December 9, 2024 • 15 mins
Yadira "Yaya" Vargas empowers you to find the intentionality behind your movement. She believes the why defines your how—getting the results you want, in and out of the gym. Bringing her innate sense of helpfulness to coaching, she encourages the freedom and power to move in a way that suits your daily mood but grounded intention. Known to be adaptable, Yaya says that fitness should feel good—not be a punishment. Her nonlinear journey into fitness started with a humanitarian career. Traveling to disaster-stricken areas to offer aid, Yaya found herself enjoying helping others, but also the physical requirements of the gig. Returning home and settling into a marketing career, she knew something was missing. At a turning point, Yaya stumbled across a gym in Manhattan, and knew her fate was decided—the visceral impact fitness had hooked her. Learn more about Yaya and the journey that led her to becoming a Bodybuilding.com Master Coach in this latest podcast episode.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Then then, what's up Bodybilly dot com listeners. My name
is Daniel Bits, and welcome back to the bbcom Podcast.
Today we're continuing with our Meet the Coach series where
(00:21):
we introduce our newest roster of coaches debuting in the
Bodybilling dot com app in twenty twenty five. Yadira Yaya
Vargas is a certified personal trainer in bodybuilding dot com
Master coach. Yaya believes that fitness should feel good, not
serve as a punishment. Her nonlinear journey into fitness started
with a humanitarian career, traveling to disaster stricken areas to
(00:43):
offer aid. Yaya found herself helping others while enjoying the
physical requirements of the gig. Returning home during the global pandemic,
she knew something was missing movement. Today, the missing piece
is now her day to day as a functional fitness
coach here in New York City. Yeah Yah, Welcome to
the bbcom Podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Excited to be here, Excited to jump in with you today.
Excited for all of you at home to learn about
another one of our master coaches here at bbcom where
you can work out with them. Come twenty twenty five
on the Bodybilliing dot com app. Stay tuned as we
release that and then coming weeks and months. But today
is all about yah yah, so yaya. Tell us what
(01:24):
brought you to be coming to coach and tell us
the purpose behind the journey that brought you here today.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
It's definitely been a non linear journey.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
I initially went to school for travel tourism hospitality, got
into a lot of humanitarian work after where I was
just traveling abroad doing work that was very physical, rebuilding
homes that were stricken by different natural disasters. And then
upon returning home, COVID happened shortly after, and I think
(01:52):
it changed the lives of many people, including myself. At
that time, fitness and movement was a constant in my life,
and when cold would happen, it was no longer there.
So when life resumed after, I was seeking that and
through that hobby, through having fitness as a constant, is
where that seed was planted. I started working at a
(02:15):
gym because at the time, due to COVID, I had
lost the job. So I knew that I wanted to
be in the space and I figured that just getting
my foot through the door by starting at the bottom
of the ladder. Working as a receptionist was a great
way to start, and being in that environment was where
that seed was planted of becoming a coach.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Travel tourism. Break that open a little bit. What what
sparked that interest initially?
Speaker 3 (02:38):
So travel tourism is a hobby of mine, So I
do it for leisure.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
I do it for pleasure.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
And because fitness wasn't necessarily in the scene as a
career at that time, just of lack of not knowing
other options, I figured that that would be kind of
like my safety net. But there wasn't real joyment there
in terms of like having an impact or waking up
and you know, looking forward to the day. I think
(03:05):
that's where fitness came along and really changed the game
for me.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Do you have a favorite location that you've visited?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Puerto Rico?
Speaker 3 (03:13):
Puerto Rico reminds me of home, which is Dominican Republic,
And you know, I've been visiting there almost every other
summer and it's just it reminds me of back home.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Amazing, amazing. So tell us a little bit about your
coaching style. Yeah, yeah, what you know, what do you
lean on whether you're working with somebody one on one,
or you're instructing one of your fantastic group classes here
in New York. Uh, tell us, tell us a little
bit about your style.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
I want to say it's versatile.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
When I started fitness, it was through a lot of
group fitness classes, and I was doing a lot at
the time, and I feel like after doing it for
a year or so, I started to really learn the
importance of quality of movement and not necessarily always working
at a one hundred percent intensity.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
So as a coach, I take on.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
What I learned the hard way over time, and I
try to instill those same principles into my clients or
the members who take my class, and I just try to,
you know, make them keep in mind that fitness is challenging,
and it's going to be difficult, and it's going to
be peaks and values.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
But you also want to enjoy your journey. You still
want to keep it fun.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
You still want to do things that's going to get
you in the gym and help you stay there and
remain consistent throughout the whole time.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Yeah, I think you know. And I'll speak to this firsthand.
