Interviews

Interview with Vicky Justiz on her career, motivation tips, and fitness routines

Women's Best Interview Team

Reading time: 7min

Name: Vicky Justiz

Location: Miami, Florida 

Height:  160 cm

Birthday date: 09/02/1995

Age: 24

Can you share more about yourself? When and how did you discover your passion for fitness (and health)?

I’ve been active since I was a child. I danced competitively up until the age of 18, and I also played on the soccer team in school. I’ve always loved moving my body, I was (and still am) SUPER competitive. I even trained in parkour / free running for a while! I get a rush from trying new things and rising to challenges

What is your biggest achievement?

Honestly, I don’t think I have gotten there yet! I have SO many dreams and ideas, so many things I want to still do. I guess I could say it was making the decision to dedicate myself full time on Youtube / Social Media when everyone around me thought that it was CRAZY and looked down on me for it. I stayed strong and refused to listen to other people’s criticisms. This was the one time my insane stubbornness came in handy! Experiencing this taught me that the more energy and effort you put into something, the more you will get out of it. It is better to go after what you 100% believe in than to play it safe.

What is your secret recipe for motivating yourself to work out?

MOTIVATIONAL SPEECHES! There is a playlist on Spotify and some on Youtube with a bunch of motivational speeches, I put on my headphones and hit play and the energy just rushes in. It is insane how moved I could be by just words… this is the reason why one of my dreams is to also be a motivational speaker. And Amino & Energy helps a TON! Lol 😉

What are the best 3 advices you would give to your supporters and the people inspired by you?

  1. Ironically, my advice is to be careful who you take advice from. I have realized that it only makes sense to listen to someone who has what you want or is living a life you want. People are always willing to give an opinion, but you should ask yourself – is this person qualified to tell me what to do? The answer usually is… probably not. Go with your gut and do whatever you want. No one knows you better than YOU!
  2. When it comes to making fitness a lifestyle, the most important thing is that you make it FUN and something you ENJOY! It becomes so much easier to reach your goals when you don’t have to force yourself to do something and your mind is as engaged as your body. So, experiment, try new exercises, new styles of fitness and activities. I promise you’ll find something that is a fit for you!
  3. You will have days where you wake up feeling uninspired, unmotivated, and just BLAH. If you’re like me, you’ll be tempted to beat yourself up for it. DON’T. This is part of being human – we experience a lot of different emotions and it is okay to not feel okay. We all deserve to just take it easy sometimes.

What are your favorite 3 fitness exercises?

  1. Anything explosive, like sprinting, HIIT exercises, etc. I love feeling powerful and strong. I love feeling as if there was a zombie apocalypse I would be able to run and climb up buildings and make it out alive.
  2. FIRE HYDRANTS! I always feel this in my glutes even with no to little resistance. I don’t know why I just love them.
  3. Vacuums. These are amazing exercises for your core strength, lower back, and they keep my waist cinched. Plus, you can do them anywhere, literally anywhere (I have a YT video on what this exercise is if they are interested).

How often do you work out a week? And what is your workout routine/schedule?

Right now, as I am just focused on maintaining my figure, I do weight or resistance workouts around 2x per week and cardio exercises 1-2x per week. Cardio usually consists of HIIT or activities like cycling or dance.

What does your diet look like? Do you commit to a special diet? (e.g. vegetarian, vegan, low carb, low fat)

My diet looks like a little bit of everything. I practice intuitive eating. This took time to learn, but I couldn’t live life restricting myself. Eating intuitively means really KNOWING your body and knowing what it needs and when. This means eating when I feel hungry, stopping when I feel full. This also means knowing the difference between ‘hungry’ and ‘bored’ – you would be shocked at how many people get these two feelings confused.

Do you have cheat days? If yes, what is your most favorite cheat meal?

Nope. No cheat days. I change my diet up to match my lifestyle – not the other way around. If I know I have an event or a party on the weekend, I eat relatively “clean” throughout the week – clean meaning fresh, light, nutrient-dense. I eat with the goal of getting my macros in and fueling my body. On the weekend if I go hang with friends or eat out at a restaurant my main goal is just trying all the yummy food and enjoying myself! This changes week to week though so I adapt as needed. One of my favorite “cheat” meals is corn flakes with condensed milk. I know it is super high in sugar but what I love about it is that it is SOOOO sweet that you don’t need much to feel satisfied. And actually, it is not as high in calories as you would think (the portion I serve myself is about 350 cal).

