Interview with Vicky Justiz: Fitness Content Creator & Sponsored Athlete

We recently sat down with YouTube sensation and Women’s Best athlete, Vicky Justiz for an exclusive interview.

Vicky shared with us some of her insights and experience in the health and fitness industry, how women can get in involved in training, how to build self-confidence and practical advice on adjusting your routine to get in shape and staying motivated during these uncertain times.

Without further ado… let’s get into it!

Hi Vicky, great to speak with you today.

To start off, for anyone who may not be familiar with you, could you give our readers a brief introduction?

Hello, Iʼm Vicky and Iʼve been a fitness and wellness content creator since 2015.

I started uploading my home workout videos on YouTube and my channel has just grown exponentially in the last 5 years (1.6 million subscribers and counting!) I never expected it to become my whole career and my life.

I have quite a different approach to fitness. My priority in life is to enjoy it and to have fun!

Being in shape and being active just helps to make it more fun, but I donʼt revolve my whole life around fitness and workouts, and I would never expect my subscribers to either.

How did you develop a passion for fitness? Did it come from a young age or was it something you cultivated later in life?

I wouldnʼt say that I have a passion for fitness, but I do have a passion for movement. Iʼve been active for as long as I can remember.

I used to play basketball and do Karate as a kid growing up.

As I grew a little older and went to middle school, I started dance which became my whole life. I also played soccer too so I was super active every day.

When I got to college, I stepped into a gym for the first time and started doing any kind of workout.

If I’m being completely honest, Iʼm NOT super passionate about the actual process of working out.

Itʼs not my ‘therapy’ like it is for some other people, but I LOVE how accomplished I feel after a workout.

I love feeling strong, I love knowing that I can do things, that I can run up a flight of stairs and not be tired.

Being fit keeps me feeling young and happy and that feeling is what I am passionate about.

How did your relationship with Womenʼs Best happen? Were you always interested in being a sponsored athlete for a well-known health and fitness brand?

Before Womenʼs Best approached me, I had tonnes of supplement companies reach out and try to sponsor me, but there was something that always felt off.

It could be that the products were great, but the branding was off or sometimes it was the other way around.

With Womenʼs Best, I felt like it was the perfect match.

The products are amazing, the people behind the brand are amazing, and I feel proud to be sponsored by them.

I was never really working towards a sponsorship as I had no idea how sponsorships even worked.

But when I started to get contacted for a sponsorship, I made sure to wait for the right fit!

How do you juggle working out, staying in shape and producing content on YouTube and social media with the demands of everyday life?

My content on YouTube is mostly follow along workout videos, so itʼs actually a bit easier for me to juggle these things. I workout and I get content produced at the same time!

Of course:

I also do more workouts aside from filming, but my approach is very laid back.

Being on social media all the time does get overwhelming, so I try to limit the time I spend scrolling or even posting.

A lot of people expect influencers to be showcasing every single aspect of their live’s, but thatʼs just not my style.

I enjoy my time away from my phone, I usually take the weekends off to spend time with my family and loved ones.

To be honest, Iʼm not always the best at juggling these things!

My work life balance sucks.

I try to work on it every day, but Iʼm still working on finding the right balance.

What is your current weekly training schedule? Are there any unique exercises or body part splits you prefer from others?

Right now I am doing lots of filming for both my YouTube channel and a new business venture, so my workout schedule varies week-to-week based on filming.

When it comes to workouts I do on my own, efficiency is KEY.

I pick the exercises I know work the best and target the most muscles, so lots of compound movements including deadlifts, squats and burpees.

Youʼd be surprised at how sore you can feel after a 20 minute workout!

It may get boring to do the same exercises time and time again… but hey, it does the job, and it gives me more time to do other things I love.

As long as Iʼm staying active, hitting my 10k steps a day, Iʼm happy!

How does this schedule compare to what you were doing earlier in the year before a global pandemic? Have you had to make any adjustments?

Oh definitely!

Before the pandemic, I travelled a lot and when I travelled, I stayed really active.

I would walk everywhere and would clock up to 10 – 15 miles a day on average.

Now that I’m staying at home for the majority of my time, I have to force myself to get up and walk around.

My training schedule didnʼt change too much given that my workouts have always been done from home and I have some home equipment.

I just have to be more aware about staying active, as its not coming so naturally to me during this lock down time.

What advice would you give to someone looking to get in/stay in shape and keep motivated during a lockdown?

I would start with having a daily step goal.

10k steps a day is ideal, but this might be overwhelming for some people.

Thus, I’d recommend starting with a daily goal that can easily be attained, like hitting 5k steps and every week look to increase it by an extra 1k.

