Althouse: "Holley Mangold, 22 and a superheavyweight Olympic weight lifter, is 5-foot-8 and weighs 350 pounds."

June 22, 2012

"Holley Mangold, 22 and a superheavyweight Olympic weight lifter, is 5-foot-8 and weighs 350 pounds."

Impressive.

Formidable fodder for "fat and fit" fantasies.

31 comments:

Anonymous said...: I don't know about "fit" but "fat and strong" have never been considered incompatible.; 6/22/12, 10:40 AM
edutcher said...: I wouldn't call her fat. She has some excess flesh, but that's it

The weight doesn't just hang off her. More to the point, how much of her is muscle?

You want to see fat (at your own risk, of course), go to People of Walmart.; 6/22/12, 10:44 AM
Curious George said...: Pretty sure that Subway won't come knockin'; 6/22/12, 10:44 AM
holdfast said...: In the Army you had the guys who were 70/30 muscle and fat - strong as hell, but covered in a layer of fat. They'd never be PT stars, especially on the track, but they could march forever with a huge rucksack and a machine gun.; 6/22/12, 10:44 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: The first phrase that popped into my head upon seeing the photo........

bust a gut

I'm sorry.; 6/22/12, 10:45 AM
Methadras said...: She's built like a Belgian blue. A blond, Belgian blue.; 6/22/12, 10:47 AM
traditionalguy said...: Exercise is wonderful for the wonderful engine called a human body. Weight lifting is very beneficial and teaches us to work at a goal and attain it.

She is probably the fittest person around, except for sprints and distance running. Being skinny is not being fit, although some wirey ladies are strong and aggressive.

My wife is a 100 pounder who can out do me using her quickness and surprising strength. I think it comes from her part Mongolian ancestry and a firey personality.; 6/22/12, 11:08 AM
stealth pundit said...: Read, a while back, in National Geographic that many weight lifters can dunk a basketball despire their large size. Immense power in their legs allows them to jump more than their body type would suggest. Me, I have trouble jumping onto the curb....; 6/22/12, 11:34 AM
ricpic said...: "Nobody remembers the skinny girl's name."

Tragically untrue in the age of Obama.; 6/22/12, 11:47 AM
DADvocate said...: She's one strong lady. I hope she's able to stay healthy and lose weight when she's finished competing. She out weighs my 6' 3" offensive lineman sone by 65 lbs.; 6/22/12, 11:49 AM
Darcy said...: I'm curious as to how healthy that body style - even if you are very fit (muscular) despite the fat - is for you. Particularly with respect to vital organs like the heart.

I wouldn't call her fit. She's certainly impressive, and good on her for working so hard at her sport!

I also wouldn't call her fat. But not because she isn't. I just hate the "fat" tag. I associate it mostly with unkind comments.; 6/22/12, 11:49 AM
Graham Powell said...: DADvocate: she not only outweights your offensive lineman son, she outweights her offensive lineman brother, Nick Mangold, who's the starting center for the Jets.

And for all I know, she's stronger than he is...; 6/22/12, 12:22 PM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne aka Doug Emhoff's Pimp Hand said...: Formidable fodder for "fat and fit" fantasies.

Interesting choice of words!; 6/22/12, 12:28 PM
rcocean said...: If you look at her belly, she's obviously very fat. BTW, is there anything more silly than women's weight-lifting? I mean other than Women boxing?

I guess there's always some dumb sports guys who'll watch anything.; 6/22/12, 12:33 PM
Cedarford said...: Mangold was featured on a HBO "Real Sports" segment. Unlike some of the "manufactured compelling interest stories" they run before and during the Olympics -- "Dan is out to win for his dead sister...whoops...Dan sliped and fell, no doubt thinking about his beloved dead sister.." Mangold actually has a real story.

1. Outsized woman who is the 1st to admit she is one Twinkie-devouring fat porker..and so what! She was co-Prom Queen and gets all the dates she wants with gargantuan men. Has an outsized personality to match her physique.
2. She is unlikely to medal, but has progressed in her sport beyond all expectations and is expected to be a contender in 2016 and beyond. A Bronze is a distant possibility.
3. Her svelte mother and Dad had to write letters to teachers when she went for and became a starting lineman in HS football because they had an honest fear the would be reported. The letters said that she was NOT being abused..but was being beat up black and blue in football.
4. Her brother is all pro Jets center Nick Mangold. 6'4" and 315 lbs...Now considered one of the two best centers (and Mangold is now the highest paid center at 55 million for 7 years). He has campaigned for Mitt Romney in the off-season.
5. Holly Mangold went into weight lifting because she had no prospect of following her brother into college football. She was too short and too slow afoot to do 1-A college football.; 6/22/12, 12:33 PM
Jason said...: No hostile, ignorant, hateful allusion to the Jooooooos.

Hey, who hacked into Cedarford's account?; 6/22/12, 12:56 PM
Jason said...: The optimal diet and exercise routine for building muscle mass is not the same one as for reducing body fat percentage. Although competitive bodybuilders do a LOT of weightlifting, they are not competitive weightlifters, and competitive weightlifters are not bodybuilders.

