a different one I use after my workout that has more calories and more carbs, but it’s still basically a whey protein, and a casein protein that I use at night because it’s slow digesting. Other than my pre-workout, that’s all I use.
They do a polygraph test the night before the show. It’s all stressful… You’re already not in the right mind, but it’s simple questions related to performance-enhancing drugs. Then when you’re at the pro-level, if you place then you have to take a urine test immediately after walking off the stage, because there’s cash prizes. So it’s enforced pretty well.
FV: You mentioned your dad taking you to events in high school and college, but who is your biggest inspiration now?
AS: I’m a big fan of Dana Linn Bailey. I got really into bodybuilding right when she won her pro card with the IFBB. That was when I was doing all my research, and I was immediately drawn to her. And with her and Rob’s line Flag nor Fail, I love what they stand for. They’re all about being strong, never giving up, working hard. They’re no joke. It’s not sugarcoated. It’s real, and she’s inspirational to me.
FV: You and I have also talked about posing, and how posing is so important. Talk a little about that.
AS: I think it’s the most underestimated component of competing. You’ve got learn it, you’ve got to practice, you’ve got to be taught. It’s as important as everything you’re doing in the gym and everything you’re eating and putting in your body.
Every competition I take away something, and the last one was this: don’t get stressed out about someone’s physique until you see them pose. You would be amazed. People don’t put the time and effort into learning to pose.
I have a great coach. He’s got a stage in his gym, a whole corner dedicated just to posing. And it’s the right height, because you’re posing to the judges, and the judges are below you. You have to think about maximizing your strengths, minimizing your weaknesses, posing to the judges, having great stage presence, looking happy… there’s just so much involved. Flexing every muscle in your body at the same time and holding it and then moving right into another pose is just exhausting.
Part of my competition prep is posing for 30 minutes per day. You want to be able to get to the pose quickly, because the longer the judges can see you in the pose the better. My legs are my biggest weakness and in the last show, we had to figure out with every pose what was going to be the best way to position my legs to make them look as big as they possibly can and to minimize any areas where I had a little bit of extra fat. I have to be careful with my leaning down, because if I lean down to where I need to be for my legs, my upper body is too lean.
FV: It’s interesting to hear you say “too lean.” I’ve never heard anybody say they were too lean.
AS: What I mean by too lean is that I lose too much mass. Everyone loses mass when they lean down, but to get my lower body to the body fat percentage it should be, I lose too much mass on my upper body. You have to play around with it, and I think that’s one of the reasons that bodybuilding isn’t something you jump right into and you’re successful. It just takes years to get your physique to where it needs to be, but it’s also taking the time to figure out your body.
I do shows to win them, but I’m thinking about doing one to help gain experience and play around with competition prep. I might do a show and not try to go as lean and see what happens. There’s a lot of trial and error with seeing how your body’s going to respond, so I think that might be part of the process, too, though that’s not the way I work. I want to go in 100%.
FV: How long did you train before you felt like you were ready to compete?
AS: I’m three years in, now. August of 2010 is when I started. By May I had lost all the weight, was very lean, and was ready to put on muscle. September of 2011 I said “I’m going to set a date for a show.” I set the date for June of 2012. That was my first show.
FV: When do you think you’re going to compete again?
AS: I’m thinking about next spring. I want to get my physique to the next level. I want to build, because I lose so much in the leaning out process that I’ve kinda got to go overboard in the building to get where I need to be. I’m going to put the time in. I don’t want to compete, compete, compete, and collect trophies. I want to figure out what changes I need to make, take the time to make them, and come in strong.
The competition prep is so exhausting in so many ways that I really want to make sure I’m choosing to compete when I’m strong contender. And with three kids and baseball, we’re at baseball practice for hours every day. Trying to eat every two hours with constantly being on the go – it’s just hard. I will put put in 100%, but only when I feel like my physique is ready.
FV: So what does your typical training day look like?
AS: One of the big things I’ve tried to change is that I think I was overtraining, doing way too many exercises. I’m trying to cut that down to five or six per muscle group and I do one muscle group per day. My coach wants me to combine some, but any time I try to do chest and bis, even though they’re kind of opposite and not like chest and tris, I just can’t do as much with bis and I feel like I’m really cutting myself short. I’m still knee-deep in trying different combinations and techniques, though – and variation is key.
Every quarter I try to have an extra focus. Between now and my next competition it’s legs. I’ve come to a crossroads where I’m not going to reach the goals I’ve set for myself unless I really step it up with my legs.
FV: You had some injury that prevented you working your legs?
AS: Yeah, I hurt my back twice, last June and again in August. So my focus is legs, but they’re tricky because it’s tough to go heavy with squats or deadlifts because of my back. I’m having to get very creative.
FV: Can you leg press?
AS: The leg press is what I was doing when I hurt my back. I haven’t gotten on that one yet. I can walk past it now. I had the longest time where I’d do this big walk around the leg press machine.
I’ve been doing legs at night, because I feel like I can really push and then I don’t have to get through the rest of the day. With the kids and everything it’s hard to get through the rest of the day!
FV: What did you do to yourself?
AS: I was doing leg press, and I wasn’t doing it heavy, only 25s on each side and something popped. There was a huge pop that I felt and heard over my music. I rolled out of it and I couldn’t move. I couldn’t sit up or stand up, though I could move my arms and legs. It was very frightening.
FV: Do you have any particular favorite resources for information?
AS: My favorite book is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. It teaches you all sorts of different techniques like drop sets and super sets. It’s the first thing I read when I started, and gave me enough to get me going.
FV: Who are your biggest supporters?
AS: Definitely my husband. I wouldn’t be able to do anything without him. I would never be able to pull this off. People ask me how I can do it, and it’s because I don’t work. I’m still pressed for time and I’m still going non-stop with three kids. He’s going to work and taking that responsibility off the table which gives me the opportunity to pursue my dreams, which I’m so incredibly thankful for. Not only for the chance to be a good mom to my kids, but to also pursue my dreams. All the stuff he puts up with. He’s paying for my coach, my supplements, my food… That week before a show, oh my poor husband!
You also have to be your own biggest supporter, because no matter what, nobody really knows what you’re going through. They have no clue how hard you worked at the gym, or everything you’re struggling with mentally, or how much work you did to prep your food. You have to be your own biggest supporter because you’re going to be the first person to say “Ugh, I can’t do this.” Nobody else is going to say that, but you’re going to say it many, many times.
FV: If you knew somebody wanted to start down this path, what advice would you give them?
AS: The first thing you need to do is go to a show. When you go to a show and you make the effort to network at that show, then you start to meet people, you hook up with them on Facebook. Go meet the judges, tell them you’re interested. Learn what the different divisions are. Find out if you even like it! It’s going to be overwhelming and you’re going to think “I don’t know if I can do this.” You have to remember, “Yes you can,” because we’re all stronger than we think we are and we can all accomplish great things. It’s the people who are willing to put in the work to accomplish great things. We can all do it.