What supplements do you use? And what is your favorite Women’s Best product?

My number one favorite product ever is the Amino & Energy. I have never been able to drink energy drinks or pre-workout because they make me jittery and give me anxiety. But the amino and energy product makes me feel UNSTOPPABLE honestly and I work out so much harder and better after I take it. I am hooked. I also LOVE the protein bars the raspberry chocolate crunch is so delicious and so convenient to take on the go!

Many people find it hard to eat healthy on a daily basis. How do you make sure to keep a healthy diet in your everyday life?

I try to balance my macros throughout the day. For example, if I have a super high carb/sugar heavy breakfast (let’s be real, nothing is better than some chocolate chip waffles and loads of syrup) then I keep my lunch pretty high-protein and high-fat. I am also picky about my calories. This means that I don’t eat anything that I don’t enjoy. I make every single meal delicious so that I feel fulfilled and happy afterward with no temptation to binge.

Seriously, eat what feels good. Life is too short not to enjoy every single meal. If it doesn’t bring you an absolute joy, don’t waste calories on it! For example – I absolutely loathe broccoli. You will never catch me eating it. BUT I love cucumber, arugula, spinach, and tons of other greens. You don’t have to eat what other people are eating if you don’t like it. Try EVERYTHING!!! You WILL find healthy things that you actually like. Also, drinking lots of water is something I recommend to stay healthy.

What has inspired you towards social media? When/how did you start it? And what is your favorite platform (Instagram / YouTube / Facebook etc…)?

I was originally hired to demonstrate exercises on another Youtube channel in 2013 – before this, I had NO idea you could even earn a living or make an impact on social media. I discovered that I enjoyed sharing what I knew, and I was able to ACTUALLY make a difference in people’s lives just by getting them to be active! I started my own YouTube channel in 2015, but I was super slow to upload or focus on it at first. I was also still focused on getting my college degree. That year, I met my now-fiancee and he was the one who really saw the potential in this and pushed me to pursue it full time. Now we run all my social pages together, as well as running the workout programs business and everything else! My YouTube grew (and still is) growing the fastest while my Instagram account is slowly catching up.

How do you manage to keep up with your fitness routine while travelling a lot?

We are “active travellers”. We like going to places and doing activities like hiking, swimming, walking a lot, etc. We actually have gone on the most beautiful hikes while traveling, in Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Costa Rica, etc. Otherwise, when I am traveling, I just like to enjoy and take in the culture. I don’t hold back when it comes to eating food, especially Italian food. All the walking makes up for it!

What are the top nutrition rules you are always following?

I think our surroundings make the biggest impact on eating healthy. I don’t keep soda or snack food at home. Out of sight, out of mind! The desserts and snacks I do keep here are things I absolutely LOVE. You’ll never see me munching on chips or crackers just because. I would much rather have a proper meal or eat my little “cheat meal”. But I know that if I was surrounded by lots of snack food and empty calories, I would be tempted to eat them, more out of convenience than anything. So just eliminate anything from your fridge/pantry that doesn’t serve you. Also keeping apples or bananas out in a bowl in plain sight will help remind you to eat fruits regularly, rather than storing them in a pantry where you forget about them until they go bad.

What are your future goals?

Right now, my main focus is to just stay consistent in my current platforms and keep making the content people need. I am still open to many opportunities since we never know what will come!

One of my biggest dreams is to become a motivational speaker. I personally owe a lot of my successes to figures like Tony Robbins, Eric Thomas, etc. And it isn’t just about saying “you can do this, you can do anything, bla bla” it is also about sharing actual strategies that can be applicable to real-life situations.

I am not passionate about fitness. I am passionate about helping other people become the best versions of themselves. And being fit/healthy plays a huge role in this! But what I am really fascinated by is business, self-development, mental health, and creative pursuits. I come across people every day where I stop and think, “Wow, this person has so much unleashed potential” and I feel this urge to just bring it out in them! It isn’t about me changing someone’s life – it is about lighting the spark they need to change it themselves. THAT is my dream!


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