The second piece of advice I would give is to fill your kitchen with healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables.

Whilst it is tempting to snack on chips and cookies and binge on Netflix especially during a lockdown, replacing SOME of those snacks with fruits, vegetables, protein shakes and so on is a great start.

However:

I am not saying you SHOULDN’T indulge at all! But balance is key.

Eating something less calorie dense and more nutritious and filling will certainly go a long way.

For me,

The biggest takeaway is understanding that self-motivation is fleeting. It comes and goes.

You need to be disciplined, you need to sometimes get yourself out of bed and do a workout even if itʼs the last thing you want.

The feeling of accomplishment at the end will be worth it.

What does your diet look like? Do you generally include or exclude anything specific?

I donʼt exclude anything but I am a huge advocate of portion control.

Consuming specific foods in moderation is key.

Now:

I am a personal trainer (and also studied sport nutrition) and Iʼve spent years getting to know my body, so for me personally, its pretty easy to eat intuitively.

But for many people, eating intuitively is a learning curve.

Thatʼs why itʼs not necessarily what I recommend, especially for beginners.

I just focus on getting enough nutritious and filling foods. Treats always come afterwards if I am still craving them.

Are there any supplements you currently take which help you to achieve peak performance in and out of the gym?

Absolutely!

I have been taking Women’s Best supplements’ for years and this summer we actually worked in partnership to launch my very own range/series of my three favourite products.

Being from Miami, I wanted to bring that tropical vibe to the world, so we came out with a Pina Colada Fit Whey Protein, Mojito Amino & Energy and Raspberry Sorbet BCAA Amino.

Together, we developed these flavours over the course of a whole year, and they are the best flavours I have ever tasted!

Iʼm all about making fitness fun and having these delicious supplements gives you something to look forward to during and after your workout.

I take all three of these supplements religiously.

Firstly,

Amino & Energy in my Mojito flavour is a great pre-workout alternative. It gives me a major energy boost without any jitters and only has caffeine as the main performance enhancer and no other artificial enhancers.

Therefore:

It’s perfect for a pick me up throughout the day – whether I’m working out, cleaning my house or finishing a big work project.

Women’s Best Amino & Energy – Mojito

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Next,

Fit Pro Whey Protein in my Pina Colada flavour is a GREAT snack alternative. When combined with almond milk, it contains roughly 170 calories, but it’s SO filling as it also has 24g of high-quality protein per scoop.

Women’s Best Fit Pro Whey Protein – Pina Colada

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And finally:

BCAA Amino in my Raspberry Sorbet flavour is perfect for those hot summer days. I have it during my workouts which help to provide instant fuel for my muscles, prevent muscle loss and all-round tastes amazing!

Women’s Best BCAA Amino – Raspberry Sorbet

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Given the amount of content people are exposed to, from your point of view, what is the ONE thing women can do to build confidence with their own body without comparing themselves to others?

Focus on performance-based goals and aesthetic changes will follow.

Yeah looking nice is great, but feeling strong is better.

Being able to run without getting winded, doing push ups, beating your own personal record, that is priceless!

Feeling strong, feeling able, feeling PROUD of how hard you have worked is amazing.

Societyʼs beauty standards are ALWAYS changing.

One minute being thin is in, the next minute itʼs all about that Kim K body.

If you keep chasing these standards, youʼll be running forever.

What advice would you give to our female readers who may have hesitations towards entering into the world of fitness for the first time?

Something is always better than nothing.

Lots of females have this ‘all or nothing’ mentality due to what they see in the media, that being fit requires hours of work every day and only eating chicken and broccoli with no treats is a necessity.

This can be really overwhelming, and is honestly very boring.

Fitness looks different for everyone.

There are some athletes that love working out for an hour or two each day, and there are others, like me, who prefer to get in a quick 30 minute workout a few times a week.

But you need to start somewhere.

Even as little as 10 minutes of body movement daily can make a big difference.

It’s the small acts of discipline which compound over time that will change your life.

And before you know it, youʼll be way stronger and fitter than you ever imagined.

Finally, what can we expect from Vicky Justiz in the near future?

I am currently working on the BIGGEST project of my life, my very own workout app!

This will essentially be a virtual workout studio with workouts that can be done anywhere, anytime.

I named the app Daily Thrive because that’s what fitness is about. Itʼs about thriving, being your best self and doing small things daily that get you a step closer to where you want to be.

Daily Thrive will consist of full length workout videos (up to 60 minutes) in real-time as well as workout challenges and so much more.

I have SO MUCH planned for the future of this app and my goal is to make fitness approachable and available to everyone!