Daily Inspiration: Meet Jessica Young

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Young.

Hi Jessica, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
When I tore my ACL right before my last soccer season to play college soccer, I felt lost. I had ALWAYS been an athlete, always been a competitor, so without the games and the competition, I didn’t know what to do.

I ate, slept, and breathed sports and I thrived on competing. I would go to school, then be in some sort of sport until 5-6 at night, come home, do homework, eat dinner, go to bed, and repeat.

The weekends were filled with my soccer games. My WHOLE LIFE I had a soccer game pretty much every weekend. Since I couldn’t play soccer… I eventually started going to the gym with a mission to get strong and have muscle because I didn’t like feeling skinny. I wanted a big butt dangit!

During this time, I was struggling really badly with my body image as well as my nutrition because I was trying to build muscle but I didn’t know how much to eat to look the way I wanted to. In my senior year of high school, I was hired at the same gym that I already worked out in, so my love of lifting grew even more!

Working out in the gym was a way for me to continue being active and it helped fill a void I had without soccer. After some time in the gym, I was eventually introduced to CrossFit, and I was hooked… there was so much to learn, so many skills to improve on, new challenges, etc. and I loved it! However, I still had the same goal as before: I wanted to be strong.

My exposure to CrossFit allowed me to learn more about Olympic Lifting. After a couple of years of CrossFit, I decided to focus solely on Olympic Lifting and began to train for my first competition. I competed in 4 Olympic lifting meets, and one of them was U25 Nationals in April 2018. It was such a privilege and amazing experience to compete on a national stage!

Unfortunately, not even six months after Nationals I was injured, again. Except for this time, there was nothing I could do to fix it. I couldn’t have surgery, or use a brace and wait for my body to do its thing. I was told I had injured a nerve in my back. It left me unable to even put my arm over my head for a while, let alone split jerk 100kg over my head.

So here I was again with no form of competition in my life, and I once again felt lost. It was mentally defeating to not be able to be doing something I loved. After months of trying to make the best of a bad situation, I eventually found myself back in a gym practicing bodybuilding again. I was eventually turned in the direction of bodybuilding shows, and as you can see… I stuck with it.

Today, I have competed in 3 shows in the wellness division… and I am committed to becoming an IFBB Wellness Pro because I have found a passion for this sport. The more I have learned through my own experiences, lifting, nutrition, and competing, the desire to inspire and help others has continued to grow.

I decided years ago that I wanted my own business and I promised myself that I would “make something of myself” so, here I am today

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Oh goodness, it has been anything but smooth. Just like anyone in this world we deal with people not believing in us, so between people telling me I can’t make it in this industry, that because I’m a natural athlete I’ll never make it, that people won’t work/listen to me… all of that happened and still does of course.

In 2021, I faced probably the biggest physical struggles of my life. At the start of 2021 on March 27, I had a freak accident in the gym and degloved my thumb on a piece of equipment and lost part of my finger, had surgery for it to be “fixed” and that greatly affected my first national show.

Following that … 5 months later, I won Ms. TN Wellness at the TN state show which was amazing! However, 3 weeks after that show on Aug. 27, I suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized for 2 weeks. In the hospital, I was diagnosed with POTS, and hypoglycemia, and my gall bladder was removed as well.

2021 was definitely a rough year to be in my first year in entrepreneurship with all of that.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a remote (online) health coach. I do not call myself a personal trainer and I do not call myself a nutritionist, although I am certified in both areas, I do so much more than that with my business. With the work I do, I am most known for being the coach that’s always there for you, which also sets me apart from others in this industry.

I tell my clients from day 1 that they can always count on me to be there for them no matter what. (I stuck to that when I was in the hospital still answering emails). Unless I am asleep I am always available to my clients and that doesn’t bother me because I want them to trust me and count on me.

I coach my clients to not only reach their physical goals, but I want them to improve their mindset and their way of life too. I take a lot of time to make sure that they are mentally okay throughout this whole process. The fact that I schedule zoom calls, FaceTime calls, and phone calls with my clients to make sure they’re okay is evidence in itself.

I want my clients to count on me to be there for them and I will do what I need to do for them.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Vous Church podcast, elevation church podcast, and WOAH That’s Good with Sadie Robertson have all greatly helped me with my life.

Hearing both Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr and Pastor Steven Furtick’s sermons has kept me grounded in my beliefs and kept me believing in myself.

I tend to read a lot of self-improvement and self-help books. I have read all of Sadie Robertsons’ books, Single & Secure by Rich Wilkerson Jr, Madison Prewitt’s book, and many others that have helped me.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @jessica_young09

Image Credits
CB Visuals – Cross Beckman