|
Craig Yarnall
Autobiographical Sketch
Persevere
To
persevere is “to continue in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in
spite of counter influences, opposition, or discouragement”, according
to Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. This word describes and personifies
my present life and the previous 33 years. Life sometimes throws these
obstacles at anybody in their life. Problems like these can make a
person quit or one can transcend these obstacles. Bodybuilding and
lifting weights can relieve stress and refocus your outlook on life
itself.
Lifting for me began in high school
around the age of 15 years and now it is like a vice for me that I crave
to make the day complete. I am entering the field of Physical Education
and plan on helping the youths of today refocus the school, for the
necessity of Physical Education, not as an elective as some of the
schools have already done. I know that lifting weights takes a lot of
work but physical activity and physical fitness are major parts missing
in today’s educational system. It helps them with structure, discipline
and perseverance that are lacking in today’s youth with their sedentary
lives.
My mother
has been an inspiration to my two brothers and me and she has taught her
three children the meaning of perseverance. She has been a tremendous
support on anything the three of us have attempted to accomplish. She
never discouraged us, but never overpushed the limits like some parents
that are driven to live their lives through their children. She worked
very hard at anything she did and showed the world that she could raise
3 children on her own with limited funds. Her hard work and fight
inside of her to survive has been since passed on to her children.
My mother passed away just over three
years ago in a car accident and has raised 3 very responsible and hard
working children to carry on her legacy.
My brother Victor is handicapped but
with my mother’s help succeeded in life and started up the Physical
Education program at his special education school. He has since gone on
to compete in powerlifting with the Special Olympics (NJ State and World
Games) and sanctioned meets (ADFPA), track and field on a state and
national level, walking away year after year with gold medals. The
school also helped Victor secure a full time job at Ethicon for the past
17 years. Victor is an inspiration and makes my goals look very
attainable. He continues to inspire me and make any goal you put your
mind to become a reality.
My mother’s years of hard work only make
me work harder as a person. My weeks were very full and I continued to
feel good about my job, continuing education, and how I help others. I
train my brother Victor for Special Olympics Powerlifting (9-10 hours
per week); train myself 5 times per week (10-12 hours per week) at 5 am
every morning with some help from my new workout partner Monica, who is
now my wife. I personal train part-time and now teach full-time Adapted
Physical Education to middle school students who are very special in
their own right. My schedule is very busy and I am very happy with it.
I love challenges and always will try to put myself up to them. Cardio
and diet are 2 areas that become a major challenge, yet they must be
done to succeed. I only want the best presentation possible at the show
along with that first place finish. All of these work ethics and
challenges I take on are all dedicated to my mother and they reflect her
spirit that remains with me on earth.
I started training with a new workout
partner just over 5 years ago, and her name is Monica. She listens to
me and does the same workout as I do, except for the lighter weights.
She works very hard to attain her own personal goals. We get up at 430
am so I can train clients afterward and Monica can go to work. Some
might see her as obsessed, but I see her work and she inspires me to
work hard each and every workout. Her diet is just as strict and that
personifies the great ones who show will power and persistence. She has
dealt with me from the onset of my diet and that right there is enough
to send people running. People like Monica are like finding a needle in
a haystack. Her beauty and smile help keep me going when I feel like I
cannot do another repetition. She is a partner that someone could want
for a lifetime. Training partners are hard to find and easy to lose,
but when one comes along like this, you need to hold on and never let
go. Today, we have been happily married for the past 2 years.
All of the
above mentioned factors helped me in my preparation for the show and I
am grateful. Competition is my own way of striving for that goal. I
love the challenge and love to succeed. Competition teaches you
discipline and structure in a world that lacks these qualities in
today’s youth. One should try to attain that ultimate goal of
attempting college and shooting for that Dean’s list not just a 2.5
grade point average. One should strive for the college diploma and
honors as well. This not only shows your intelligence, but hard work
that was put into each class that was taken over your time spent in
college. Competition benefits everyone and helps him or her to
persevere and remain on that positive road of life.
Now in just five years, I have just
completed the ultimate competition for myself and that was to win my
WNBF Pro card, which I just won on June 5, 2004.I won the Men’s Open
Bantamweight class which had 11 total competitors in my weight class. I
could not have done it without some help along the way from some very
special people. First and foremost was my wife Monica, who has been
there for every aspect of training, nutrition, and each show I have
attempted to get the elusive pro card. She made it worth all the effort
to get back up each time and pursue the goal I set for myself. She was
the main support when things did not always go the way I wanted them to
go, but through it all like the “Shrimpin’ Boat” from Forrest Gump she
was still there to guide me in my quest. For that, I thank her from the
bottom of my heart and know that she is my #1 FAN!!! I love you, Nanny!!
