IFBB Pro Justine Vierdag Reveals Her Fitness Secrets

Namita Nayyar (WF Team)

8 years ago

Justine Vierdag is an exceptionally talented and highly accomplished IFBB Pro Athlete. She is in conversation with Namita Nayyar, President Women Fitness.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: You must have been interested in fitness and sports from an early age. Later you were encouraged & motivated to compete in fitness competitions. You reached the pinnacle of success on becoming a Professional Physique Competitor. Tell us about your journey that took you to the the world of fitness and as a winner in Professional Physique competitions?

Ms. Justine Vierdag: Yes, as a child , I did play softball and for a short time soccer also. I definitely was not a gifted athlete child but I do remember always being fascinated by very fit people and muscular physiques. Corey Everson, Rachel McLish, Lou Ferrigno and Arnold Schwarzenegger were like gods to me and I would put on the 30 minute exercise shows on TV and follow along as young as eight years old. Although I had that admiration for a very fit physique as I was growing up; It wasn’t until I was about 26 and a mother of three girls that I finally committed to making exercise a daily habit. I started just working out at home and eating better to lose weight after having three kids and it progressed from there. I was getting really amazing results and started reading a lot of fitness magazines. The magazines featured Professional Fitness and Figure athletes and I absolutely loved the look of their physiques. I was really inspired to change my body by reading about women like Monica Brandt, Adela Garcia, Jen Hendershot….. I became so interested in all of the components of improved health and fitness that I became certified in 2001 as a Personal Trainer and Wellness Coach.

After navigating through some major life changes, I finally stepped on stage for my first figure competition in 2009. I placed first in both of my classes and won the overall in the Novice Division. So…then I was hooked!!

Ms. Namita Nayyar: What has been your experience as women bodybuilder and as a physique competitor that has been a catalyst in becoming a successful fitness expert?

Ms. Justine Vierdag: I think the only way anyone becomes knowledgeable and deemed an expert in their field is first to have a true passion and interest in it. That passion drives you to read, study, implement, screw it up at times, record results, tweak, read some more, share your findings to help others…read some more … and keep taking it to the next level. An expert knows there is no end to learning.

I personally think it’s amazing how our bodies are built to adapt and I love piecing several components like nutrition, exercise and supplementation together to get specific results. As a personal trainer and Wellness Coach for 10 years, I’ve had the privilege of helping others put together their own health and fitness puzzles. Women interested in getting help with effective, synergistic strategies to improve their overall health and fitness levels can reach me through www.healthandfitnessrevamp.com

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Ms. Namita Nayyar: What is your motivation to take a multi-faceted personality of a fitness model, professional physique competitor, fitness bodybuilding video star and a fitness expert ?

Ms. Justine Vierdag: My motivation when I first committed to a healthier lifestyle was to be happier and healthier for myself and my family. I believe that we can not take care of and support anyone else until we have taken care of and built ourselves up physically and mentally. As I have progressed through the sport of physique competition; my drive comes from wanting to keep moving forward and rising to the challenge of achieving Professional status in the NPC/IFBB. I also just love to read and learn about how to optimize my health in order to excel and continue improving in my physique development.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: What is your diet? Do you take a particular fixed regulated diet comprising of nutrients and vitamins to keep you in perfect health?

Ms. Justine Vierdag: My diet changes throughout the year a bit depending on my particular goals but overall, I am a very clean eater. I do weigh all of my food precisely during a competition prep and have a structured plan comprised of a certain amount of protein, carbs and healthy fats. The specific amounts are strategically manipulated throughout the prep in order to provide optimal nutrition and encourage maximum fat loss while building and/or maintaining muscle mass.

Supplementation with high quality vitamins and minerals is very important; not only during times of a tightly structured diet and intense exercise; but also to fill in any gaps my off-season diet creates. Any lack of key vitamins and minerals hinders the metabolism and does not allow the body to optimize all of its functions. I do enlist the help of a very knowledgeable and accomplished IFBB professional bodybuilder/trainer , Brian Smith, with my competition specific goals. His 30+ years of knowledge and practical application are a very valuable tool for me.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: You have glowing skin and gorgeous hair. Do you take some kind of skin treatment to keep it young and glowing and secondly what you do to your hair to make them look so stunning?