And walking into the gym where yah yah instructs her classes.
I mean a master motivator is the best way that
I can describe her and really seeing her in action
and so excited for you all to get to get
to experience as well. You know, yeah, yeah, how do
you want people to feel? You touched on this a
second ago, But how do you really want people to
(04:51):
feel when finishing a workout with you?
Speaker 3 (04:53):
I want people to feel empowered. I want people to
feel capable. I want people to feel strong. That looks
different for everyone, and that feels different for everyone. But
most importantly, I want people to finish their workout and
have a reason to return, have a reason to come
back and do it again and again and again while
enjoying themselves and while feeling proud of themselves.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
And we want the people addicted to fitness.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
We want the people addicted to fitness.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Why is strength at the core of your teaching principles? Now,
this is going to be a repetitive note here for
all of our coaches, because strength is at the core
of not only their teaching principles, but our teaching principles
here at bbcmmon There's a reason for that. But what's
that reason for you?
Speaker 3 (05:34):
I think strength for someone who learned strength training later on,
I think that's when everything changed for me. Before that
was a lot of cardios, a lot of hit workouts,
and there's definitely a place for that, and there's definitely benefits.
But it wasn't until I started strength training that I
actually started seeing progress in my journey, not only fitness wise,
(05:55):
but I started seeing how doing hard things in the
gym lifting made me feel, and how that applied to
everything I was doing outside of the gym. It just
made me feel so much more empowered to tackle all
my days and to tackle everything else that I had
set for myself. So strength training, especially if you've never
done it before, it just feels like the coolest thing ever.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
It's empowering. Yeah, it's empowering. I think. You know, listen,
cardio and hit and you know it's all important stuff.
The heart is and muscle, we've got incorporate that. But
strength really is the foundation of a healthier and longer life.
And you know, you know my background I've shared on
this podcast before. You know, I started lifting at at well,
I attempted to start lifting in high school, but I
(06:38):
really started to understand the foundations when I got into
the college weight room, and I got into that weight room,
I couldn't lift the forty five pound bar. I mean
that I couldn't rep that out right. And to just
see that evolution, not only for how much stronger I've
gotten since that time, but just how much better I
feel on a daily basis, how much less pain I
(06:59):
have then as an eighteen year old versus now today.
I just think that the moment that strength is having,
we applaud it, we welcome it, and we hope it continues.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Yeah, one hundred percent agree. I have a similar story.
Before I started strain training or realize that I was
strength training, I also dealt with like back pain and pains.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Here, injuries there. And through strength training was when I
started to become a.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Lot more strong, and that wasn't having those aches and
aches that I was constantly seeing throughout my day.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Absolutely, you know, I think we need to start moving
away from the narrative. If something hurts, the immediate recommendation
is will stop moving. No, we've got to get blood flow,
We've got a strength in the area around it. If
there's pain, we've got to look at the joints above
and below it to understand what the root causes. So
I think I think we're starting to catch on to it.
I think the movement has started and hopefully it just
(07:51):
goes up from here. What's your favorite movement and why.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
I'd love a good sled push or sled anything variation
pull or a push. The sled is such a versatile.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Tool in the gym.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
You can attach a TRX there, you can maybe just
push or pull without it. You can stack it up,
you can use it as a strength tool, you can
use it as.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
A cardio tool.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
So I think it's just you get into the sled
and no matter how much weight there's on there, it's
very empowering to see how much you can really push.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
I love that it's very functional too, you know, it's
it's something that requires you know, full body output, head
to tell. Yeah, what's your advice for somebody just getting started?
Speaker 3 (08:35):
My advice for someone who's just getting started, hm, I
would probably go with the answer that probably is expected
least is ask for help. I feel like when I
just got it got started with fitness, I thought I
had to figure it out all by myself. I had
thought I had to figure out what's the best program
program for myself? Kind of go with these insane diet
(08:59):
diets that I will google and just you know, figure
it out along the way.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
And I think if I had.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Reached out to people who had probably some kind of experience,
whether a trainer or somebody who's been just you know,
in the fitness world working out on their own in
the beginning, it would have saved me a lot of time,
or saved me maybe some injuries, or just taken a
lot of doubts out of the equation, and it would
have made the process a little bit more easier, a
little bit more functional, a little bit more effective.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
So asking for help, I love that.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Ask a friend, ask a family member, ask someone that
you know who's in the industry.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Yeah, find a mentor, right, I don't think that's sad
enough for life inside the gym. Find a mentor and
have them coach you up.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Now that you've got your own reps under your belt,
what's your advice for somebody a bit more advanced who
maybe is hitting a plateau right now? You know, this
is somebody who they're always tired, they don't have the energy,
they can't get that, you know, increase in the pr
that they're looking for. What are a couple piece of
advice that you have for them?
