TYL Society

Date: March 28, 2016

Name: Unleash Your Beast Within

Presenter: Yolanda Hughes

Legends from athletes empower many successful leaders. Moreover, successful leaders with passion and persistence will create their legacy. The TYL Society invites Yolanda Hughes, the two times Ms. International and the runner up for Ms. Olympia, to share her story in professional bodybuilding. In this presentation, Yolanda Hughes will take leaders through her journey and share her secrets to success in health and wellness. In addition, Yolanda Hughes will reveal her strategy on how to develop success in the fitness industry.

Yolanda Hughes is a professional bodybuilder. In the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness, she was placed in 1^st in the Ms. International competition in 1997 and 1998. She completed 6 times in the Ms. Olympia competition and came in 2^nd in 1998. Her success was featured in many media and magazines, such as Muscle and Fitness, and Flex and Female Bodybuilding. Her passion motivates many young female bodybuilders. Yolanda Hughes retired from bodybuilding after she came in 3^rd place in 1999 at the Ms. International competition; however, her legacy remains strong in the fitness industry.

Unleash your beast within

Yolanda Hughes believes the path of an athlete is not easy, especially the mindset. She is grateful for stepping into the life of a professional in International Federation of Bodybuilding fitness, where she received the amateur and national status recongitions.

Hughes was born in Tennessee. Her parents passed away when she was young, so she grew up with her grandmother. Hughes shares she was competitive when she was young. She always competed with her brother. Her grandmother encouraged her to take part in gymnastics to expand her interests. A coach saw her potential and decided to work with her to compete.

While she was attending high school, she wanted to become the first black athlete in the Olympics. However, her coach quit and her life of fitness started to go downhill. Her grandmother wanted her to pursue a normal life, but she insisted on becoming a professional athlete.

Hughes believes weight resistant training can keep people young. As people age, their muscles tend to decrease and their metabolism will also decrease. By going to the gym consistently, Hughes is able to maintain her physical looks and improve energy levels.

Hughes got accepted in Western Kentucky University with full scholarships. She took the opportunity to be on the track team. During her weight training sessions, she got spotted by a local bodybuilder named Hillbilly Jim. He changed the way she eats. She could not stand the diet for 2 weeks and cheated on the diet. Hughes felt bad for cheating and decided to stick with the program Jim prepared for her to continue her dream. With determination, she got 2^nd place in her first competition.

Hughes mentions the reason she was able to win 2 consecutive years is that she was hungry and she would not stop until she got the 2^nd win. However, due to politics, she was not invited to the competition after her 2^nd consecutive wins. That did not stop her from continue her dream, so she continued to get better. She got stronger and proved to be in the game. The judges had nothing to say her.

Hughes then moved to Germany for 7 years. She was able to compete in Europe and qualified in the Nationals. She was featured in many magazines and got the chance to compete in Spain. Eventually, she earned her pro card by winning the World Amateur Championship.

Hughes emphasizes her determination outruns distraction. She will stay late just to go that extra mile.

“Complete, desire, and marry to discipline”

Mentorship plays a huge role for Hughes. Mentorship helped Hughes to focus on her passion and figure out her purpose early on in life.

Back in the old days, GMO was not a big concern for Hughes because she had the access to good natural foods. However today, food is more than meet the eyes. Hughes believes in the next 30 years, health issues will start to appear even more frequently. There are other options, such as organic food. Since organic food is not affordable for many people, they will continue to eat food with unknown side effects.

Hughes always has the personality to excel in life. She wants to be better and do better. Hughes mentions she was once struggling with the fact that when she did not achieve the expectation, she would decide to quit. She took the responsibility and created the two options of whether or not she should eat a candy bar. A candy bar can make a big difference for bodybuilders because it will affect the mindset.

Hughes suggests people not to eat too much rice. Vegetables are the best choice to keep people in natural state. People should eat 4 times a day. Hughes believes people are taught to have only breakfast, lunch and dinner, but it is not enough to maintain high metabolism. Instead, they should eat in 2 and a half hour intervals to increase metabolism.

Many people have the misconception that eating less will reduce fat. Hughes mentions eating less will result in a lower metabolism, which converts food into fat in the body. When people stop eating and eat again later, they are creating more room for more fat in their body. In addition, people should not eat too much carbs at night because it could cause disruption in the body. It is suggested to eat less on processed food because press food provides less nutrients compared with natural food.

“If you eat and you are tired afterwards, that food is not working for your body”

People can get better body density by doing physical activities in the gym. This will create high metabolism. The key is to get out there and burn. People might not eat a lot, but the choices they pick, such as dressing on salad, will influence their bodies.

Eating organic does not include all the nutrients. Therefore, people will seek for supplements. However, supplements do not all absorb in the system. With trial and error, some pre-work out supplements can make Hughes tingle and fired up. Hughes stopped taking those because of how they made her feel. The marketing for some supplements are overrated. People have the tendency to believe what people say in the store. With one on one, even if it has sufficient research, people will not buy it.

“If it is on the market, it does not mean it is the best thing”

Hughes recommends kale. It has the right nutrients. Hughes was not a big fan of synthetic supplements, such as energy drinks. Many people have approached her wanting her to try their products, but she has always shown no interest because she has many clients currently that train with her and she needs to be careful of what she recommends them.

Hughes is now training clients as a personal trainer and fitness coach. 6 years ago, she had a pole fitness studio and taught pole fitness. Now people invite her to be the judge on fitness shows. Currently she is also building her own business as an independent distributor with Zija. She wants to help others to become healthier and wants to see her clients to lose weights naturally.

“You do not live to eat, you eat to live”

Hughes believes in her purpose. She is able to connect with her spirit and tap into her inner spirit to achieve what she wants. As people get closer to their goals, the harder the challenges they will face. Hughes recommends people to focus on visualizsation. They should write down their goals and read it every morning to remind themselves. It is important to hang out OQP, which is “Only the Qualified People”. Either people will pull you up or they will pull you down.

“When you connect to your inner self, you can do anything”

“Make them believe because I am the believer”