Sharing a TenSpot with...Amy Yastremski

Amy Yastremski is a figure competitor who's quickly making strides in figure, aiming for her pro card. She just competed last year, making her debut at the NPC Mid-Atlantic Classic in Charlotte, North Carolina.  She would end up winning her class and the overall title, as well as Best Presentation. If 2010 is any indication, expect big things from her going into 2011 and beyond.

Photo provided by Amy herself

FitGems Nation: Let’s kick this off by telling us a bit about yourself.
Amy Yastremski: I am a 30yr old ER nurse with a 3yr daughter, and have been married to my husband Jeff since Oct 2007.

FitGems: When did you first start competing?
Amy: I started training for my first competition, the NPC Mid-Atlantic Classic in the summer of 2010

FitGems: What is your strategy when you head to the gym? Is it mostly weight-training, mostly cardio, a balanced mixture of the two, or something else?
Amy: I do all weight training. I hate cardio!! Any cardio that I do is at home on the treadmill

FitGems: Due to your muscularity, has anyone mistaken you for being in something OTHER than physique competitions (MMA fighter, boxer, pro wrestler, track and field runner, etc?)
Amy: No, I have not had anyone think that. Usually people just say “you must workout”, and that is when I explain to them about competing in the figure class.


FitGems: With women’s physique and bikini now part of the NPC and IFBB, do you feel that there’s now a division for every female who wants to compete?
Amy: Definitely. I think that the new physique and bikini divisions allow for a greater variety of female athletes to compete.

FitGems: Along those same lines, where do you personally see the direction of figure in the long haul? Do you think it will remain in a “soft” state where there are those that say that it’s dangerously close to drawing a line between figure and bikini, or do you see it going back to a somewhat harder look, like when Davana Medina was queen of figure during its birth?
Amy: The shows that I have been a part of have leaned towards a harder look, but I would like it to remain “soft”. I would rather the physique and figure classes look similar, than the bikini and figure classes.

FitGems: If you weren’t a part of the female physique world, what would you be doing right now as your profession?
Amy: I do work as a nurse in the ER full time. Competing is only a hobby at this point. I like the idea of having competitions be for “fun” right now.

FitGems: What (if anything) would you change about any of the IFBB female divisions?
Amy: I again have only just started competing, but I would like to see the figure division be on the softer side, physique be in the middle, and bodybuilding division obviously have the hard look. I wonder were to draw the line between figure and bodybuilding.

FitGems: Which competitor (past or present) you look up to the most for your inspiration?
Amy: My trainer Kisha Wilson, and Quincy Roberts have been instrumental in getting me to were I am today.

FitGems: What are your future plans heading into 2011 and beyond, and where do you see your career after you’re done competing?
Amy: I am looking forward to competing in my first national show in the summer of 2011, and would like to obviously earn my pro card. I would love to be able to do some fitness modeling, and one day make the cover of Oxygen Magazine, or any of the other fitness magazines. I just want to enjoy myself.

For more on Amy, visit her website at www.amyyaz.com, And search for "Amy Yastremski Figure Competitior fan page" on Facebook. We wish you best of luck in future competitions, Amy!!