Name: Amanda Dunbar
Born: April 21, 1980 (25 years old)
Sign: Taurus
Weight: Contest - 135 lbs, Offseason – 162 lbs
Height: 5'4"
Resides: Marietta, Georgia
Status: In a relationship with the love of my life, Mimi Jabalee
Occupation: Optional Gymnastics coach at Cobb Gymnastics (Level 7 and up), Full time Physical Therapist Assistant, Personal Trainer, and Nutrition advisor
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Brown
Interests: Spending time with Mimi, gymnastics, bodybuilding, internet, and of course hanging out with friends/family.

A bit more...

I've always been athletic throughout my life. I started training as a
gymnast at the age of 4 and had to retire from the sport at 17. I
competed as a national level gymnast and my ultimate plan was to go to
college on a full scholarship for gymnastics but had a career ending
injury and had to turn down all scholarship offers. I had
fractured/dislocated my ankle in approx. 20 places and so far I've had 5
surgeries to correct the problem, including a cartilage transplant from
knee to ankle.

After having to quit gymnastics, I needed something that would keep me
fit. I was used to training in gymnastics 6 days per week and was now
starting to gain weight from being in a cast/crutches for almost a year,
nevermind the lack of exercise. I decided it was time to get back in the
gym and start lifting again. Once I started seeing real progress, I
decided I wanted to train for my first bodybuilding show.

I competed in my first bodybuilding competition at 21 and was very
pleased how I looked on stage. I dieted/trained myself for that
competition which was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do. It
took so much time and dedication, not just for training/cardio, to
figure out how my body works and responds to different foods/diets. Once
I saw what I looked like on stage at my first show, I realized how much I
had accomplished and how much I really loved bodybuilding.

I did my first bodybuilding show in Sept. 2001 and turned professional in July 2005. In 2006, I decided to take the year off due to graduating from college, moving from Florida to Georgia, and most importantly to start my new life with my soulmate, Mimi. Priority was and still is family first, but after taking a year off to relax and adjust in my new environment, I am almost ready to compete again. I am tentatively planning my first pro show to be the Atlantic City Pro in Atlantic City, NJ. on Sept 14/15, 2007. I am very excited to be able to compete in my first pro show WITH the amazing Mimi Jabalee by my side. To be able to share that moment with her will be an such a great moment that words just cannot describe. We already do everything together now, but we are going to be able to diet, train, do cardio, and live the entire transition of competing as we prep TOGETHER for this show. I am very excited and cannot wait to get back in shape again. So please look out for the new countdown pictures and videos in my members section as well as hers!

Go here to check out Mimi Jabalee's website!!

BODYBUILDING

Status: IFBB Professional Bodybuilder

Began training: 1995 at 15 years old

Best body part: abs, waistline, V-taper, overall symmetry

Favorite exercises: Preacher curls, Hammer curls, and basically any tricep exercise.

Least favorite exercises: Any ab exercise and anything having to do with a hard leg workout!!

CONTEST HISTORY

• 2005 USA Championships, 1 st place LHW and Overall (weight 135) qualifying for Professional status
• 2004 Jr. Nationals, 2 nd  LHW (weight 135)
• 2003 Jr. Nationals, 3 rd  MW (weight 132)
• 2002 Southern States, 2 nd  MW (weight 123)
• 2001 Southeastern USA , 1 st  MW (weight 125)
• 2001 Jr. Florida , 1 st  MW and Overall (weight 126)

Actress: Gillian Anderson

Music: R & B, Hip-Hop, Dance, Rap, Top 40, country, and 80's music

Foods: Donuts, Cheeseburgers, Chicken caeser salads, and ice cream! mmmm

TV shows: The X-Files, anything gymnastics related, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Medium, and CSI Miami

Best friends: Colette Nelson, Hans, and of course my mom!

TRAINING

I do not have a specific WAY I train, but the easiest way for me to describe it is this… I have found that its not the weight you push or the amount of reps you do; muscle growth comes from pushing yourself to absolute muscle failure so that the muscle is broken down and has to repair/rebuild itself. As long as you train like that, give yourself amble recovery time, and eat properly, you WILL GROW.

PRECONTEST CARDIO:
This depends primarily on how strict my diet is. When I am on my diet 100%, my cardio before a show gets up to about 1.5-2 hrs/day x 7 days/week.

OFFSEASON CARDIO:
Not enough recently! :) Approximately 20 minutes per day, 5 x per week.

DIET

PRECONTEST FOODS:
Protein: Steak (eye of round), chicken, Isopure shakes, and occasionally ground turkey
Carbs: Oatmeal, brown rice, potatoes, and grits

OFFSEAON DIET:
This for me is constantly changing. In the past I have been very lenient to what I eat in the offseason. In years prior, I would make sure I got in at least 200 grams of protein per day but then I’d eat anything else I wanted to throughout the day if I was craving it. It definitely helped in giving me the extra calories I needed to grow, but it didn’t help in keeping me as lean as I wanted to be year round.

I am trying to teach myself how to eat cleaner year round. I want to eat closer to a contest diet year round, just with bigger portion sizes. I am at the point in my life that I do not want to have HUGE offseasons anymore and my goal is to try and keep abs year round. This will be a big accomplishment if I can do it and the only way to do that is if I stay on a clean diet and have “occasional” cheats, not everyday like in the past. This is also to help bring the marketability back to the sport and be a better representation of what a true female bodybuilder looks like, IN SHAPE.   

Amanda Dunbar MySpace Page

Amanda Dunbar Official Website