Mr. and Mrs. Natural Champion
15 Aug 2007
 In this day and age when the average adult American tends to be overweight, overtired, and totally out of shape, an adult who is fit, healthy and attractive is something special. And when you find a husband and wife who are both fit, healthy and attractive, well, that’s something extra special. Which is exactly what Dana and Jess Maney are - extra special.
We featured Dana on our cover in September, 2006 and now we are pleased to present both Dana and her husband Jess as our first ever husband-and-wife dual cover models and Introducing…. column features.
We first heard of Dana Maney when we received an email inquiry asking how a natural competitor could be featured on our site. We sent back our standard questionnaire plus a request for photos, and when we looked at the bio and photos that were forwarded as requested it was a slam dunk…Dana, the young lady who sent it the inquiry, was perfect for our cover!
Dana Maney, who turned 30 last year, was born in St. Paul, Minnesota and raised in Hammond, Wisconsin. She currently lives in Menomonie, Wisconsin with her husband and daughters Liz and Andrea.
Dana earned her Bachelor’s Degree from UW Stout and is a high school special education teacher at Glenwood City High School where she has worked with students with learning disabilities for the past 9 years. In August she received a M.S.E. from UWEC and has tentative plans to eventually complete her studies for an Administrative Specialists Degree and perhaps even go on to acquire her Doctorate.
 This busy wife, mother, teacher and part-time student still manages to get in regular workouts at BodyWorks Athletic Club, and compete for TEAM Bodyworks (interesting how our Natural Champions get into fantastic shape and yet lead well-rounded lives, with jobs, families, schooling and varied interests…a refreshing change from the dead-end ‘gym rat’ mentality).
Her nutrition pattern generally consists of high protein and moderate carbohydrates. Pre-Contest, she goes to a carb rotation system of 3 days low carbs, then 2 days high carbs. As Dana gets closer to a competition, she switches it up and throws in additional cardio sessions as needed. Her well-defined goal is to get her off season body in shape enough so that she can focus more on building and less on BURNING FAT! This is a strategy we at Naturally Champion enthusiastically endorse…and one which obviously works for Dana!
When we asked if there were any people Dana wanted to give special mention to who have helped or inspired her, she had the following to say:
“I have had a tremendous team of support and encouragement along the way! If not for my husband, I would never dreamed of the goals I have achieved! I am 100% healthier,  and more fit than I ever was at 20! He has stood by me as I struggled and triumphed! He, too, is a competitive bodybuilder in search of his pro card!
My daughters are my biggest fans! They have to adjust their lives to support our chaotic lifestyle. They live for the off-season cheat meal nights at Applebees!
I have to include the woman who inspired me to begin this journey, Melissa Sinclair, WNBF Pro Figure Competitor. I also want to express sincere gratitude to my mom, brother and all of our friends.”
Since being featured in the September 2006 issue, Dana competed in October and took 3rd place tall figure at the NANBF Best of the Midwest in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, appeared at the Arnold Classic in a booth for Your Whey Protein as well as taking part in Jen Hendershott’s fitness fashion show, and this past May took 4th place at the NANBF Pro-Qualifier Mr. and Mrs. Minnesota.
Dana not only gives credit to her husband, Jess, for encouraging and supporting her fitness and competition efforts, she is very proud of his own accomplishments. In fact, Dana was the one who contacted us about a possible article on him and followed up with the biographical and training information.
Jess and Dana Maney have been married since January 3, 2006. They were the only husband and wife teams at the 2006 NANBF Mr. and Mrs. Minnesota Competition, and Best of the Midwest Competition in Cedar Rapids Iowa.
Jess Maney is a 2001 graduate of Mount Scenario College in Ladsmith, WI, where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Exercise Science. He holds Personal Training Certification from ACE, and IFPA. Currently he is the general manager and head trainer at BodyWorks Athletic Club in Menomonie, WI. As a skinny kid, Jess dreamed of playing football, but knew he would need to get bigger to be successful. So at age 13, in his basement, on a home weight bench, he began his journey. His years of commitment paid off, and he went on to a record breaking high school career, and very successful college career, including 2 College Championship seasons. After 13 years of training, he decided to compete, and has done so exceptionally well in the NANBF, most recently taking 1st in both the Novice and Overall divisions of the 2006 Best of the Mid West show.
Jess is a member of the WI National Guard. In 2003 he was deployed to Iraq to serve our country in Operation Iraqi Freedom. During his 14 month deployment he set up a camp gym and assisted many soldiers in designing individualized program…his way of staying sane in a time that sanity was hard to come by. When he wasn’t out on missions, Jess would spend his down time in the make shift gym.
Jess has many long-time personal training clients that have made significant changes to their health, body, and mind as a result of working with him. He is dedicated to the sport of natural bodybuilding and is currently in the process of being certified to train competitors. Jess Maney’s commitment to helping people goes far beyond the gym. He believes in the value of serving others by being active in the community and volunteering when he can.
Jess and Dana Maney’s Training Programs.
Choose 2-3 exercises per muscle group. They perform 1 to 2 warm up sets per muscle groups, then Dana does 4 sets of 12 reps to failure and Jess does 4 sets
Dana Jess
Day 1: Quads and Glutes
Smith squat Bar squat*
Step up * Leg press
Smith lunge 1 leg- leg ext
High lunge Smith lunge
Walking lunge Walking lunge
Calves
Donkey calf raise Leg press calfraises
Standing raises Seated calf raise
Donkey calf raise
Day 2 Chest
Flat DB press (heavy) * Incline bench press (cg)
High cable fly Flat DB press
Low cable fly Low pulley cable cross*
Pec deck/ DB fly Pec deck
Hamstrings
Lying cable curl* Lying cable curl*
One leg high press Leg curl machine
Leg curl machine (1 leg) High press on leg press
Dead lift (1 leg) Romanian dead lift
ABS (FOR BOTH)
Hanging leg lift Swiss ball crunch
Reverse crunches Supine bicycles
Hip ups Weighted leg raises (Jess only)
Day 3 Back
Incline straight arm pull down Weighted pull ups
One arm DB row/ cable Rev grip bar row
Double DB/ Bar row One arm DB row
One arm seated row Seated row
Back extensions* Back extensions*
Biceps
Preacher DB/ bar curl* Reverse preacher bar/DB curl
Barbell curl EZ barbell curl*
Alt. DB curl Alt DB curl
DB hammer curl Cable rope curl
*********Jess does Calves, choose from Day 1**********
Day 4 Delts
Seated DB press* Seated bar/DB press*
Front bar/ DB raises Front bar/ DB raise/cable
DB lateral raise DB/ cable lateral raise
Bent over rear raise/cable Cable/rear raise
Triceps
Close grip bench Skull Crushers
Overhead ext. Rev. grip decline bench
Reverse grip skull crushers Overhead DB ext
DB/ cable kick backs* Press down
Weighted dips*
ABS – Choose from Day 2
Day 5 REST
Day 6 REPEAT CYCLE
Dana does cardio 5-6 days per week for 45-60 minutes while Jess normally does
2-3 days of morning cardio.
We hope our readers are as inspired by the story and example of Jess and Dana Maney as we are – and that we have the opportunity to bring you more about this super Natural Champion husband and wife team in the near future.
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