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Anytime it's the conversation soround the topic of plateauing. I
always like to look outside of the gym, and I
like to look into how your nutrition is, how your
recovery is, how your sleep is, how your stress levels are.
For someone who had plateau for quite some time, I
know for me personally, the intensity was.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Always there, but the quality was very low.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
So for anyone who's in that position, I would look into, Okay,
what are those things looking out outside of the gym.
Are you getting enough recovery enough to come into the
gym and give you one hundred percent? Are you getting
enough sleep? How's your nutrition? You know a lot of
people we want to come into the gym, we want
to lift weights, we want to give it our all,
but we're not being fueled properly. So I will look
into those things that are sometimes often overlooked when we
(10:42):
think about plateauing.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Agree, it goes back to the core four pillars of
fitness that we look at here and really has to
do with of course you're moving and your nutrition, but
then your sleep and your stress. Right, those two have
certainly gained a tremendous exposure over the last let's say,
four or five years. But they are also also the
(11:04):
last places we tend to look when we can't figure
out an issue in the gym. So I couldn't agree more. Yeah,
tell us about your favorite Signature product and why it's
a part of your daily stack and again, signature for
us at BEBCLM, it's our house brand. You know, this
is our very own brand and it's getting it's getting
quite quite the face lest as we come into twenty
(11:24):
twenty five. So what's your favorite part of Signature.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
I love the way protein For me, I'm such a
huge milkshake girl for so to me, having a supplement
that is still nutritionally rich that's going to help me
reach my protein goal at the end of the day
while not making it boring. I love the Vandola cream
so it still gives me that milkshake feeling.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Sometimes I have it polst workout, sometimes.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
I have it at dessert, and I think having those
options that makes it enjoyable.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Just works for me.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Dessert protein creamies are all the rage right now. Yeah,
how do you feel all your day? Give us an
inside look into your nutrition plan.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Oh man, I love spending time in the kitchen. I
will sometimes prioritize spending time in the kitchen if I
am really on crunch time, then spending time in the gym.
I think nutrition is super important. It goes hand in
hand with fitness. So I'm a huge meal prepper. I
buy all my groceries, I cook home. I make it
an absolute priority to have my breakfast, to have my lunch,
(12:26):
to have my dinner, to have my snacks. So yeah,
I come from a Spanish household, so you can already
have an idea of how I throw it down in
the kitchen.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
But yeah, meal prep.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
I love that you mentioned you love to cook for
the house too. What's your favorite dish to cook for
the fam?
Speaker 3 (12:43):
So Dominican dishes for sure. I grew up in the
Dominican Republic, so a lot of the plates are just
inspired from what I grew up eating as a child
during my childhood. So beef stew, a lot of white rice,
avocado salads, beans and all that such.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
All right, we're gonna need to break for a quick snack,
and yeah, you guys can throw it down out back.
Last question here before we go into a rapid fire
Q and A. What do you do for recovery? What
do I do for recovery?
Speaker 2 (13:11):
I sleep.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
That's the number one recovery tool. Everybody reminder.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
I take a nap almost every day at least an hour,
just because I have you know, early mornings, late nights.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
So sleeping definitely a recovery.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
If I'm in the gym, if I'm feeling sore, definitely
spend some time foam rolling ten to fifteen minutes on there.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
I'll do the sauna if it's really like an emergency.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
But other than that, making sure I get proper sleep,
proper nutrition, eating all of that stuff, making sure all
those boxes are checked.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Awesome. All right, You ready for your rapid fire Q
and A for it? Number one? Upper body or lower body?
Lower body push or pull, push, deadlift, squat, squat biceps
or triceps biceps. Yes, morning or night workout mornings for sure.
Favorite book, Tuesdays with Maury, Favorite food, Spanish foods, a minnigan.
(14:09):
Favorite music.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Depends on the day of the mood, the hour.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
You gotta hit us with something.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Let's go with Sidsagh.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
One word to describe you go get her. One word
to describe your workouts.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Athletic. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Yeah, that wraps it up for today, one of many,
I have no doubt. Thank you so much for stopping by.
