A Portage la Prairie resident is celebrating an incredible series of victories after bringing home four medals from her first-ever bodybuilding competition.
Jayda Yakielashek shone on stage at the recent VDC Natural competition in Winnipeg, a testament to her dedication and months of rigorous training.
For her inaugural competition, Yakielashek earned third place in the True Novice category, designed for first-time athletes. She also secured a second-place finish in Novice, a first-place win in her Open class, and was awarded second place overall among all bikini competitors.
Yakielashek called it "Super, super cool."
The road to victory
Yakielashek’s impressive results are the product of an intense five-month preparation period. Her journey to the stage involved a strict calorie deficit, early mornings, and countless hours at the gym.
"I had a lot of early, early mornings. I would get to the gym at three in the morning so I could get my cardio in before I went to work," she explains. "And then I would go back to the gym after work and work out for another like two or three hours. I honestly probably averaged 3 to 4 hours in the gym every day."
Training six days a week for most of her prep, she increased her schedule to seven days a week for the final two weeks leading up to the show. While she doesn’t have her next competition planned just yet, Yakielashek is already looking ahead.
"I'm very excited to have a longer off-season," she says. "Going into my next competition - I don't have one planned out yet - but I'm looking forward to really focusing on building muscle and bringing a better package to the next competition that I'm able to compete in."
Advice for aspiring athletes
For those on the fence about starting their own fitness journey, Yakielashek shares some valuable advice, emphasizing that starting small is key.
"My advice is to honestly start small, like whether it's going for a walk outside or going to the gym. Even if you just go to the gym physically and then you leave right away, at least you showed up and then take small steps every single day," she encourages. "Go back to the gym the next day for 5 minutes or 10 minutes."
She also notes the importance of not being afraid to ask for guidance and to learn from others, whether in person or online.
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"Don't be afraid to ask people in the gym for any advice or help. People are so much kinder than you think. Everybody has a very serious look on their face, so they look very intimidating, but they honestly would love to help you succeed and achieve your goals." Yakielashek says. "I still personally watch lots of YouTube videos on how to perform lifts properly and to double-check my form, so I don't hurt myself. Don't feel goofy doing those things. Even if you do look goofy, that's totally fine too."
Finding a support system, she adds, can make all the difference on low-energy days.
"Have, like, a workout buddy. My friend Brett Clark, I heavily leaned on him for quite a few days throughout my prep. Just because I knew that having him there to push me harder in my workouts would help," she reflects. "It's the people that you surround yourself with, the environment you surround yourself with that really matters and creates your mindset."
A positive experience
Reflecting on the competition weekend, Yakielashek expresses immense gratitude for the organizers and the atmosphere of camaraderie among the athletes.
"I would just like to give a thank you to the VDC Natural and the Vandyke Classic," she says. "They had such wonderful volunteers. All the athletes were amazing. Everybody was helping each other out, giving each other advice, lending items if anything broke, and people were so kind. I don't think I saw one upset person all weekend. Everybody was all smiles, and it was a really great event that was put on. It was a lot of fun."