Victoria Beeks | Find Time For It
What got you into fitness and working out?
My little sister wanted to start kayaking and my mom didn't want to send her alone. I went with her and really got into the sport and my sister stopped. During my kayaking practices I ended up becoming a lot better and started lifting weights.
How do you find time to balance work, the gym, meal prep, etc?
Currently, since I'm still a student and only have a part-time job so it doesn't take out much of my day. The gym only takes about 2 hours of my day and since it's something I really like, I find time for it. With meal prep, I do it the day before that way I don't have to do it when I get off of work.
What has been the highlight of your fitness journey, and what are your short and long term goals?
I love working out, and the reason I do it is I like to influence people to do it, to be healthy and live a healthy lifestyle. I also coach little kids for kayaking and I have a lot of girls that look up to me. I think it's important for me to have good shape to influence them positively. My short term goal is to improve as much as possible. Bodybuilders don't have the best diet, and I think it's important to keep a healthy diet. Right now my focus is on my body shape. Long term my goal is to be a dietitian, nutritionist and personal trainer. I would also like to go to more competitions abroad.
What is your favorite muscle to work out and why? Where do your think your weaknesses lie?
My favorite muscle to workout is back workouts. Even though I like working out my legs and I would like them to be bigger because I think it's attractive for women to have bigger legs. I like to workout my back because I think that's the strong point of my body because of kayaking. My favorite exercise is deadlifts because it works all muscles. I like it because you lift a lot of weight of course being careful for form to prevent injuries.
What defines health and healthy to you?
Health to me is having good physical health. It's not only about the way you look, but to feel healthy, to be able to do other types of exercises. It's also about eating healthy to give your body the right nutrients. I like to avoid eating red meat because it's high in saturated fat and not very healthy for your body. I try to avoid salt and things like that. Healthy is giving yourself the correct nutrients, staying away from anything that could put you at risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, while also exercising and being fit.
What advice would you give to someone just starting to get into the gym?
My advice would be to take it slow, and to not be afraid of not making it. Start at one point, and you will slowly seeing results. I would suggest that the person should improve their diet. I would also tell them to not be afraid to ask for tips and suggestions.
Most women shy away from working upper body because they don’t want to bulk. What advice would you give these women?
I would tell them that they have to do what they want. If they think looking fit and bulky is nice then you can do it. It is very hard for women to get bulky even if you lift weights a lot. Women don't have the same hormones that males do so its harder for her to grow. For me fit women are very attractive. It depends on everyone's taste. If she doesn't like it, she can work her upper body with less weight.
What do you think is harder gaining muscle or losing weight?
I think it's harder to gain muscle because you have to train constantly, eat all the time, and lift heavier weighs. It is also a very slow process. With losing weight, it's a lot easier. All you have to do is increase cardio and reduce your calorie intake.
What does your diet consist of, and if you had the power to make one junk food healthy which would it be?
My diet is mostly lean meat. I eat fish, chicken and salads. I am a really picky eater but I have a lot of olive oil because it's healthy for you. I also avoid eating bread because it has more calories then like rice. I would probably pick burgers even though they are really bad for you. As I said before red meat is really high in saturated fat. If I could make something healthy it would be burgers.