A he olympic level, the weightlifters eat. A LOT. And lift, a lot. But they do not try to reduce body fat. The same diet that builds a lot of muscle also creates fat to go with it. And any time you go into caloric deficit to lose weight, burning fat, you will also lose some lean muscle mass with it at the same time.

Though alternating cardio with intense weightlifting, timed with protein boosts, can create muscle faster than fat.

The bottom line is that the body burns fat and protein for energy simultaneously.

This woman has simply chosen to eat and exercize to max muscle, and is not concerned with figure.

There may be some cholesterol issues or heart issues that go with that, though. The weightlifter lifestyle will get you strong... but I doubt it is optmal for long-term health.; 6/22/12, 1:05 PM
Patrick said...: Those people must work their asses off to be able to lift that much. Of course in this context, "working their asses off" leads to a much bigger ass. Odd, that.

I wonder how healthy these people stay after they give up the Olympic level competitive lifting. that must be tough, and the point at which it becomes imperative that they do indeed work their asses off.; 6/22/12, 1:11 PM
Darcy said...: Thanks Jason, that was really interesting! I've been watching what I eat and running for a year - increasing distance, but mostly speed and have lost a lot of weight. A friend has suggested often that I should be doing a little bit of weight training as well. I don't know where I'll find the energy for it, though.

I know what Ms. Mangold is doing is requiring a lot of effort and hard work. I hope she's happy and feels good.; 6/22/12, 1:32 PM
rcocean said...: Doing a certain amount of Weightlifting while dieting will help slow down the loss of lean muscle. I've lost ten pounds on my diet but I've been getting stronger.; 6/22/12, 1:54 PM
Darcy said...: Congrats, rc! And thank you. I've got about 5 weeks to go until I run my second Warrior Dash. In some ways, I feel weaker in the upper body than I did last year and I was not very fit last summer. I'd better get cracking on some pull ups or something.; 6/22/12, 1:59 PM
Cedarford said...: Jason said...
No hostile, ignorant, hateful allusion to the Jooooooos.

Hey, who hacked into Cedarford's account?

=================
Despite your deepest hopes, it is not all about the Jews.
Now, if the topic was the financial abuse on Wall Street, the desire for endless Neocon Wars of adventure, and how we became a defacto "Open Borders Nation" after Emmanuel Cellar lectured about America's moral obligation to let in all needy (citing the ST Louis) and pushed the 1965 Immigration Reform Act...

We might have a discussion that involved Jews.; 6/22/12, 2:09 PM
Jason said...: Darcy,

Congrats on your efforts!

I would heartily recommend checking out a book called Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle, by Tom Venuto.

By far the best book/program of its type that I've seen, in that it's not a one-size-fits all. It's definitely body-builder focused, but Tom explains the concepts so you can customize your approach for your individual body type, metabolism an performance goals.

I learned a ton from the book and the people on his forum, and made good progress, though I haven't been disciplined enough to mak the most of it. (I also write and drink mochas all day, which is suboptimal!)

He also hates junk science, which is hugely prevalent among fitness/weight loss types.

www.burnthefatblog.com; 6/22/12, 2:29 PM
rcocean said...: Thanks Darcy. What's a "Warrior Dash"? Its sounds strenuous.; 6/22/12, 2:30 PM
Jason said...: Well, the body, under stress, breaks down the lean muscle along with the fat. But if you eat a calorie surplus with adequate protein, it will rebuild the muscle bigger than before in the recovery phase.

If you don't eat a calorie surplus, though, you will lose muscle with the fat, because the muscle that was lost when your body broke down protein along with carbohydrates for energy will not get built back up to the same pre-workout level.

Cedarford can explain about how that's the fault of the Jews.; 6/22/12, 2:34 PM
Jason said...: Planning to do a Tough Mudder next January, when it comes to my city, if I can stay uninjured while training up for it! :); 6/22/12, 2:35 PM
rcocean said...: Never mind. Just Googled it. "warrior dashes" look like fun.; 6/22/12, 2:40 PM
Darcy said...: @rc Check out warriordash.com

@Jason - Wow. The Tough Mudders look too tough for me, but I know you'll have fun and good luck with it! (And thank you.); 6/22/12, 2:42 PM
paul a'barge said...: They just did a whole piece on her on HBO Sports (Bryan Gumbel the host, that lesbian the reporter).

Impressive.

Read about her brother. And look at pictures of her mother, who is as petite as you can imagine.; 6/22/12, 5:40 PM
Boogliodemus said...: "BTW, is there anything more silly than women's weight-lifting? I mean other than Women boxing?"

Yes, rcocean, there is.
Womens Basketball. In spite of no viewers, the networks carry it anyway to avoid being called sexist.

Weird, the first word in the capta box was estruss.; 6/22/12, 6:46 PM
Unknown said...: To whomever said that womens weight lifting is silly as well as womens boxing I am a 6ft 225lb fem,ale and could knock you the *!@$ out...close minded Asshole...Dont be jealous that women can be bigger and better than you ;); 3/15/13, 9:40 AM