Don Garfield Youngblood was an American professional bodybuilder and businessman. He is best known for winning the 2002 Masters Olympia competition. This article explores his complete profile, biography, competition history and other details.
Don Garfield Youngblood (Bodybuilder)
Born – April 7, 1954
Died – May 8, 2005 (51 years)
Birthplace – Bakersfield, California, USA
Residence – Alma, Arkansas, USA
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Nickname – The Beast
Height – 5’9” (176 cm)
Competition weight – 245 pounds (111 kg)
Off-season weight – 295 pounds (134 kg)
Nationality – American
Don Garfield Youngblood Biography
Early Life
Don Garfield Youngblood was born on April 7, 1954, in Bakersfield, California to Carl and Martha Youngblood. Don was the youngest of nine children in the family and had four sisters and four brothers. He spent his childhood in Bakersfield where he attended the Foothill High School.
Youngblood was interested in sports and was a fitness-oriented person. He played football and baseball in high school and trained for fitness and overall health in his garage. However, he did not take up professional bodybuilding until he was into his mid-30s.
After finishing high school, Garfield started driving a truck for Southern Pacific Railroad and eventually built a trucking business called SDS Transportation Services in Alma, Arkansas which boasted over 100 trucks and trailers and transported frozen foods around the USA.
“I was able to convince the bank to loan me $6,000, and bought an old Peterbilt truck, where I worked on it at night, and drove it all day. I feel it is like one of those Cinderella stories, I guess. Once I paid off the loan, I bought a new truck, then had an opportunity in Arkansas,” Garfield said about the beginning of his business in an interview with Ron Avidan.
While no other member of the Garfield family was a professional bodybuilder, Don was always fascinated by it and was inspired by bodybuilders, particularly Vince Taylor in his formative years. While running the successful trucking business in Arkansas, Youngblood started training in the Gold Gym in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Looking at his progress, a friend of Youngblood suggested that he could be a good competitive bodybuilder if he took bodybuilding lifestyle seriously.
“When I looked at myself in the mirror, and saw people in the magazines, I knew I was as good as other bodybuilders, and then I thought, maybe it is just me, I am looking at it from a biased view. So I went to a couple of bodybuilding shows, and thought, ‘Hey, I am just as big as they are in real life’, so then I decided to compete to verify that.”
Bodybuilding Career
To test himself against legitimate bodybuilders and see where he stood in the bodybuilding journey, Don Garfield Youngblood decided to compete on a professional bodybuilding stage two years after he started following a bodybuilding lifestyle. The 1994 NPC Arkansas State Masters was his first bodybuilding competition and the 40-year-old Garfield scored a resounding victory.
Youngblood felt that he could have won the competition in the Men’s Open division as well and set his eyes on building his physique to compete there. At the 1995 NPC Arkansas State Championships, Youngblood won in the heavyweight division and entered the NPC Nationals Masters the same year. He became the heavyweight and overall winner.
While he intended to compete in the Master’s Olympia, NPC National Masters did not earn the IFBB Pro Card at the time. Youngblood decided to focus his energies on the trucking business and did not compete in bodybuilding over the next three years.
The rules were eventually changed and Youngblood was upgraded to the IFBB Pro status in 1998. But the time away from competition had taken its toll and Youngblood needed to spend time to get back in competitive shape. He made the stage comeback at the 2001 Master’s Olympia and to Youngblood’s pleasant surprise, he was competing against his idol and influence Vince Taylor on stage.
“I was first working out in my garage, and I had taken a picture of Vince Taylor out of a magazine for inspiration. I never would have dreamed that I would compete against the guy,” Youngblood said many years later.”
While he lost to Taylor in 2001, Youngblood received a first callout at the show and had the opportunity to pose alongside Taylor on stage. Youngblood was admittedly weak in the posing department and although he had a phenomenal physique, Taylor was able to beat him by two points at the show.
Don Garfield Youngblood did not have to wait long to avenge the loss and emerged victorious at the 2002 Master’s Olympia contest. Same year, Youngblood also realized his dream of competing on the Mr. Olympia stage, finishing 25th at the show.
Death and Legacy
Don Garfield Youngblood passed away on May 8, 2005 due to a massive heart attack. While he left the world too early, Youngblood created a meaningful legacy in the world of bodybuilding. Despite being a successful businessman who started training relatively late in life, Youngblood realized his dream of winning the Masters Olympia competition and also showed his talent on the Mr. Olympia stage that same year.
Don Garfield Youngblood is often described as a humble, soft spoken and respectful person. He did not like stereotypical bodybuilders who looked down upon people and stayed away from those with bad attitudes.
Competition History
1994 NPC Arkansas State Masters – 1st place and overall winner
1995 NPC Arkansas State Overall – 1st and overall winner
1995 NPC Masters Nationals, Heavyweight – 1st and overall winner (Earned IFBB Pro Card for this win after rules changed in 1998)
2001 IFBB Masters Olympia – 2nd place
2002 IFBB Masters Olympia – 1st place and overall winner
2002 IFBB Mr. Olympia – 25th place
Don Garfield Youngblood Workout
A detailed account of Don Garfield Youngblood’s training routine and workout split is not available. However, Youngblood was known to be an intense worker. He performed high-volume workouts and utilized intensity-building methods like supersets and drop sets. Youngblood trained under famed coach Chad Nicholls who took care of his training as well as dietary routine.
Typically, he started his competition prep 13 weeks out. But if he felt to be in a better place, the veteran bodybuilder did not mind kicking it off 10 weeks out. His training routines in this phase were heavy, intense and focused on adding the final finishing touches to his physique.
Youngblood did not subscribe to any extreme routine or training philosophy and utilized machines, free weights, compound as well as isolation movements to get the most out of his training routines. However, training heavy with free weights was his favorite method.
Youngblood included Cardio in his training routine to burn fat and improve overall health. While he preferred to do two cardio sessions (morning – 45 mins and evening – 30 minutes), he adhered to doing 15 minutes of cardio daily during competition prep.
Don Garfield Youngblood Diet
Don Garfield Youngblood refused to divulge the details of his diet when inquired about it. However, coach Chad Nicholls planned out his meal plans and Youngblood followed them with discipline to get the best results.
Apart from a balanced whole-food diet, the veteran bodybuilder utilized supplements to meet the nutritional requirement. According to Youngblood himself, he used effervescent creatine, vitamins and mineral supplements.
While PED use has become one of the most controversial topic in sports, particularly in bodybuilding, Youngblood simply thought of it as a ‘part of the sport’ without holding any strong opinion. However, he never commented on steroid use himself – be it to accept or deny using them.
Personal Life
Don Garfield Youngblood met his wife Sue in high school. The couple were in a relationship for several years before getting married. They had three children – Shannon, Don Jr. and Julie as well as several grandchildren. Garfield had one more child, a daughter named Christy, who passed away at 11 years of age due to aneurysm.
“It was quite sudden. She got a severe headache, lost consciousness, and never regained. That was, by far, the lowest point in my life.”
Youngblood felt that training and workout helped him cope with the loss and helped him mentally.
To Conclude…
Bodybuilding is usually perceived to be a profession where the competitors are required to make tremendous sacrifices. However, individuals like Don Garfield Youngblood challenge this notion in a big way and their success is a testimony to this fact. Although Youngblood did not become an elite professional bodybuilder who could dominate top-notch competitions like Mr. Olympia, the degree of his success was commendable beyond doubt.
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