Thanks for introducing yourself to our audience. Everybody, stay in
the lookout to work out with coach ya ya in
twenty twenty five here on the bodybillion dot com app.
Thanks for joining us today, Yaia for having me. Stay
tuned as we continue to introduce you to our roster
(14:48):
of coaches who you can work out with. In twenty
twenty five here on bodybuilling dot Com.
Then then, what's up Bodybilly dot com listeners. My name
is Daniel Bits, and welcome back to the bbcom Podcast.
Today we're continuing with our Meet the Coach series where
(00:21):
we introduce our newest roster of coaches debuting in the
Bodybilling dot com app in twenty twenty five. Yadira Yaya
Vargas is a certified personal trainer in bodybuilding dot com
Master coach. Yaya believes that fitness should feel good, not
serve as a punishment. Her nonlinear journey into fitness started
with a humanitarian career, traveling to disaster stricken areas to
(00:43):
offer aid. Yaya found herself helping others while enjoying the
physical requirements of the gig. Returning home during the global pandemic,
she knew something was missing movement. Today, the missing piece
is now her day to day as a functional fitness
coach here in New York City. Yeah Yah, Welcome to
the bbcom Podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Excited to be here, Excited to jump in with you today.
Excited for all of you at home to learn about
another one of our master coaches here at bbcom where
you can work out with them. Come twenty twenty five
on the Bodybilliing dot com app. Stay tuned as we
release that and then coming weeks and months. But today
is all about yah yah, so yaya. Tell us what
(01:24):
brought you to be coming to coach and tell us
the purpose behind the journey that brought you here today.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
It's definitely been a non linear journey.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
I initially went to school for travel tourism hospitality, got
into a lot of humanitarian work after where I was
just traveling abroad doing work that was very physical, rebuilding
homes that were stricken by different natural disasters. And then
upon returning home, COVID happened shortly after, and I think
(01:52):
it changed the lives of many people, including myself. At
that time, fitness and movement was a constant in my life,
and when cold would happen, it was no longer there.
So when life resumed after, I was seeking that and
through that hobby, through having fitness as a constant, is
where that seed was planted. I started working at a
(02:15):
gym because at the time, due to COVID, I had
lost the job. So I knew that I wanted to
be in the space and I figured that just getting
my foot through the door by starting at the bottom
of the ladder. Working as a receptionist was a great
way to start, and being in that environment was where
that seed was planted of becoming a coach.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Travel tourism. Break that open a little bit. What what
sparked that interest initially?
Speaker 3 (02:38):
So travel tourism is a hobby of mine, So I
do it for leisure.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
I do it for pleasure.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
And because fitness wasn't necessarily in the scene as a
career at that time, just of lack of not knowing
other options, I figured that that would be kind of
like my safety net. But there wasn't real joyment there
in terms of like having an impact or waking up
and you know, looking forward to the day. I think
(03:05):
that's where fitness came along and really changed the game
for me.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Do you have a favorite location that you've visited?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Puerto Rico?
Speaker 3 (03:13):
Puerto Rico reminds me of home, which is Dominican Republic,
And you know, I've been visiting there almost every other
summer and it's just it reminds me of back home.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Amazing, amazing. So tell us a little bit about your
coaching style. Yeah, yeah, what you know, what do you
lean on whether you're working with somebody one on one,
or you're instructing one of your fantastic group classes here
in New York. Uh, tell us, tell us a little
bit about your style.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
I want to say it's versatile.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
When I started fitness, it was through a lot of
group fitness classes, and I was doing a lot at
the time, and I feel like after doing it for
a year or so, I started to really learn the
importance of quality of movement and not necessarily always working
at a one hundred percent intensity.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
So as a coach, I take on.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
What I learned the hard way over time, and I
try to instill those same principles into my clients or
the members who take my class, and I just try to,
you know, make them keep in mind that fitness is challenging,
and it's going to be difficult, and it's going to
be peaks and values.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
But you also want to enjoy your journey. You still
want to keep it fun.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
You still want to do things that's going to get
you in the gym and help you stay there and
remain consistent throughout the whole time.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Yeah, I think you know. And I'll speak to this firsthand.
And walking into the gym where yah yah instructs her classes.
I mean a master motivator is the best way that
I can describe her and really seeing her in action
and so excited for you all to get to get
to experience as well. You know, yeah, yeah, how do
you want people to feel? You touched on this a
second ago, But how do you really want people to
(04:51):
feel when finishing a workout with you?