Secondly, I would like to thank the best
nutritionist for all of his help in getting me to my final destination,
my pro card. He has guided my wife and me to a better understanding of
nutrition and helped me to finish off all of my hard work the right way
during “Peak Week”. His name is Dr. Joe Klemczewski. Dr. Joe has been
the final missing piece to help me complete my ultimate dream of
becoming a WNBF pro bodybuilder. I mean I had my doubts along the way,
but Dr. Joe continued to feed me the positive reinforcement to
“Persevere” on my journey to attaining my pro card. He took all of the
guesswork out of what exactly needed to be done to win my shows that he
guided me in. In my 3rd year of working with Dr. Joe, and
after 8 shows, five of which I won my weight class it finally happened
on the 8th show at the 25th Anniversary of the
INBF Hercules I won my weight class and my WNBF pro card!!! The judges
were telling all of the comments Dr. Joe wrote about what would happen
on stage during the show to me after the prejudging was over. It was
such a great feeling to feel the relief, excitement, and joy culminating
to this great apex. Dr. Joe has been my recipe book to success and I
carried out all of his suggestions and plans to the tee. He really knows
it all when it comes to preparing for a bodybuilding contest, and nobody
does it better than Dr. Joe.
Another group of people I would like to
thank are my family for being there through all of the thick and thin of
my preparations. My Mom would be so proud of my accomplishment if she
were here right now and I know she has tears of joy for me as she
watches from above. I love you, Mom and thank you for giving me life. My
brothers, Keith and Victor were a tremendous support and have stayed
right there to be a solid base for me when I needed either one of them.
Thank you guys!!! My brother Keith and his wife Debbie have had a new
addition to the family, my godson Timothy. Keith has gone out his way to
be there as a support while Timmy and Debbie have been when they could.
They give their support in other ways. These shows can surely be
grueling on an adult let alone on a two year old. Some shows can start
at nine or ten in the morning and run until midnight. I know how hard
the lifestyle can be on certain family and friends, but for one to truly
succeed the preparation can consume every last bit of you. I thank all
of you for hanging in there with me and appreciate your support!!!!
And last but not least, I have my
sister-in-law, Kathy. She has also been there to support me whenever she
was asked. It is not something very easy to sit through when the sight
of veins gets you queasy, but through those long days she was there for
moral support and I thank you Kathy. Before the last show, Kathy
recently got engaged to a great guy named Sean. Sean has never seen
anything like this before but he came and gave his support as well. He
really enjoyed the whole thing and I thank him for being there and
welcome him into the family.
Another aspect that can never be
overlooked, especially being a lifetime drug-free bodybuilder is your
supplementation! If it has been out there and has had any success other
than over advertising, I probably have tried it. Today, there are many
critics to dispel any and all myths about the many supplements to enter
the market. Until the FDA straightens out there guidelines of the
supplement industry, listen to the people you know you can trust!! I
have used my nutritionist for many answers to what is needed and what is
just hype. He has helped to lay the groundwork for a successful
supplement regimen. I have been using whey protein around my workouts
for fast absorption before and after workouts. I have also used my share
of glutamine and creatine. As far as vitamins go, I use a multi-vitamin,
B complex, vitamin C, and vitamin E. These supplements have been staples
in my diet for the longest time. Being around the other competitors, you
start to hear about the many things that do work and I think this is the
best way to get your best brands in the industry. Most natural
competitors are not sponsored by the brands they use, and if they are
spending their own money they are not going to waste it. They go for the
brands that are top quality. I have been competing in the INBF since
1998, and have had a lot of help from fellow competitors. It is a close
group of people who want to help each other promote natural shows. Most
of their opinions are truthful and not misguided, and this is where I
heard a few people talk about the company, Beverly International. They
did not advertise in the bigger magazine publications, which started to
make me wonder why such a so-called good supplement company can survive
in this overblown advertising society. The company has been around for
over 25years so they must be doing something right. It has stood the
test of time and much of their advertising is done through word of mouth
of fellow users and the only real publication that tells it like it is,
Planet Muscle. Jeff Everson is one who holds nothing back and
tells it like it is! He does not throw any advertisement in his magazine
for profits; he puts the advertisements in his magazine that he feels
are genuine and stand by their product. After seeing how Jeff Everson
was not only advertising Beverly products, he also took the products as
well. I decided to go onto the Beverly Website, Bodybuildingworld.com
and see what was being said about the product. All of these factors
helped me to say let’s give this stuff a try. After doing my research on
their products, I decided to place my order:
1)Muscle Provider
2)Lean Out
3)Energy Reserve
4)GH Factor
5)Muscle Synergy
6)Ultra 40
7)Mass Aminos
8)Muscularity BCAAS
9)Muscle Mass BCAAS
I
then made up a chart that would prepare me for the upcoming INBF
Hercules Show in June. I started to use the Beverly products in February
and laid my foundation for the upcoming show. I used an excel sheet and
laid out my plans. I have attached the sheet.
|
|