Speaker 3 (04:53):
I want people to feel empowered. I want people to
feel capable. I want people to feel strong. That looks
different for everyone, and that feels different for everyone. But
most importantly, I want people to finish their workout and
have a reason to return, have a reason to come
back and do it again and again and again while
enjoying themselves and while feeling proud of themselves.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
And we want the people addicted to fitness.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
We want the people addicted to fitness.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Why is strength at the core of your teaching principles? Now,
this is going to be a repetitive note here for
all of our coaches, because strength is at the core
of not only their teaching principles, but our teaching principles
here at bbcmmon There's a reason for that. But what's
that reason for you?
Speaker 3 (05:34):
I think strength for someone who learned strength training later on,
I think that's when everything changed for me. Before that
was a lot of cardios, a lot of hit workouts,
and there's definitely a place for that, and there's definitely benefits.
But it wasn't until I started strength training that I
actually started seeing progress in my journey, not only fitness wise,
(05:55):
but I started seeing how doing hard things in the
gym lifting made me feel, and how that applied to
everything I was doing outside of the gym. It just
made me feel so much more empowered to tackle all
my days and to tackle everything else that I had
set for myself. So strength training, especially if you've never
done it before, it just feels like the coolest thing ever.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
It's empowering. Yeah, it's empowering. I think. You know, listen,
cardio and hit and you know it's all important stuff.
The heart is and muscle, we've got incorporate that. But
strength really is the foundation of a healthier and longer life.
And you know, you know my background I've shared on
this podcast before. You know, I started lifting at at well,
I attempted to start lifting in high school, but I
(06:38):
really started to understand the foundations when I got into
the college weight room, and I got into that weight room,
I couldn't lift the forty five pound bar. I mean
that I couldn't rep that out right. And to just
see that evolution, not only for how much stronger I've
gotten since that time, but just how much better I
feel on a daily basis, how much less pain I
(06:59):
have then as an eighteen year old versus now today.
I just think that the moment that strength is having,
we applaud it, we welcome it, and we hope it continues.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Yeah, one hundred percent agree. I have a similar story.
Before I started strain training or realize that I was
strength training, I also dealt with like back pain and pains.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Here, injuries there. And through strength training was when I
started to become a.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Lot more strong, and that wasn't having those aches and
aches that I was constantly seeing throughout my day.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Absolutely, you know, I think we need to start moving
away from the narrative. If something hurts, the immediate recommendation
is will stop moving. No, we've got to get blood flow,
We've got a strength in the area around it. If
there's pain, we've got to look at the joints above
and below it to understand what the root causes. So
I think I think we're starting to catch on to it.
I think the movement has started and hopefully it just
(07:51):
goes up from here. What's your favorite movement and why.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
I'd love a good sled push or sled anything variation
pull or a push. The sled is such a versatile.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Tool in the gym.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
You can attach a TRX there, you can maybe just
push or pull without it. You can stack it up,
you can use it as a strength tool, you can
use it as.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
A cardio tool.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
So I think it's just you get into the sled
and no matter how much weight there's on there, it's
very empowering to see how much you can really push.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
I love that it's very functional too, you know, it's
it's something that requires you know, full body output, head
to tell. Yeah, what's your advice for somebody just getting started?
Speaker 3 (08:35):
My advice for someone who's just getting started, hm, I
would probably go with the answer that probably is expected
least is ask for help. I feel like when I
just got it got started with fitness, I thought I
had to figure it out all by myself. I had
thought I had to figure out what's the best program
program for myself? Kind of go with these insane diet
(08:59):
diets that I will google and just you know, figure
it out along the way.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
And I think if I had.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Reached out to people who had probably some kind of experience,
whether a trainer or somebody who's been just you know,
in the fitness world working out on their own in
the beginning, it would have saved me a lot of time,
or saved me maybe some injuries, or just taken a
lot of doubts out of the equation, and it would
have made the process a little bit more easier, a
little bit more functional, a little bit more effective.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
So asking for help, I love that.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Ask a friend, ask a family member, ask someone that
you know who's in the industry.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Yeah, find a mentor, right, I don't think that's sad
enough for life inside the gym. Find a mentor and
have them coach you up.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Now that you've got your own reps under your belt,
what's your advice for somebody a bit more advanced who
maybe is hitting a plateau right now? You know, this
is somebody who they're always tired, they don't have the energy,
they can't get that, you know, increase in the pr
that they're looking for. What are a couple piece of
advice that you have for them?
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Anytime it's the conversation soround the topic of plateauing. I
always like to look outside of the gym, and I
like to look into how your nutrition is, how your
recovery is, how your sleep is, how your stress levels are.
For someone who had plateau for quite some time, I
know for me personally, the intensity was.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Always there, but the quality was very low.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
So for anyone who's in that position, I would look into, Okay,
what are those things looking out outside of the gym.
Are you getting enough recovery enough to come into the
gym and give you one hundred percent? Are you getting
enough sleep? How's your nutrition? You know a lot of
people we want to come into the gym, we want
to lift weights, we want to give it our all,
but we're not being fueled properly. So I will look
into those things that are sometimes often overlooked when we
(10:42):
think about plateauing.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Agree, it goes back to the core four pillars of
fitness that we look at here and really has to
do with of course you're moving and your nutrition, but
then your sleep and your stress. Right, those two have
certainly gained a tremendous exposure over the last let's say,
four or five years. But they are also also the
(11:04):
last places we tend to look when we can't figure
out an issue in the gym. So I couldn't agree more. Yeah,
tell us about your favorite Signature product and why it's
a part of your daily stack and again, signature for
us at BEBCLM, it's our house brand. You know, this
is our very own brand and it's getting it's getting
quite quite the face lest as we come into twenty
(11:24):
twenty five. So what's your favorite part of Signature.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
I love the way protein For me, I'm such a
huge milkshake girl for so to me, having a supplement
that is still nutritionally rich that's going to help me
reach my protein goal at the end of the day
while not making it boring. I love the Vandola cream
so it still gives me that milkshake feeling.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Sometimes I have it polst workout, sometimes.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
I have it at dessert, and I think having those
options that makes it enjoyable.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Just works for me.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Dessert protein creamies are all the rage right now. Yeah,
how do you feel all your day? Give us an
inside look into your nutrition plan.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Oh man, I love spending time in the kitchen. I
will sometimes prioritize spending time in the kitchen if I
am really on crunch time, then spending time in the gym.
I think nutrition is super important. It goes hand in
hand with fitness. So I'm a huge meal prepper. I
buy all my groceries, I cook home. I make it
an absolute priority to have my breakfast, to have my lunch,
(12:26):
to have my dinner, to have my snacks. So yeah,
I come from a Spanish household, so you can already
have an idea of how I throw it down in
the kitchen.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
But yeah, meal prep.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
I love that you mentioned you love to cook for
the house too. What's your favorite dish to cook for
the fam?
Speaker 3 (12:43):
So Dominican dishes for sure. I grew up in the
Dominican Republic, so a lot of the plates are just
inspired from what I grew up eating as a child
during my childhood. So beef stew, a lot of white rice,
avocado salads, beans and all that such.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
All right, we're gonna need to break for a quick snack,
and yeah, you guys can throw it down out back.
Last question here before we go into a rapid fire
Q and A. What do you do for recovery? What
do I do for recovery?
Speaker 2 (13:11):
I sleep.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
That's the number one recovery tool. Everybody reminder.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
I take a nap almost every day at least an hour,
just because I have you know, early mornings, late nights.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
So sleeping definitely a recovery.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
If I'm in the gym, if I'm feeling sore, definitely
spend some time foam rolling ten to fifteen minutes on there.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
I'll do the sauna if it's really like an emergency.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
But other than that, making sure I get proper sleep,
proper nutrition, eating all of that stuff, making sure all
those boxes are checked.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Awesome. All right, You ready for your rapid fire Q
and A for it? Number one? Upper body or lower body?
Lower body push or pull, push, deadlift, squat, squat biceps
or triceps biceps. Yes, morning or night workout mornings for sure.
Favorite book, Tuesdays with Maury, Favorite food, Spanish foods, a minnigan.
(14:09):
Favorite music.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Depends on the day of the mood, the hour.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
You gotta hit us with something.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Let's go with Sidsagh.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
One word to describe you go get her. One word
to describe your workouts.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Athletic. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Yeah, that wraps it up for today, one of many,
I have no doubt. Thank you so much for stopping by.
Thanks for introducing yourself to our audience. Everybody, stay in
the lookout to work out with coach ya ya in
twenty twenty five here on the bodybillion dot com app.
Thanks for joining us today, Yaia for having me. Stay
tuned as we continue to introduce you to our roster
(14:48):
of coaches who you can work out with. In twenty
twenty five here on bodybuilling dot Com.
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