Ms. Justine Vierdag: Glowing, healthy skin and hair comes from my clean, nutrient-rich diet and drinking about a gallon of purified water everyday. Foods like wild salmon, olive oil, coconut oil, blueberries, lemons are all staples in my diet that contribute to skin health. I do supplement with extra biotin w/ collagen as well as Vitamin C and E specifically for skin and hair. I also make sure to remove my makeup every night before I go to bed. I have been using and loving skin care products with black charcoal for skin purification and use organic coconut oil on my skin before bed.

Videos

Ms. Namita Nayyar: Fitness modelling is about bold photo shoots. You have done photo shoots and showed your spectacular chiseled physique. What advice do you wish to give to the women of today to be body confident in order to do such bold modeling?

Ms. Justine Vierdag: First, you must remember that all bodies are unique and each photographer is usually going for a specific look. You can not let being passed over for a photo shoot bring down your confidence. Secondly, be ok with any areas of your body that are not your favorite and trust that a good, professional photographer will highlight your strong points and hide your weaker areas. Personally, my legs have never been my greatest feature so the photographer usually does not focus on them as much in my photo shoots. Also, in order to portray confidence in your pictures; remember how hard you’ve worked to achieve your level of fitness and you should take pride in that work. Being nervous is normal, but a good photographer or videographer will help make you comfortable and make it fun. Experience is the best way to improve your confidence levels.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: Advice and motivational words to the inspiring and budding professional physique competitor girls who all are your fans and shall like to hear from you for their climb to ladder of success in field of professional physique competitions

Ms. Justine Vierdag: Do the work and go through the process for yourself, because you love pushing your personal limits, realizing your true mental and physical power and seeing the resulting masterpiece- not for a judge to say you are the winner. It takes a lot of focus, dedication and planning to prepare yourself for a physique competition and there are a lot of impressive bodies up on the stage. If you do not take away a trophy- the pride , the appreciation for your healthy body and the acceptance that you still have some improvements to make need to be worth every minute of it the long process. Appreciate what you have and what you’ve done; but never be satisfied.

Find a mentor, hire a trainer or coach who has plenty of experience in the sport. Learn from others who are willing to help you and share their knowledge with you. If it’s truly something you desire to excel at; you’ll be willing to put in the work to make it happen.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: Tell us your experience of shooting exercise videos with Fitvids (http://www.fitvids.co.uk/justine-viertag/)?

Ms. Justine Vierdag: I have worked with FitVids twice in the past year on two awesome gym footage videos. Matt was so friendly, encouraging and easy to work with. He had a very flexible agenda with his sessions which allowed him to cater to the strengths of each athlete he shot. The majority of the shoots were based on capturing the working muscles during a workout. We did add a sprinkling of posing in between sets and a full session of stage posing on the first video. I hope Matt and I will work together again this summer for yet another killer video session. A huge thank you goes out to Matt and FitVids for featuring me among their impressive fitness athletes.

Videos

Ms. Namita Nayyar: Tell us about a memorable experience you still remember about one of the physique competitions that you wish to share?

Ms. Justine Vierdag: Of course, I will never forget my very first show and earning first placings in both my classes as well as winning the overall. That day will be forever etched in my mind. That feeling of your very first WIN is so empowering. All of the doubt that creeps in throughout the preparation period of “am I doing this all correctly” , ” am I working hard enough” , ” do I really have what it takes to compete”…just gets squashed by a new sense of self-belief. You have a new level of respect for yourself that comes from setting the goal and following through to the end ..no matter how doubtful or scared you are.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: What you wish to say about the website Womenfitness.net and message for its visitors?

Ms. Justine Vierdag: http://www.womenfitness.net is such a comprehensive resource for women at any level. The site includes a wealth of information on every aspect of women’s mental, emotional and physical health as well as health and beauty advice and interviews with women all over the world who are demonstrating the art of taking control of their health and excelling at their craft. It is a very informative and inspiring collection of valuable information for women.

I want to thank Women Fitness for the opportunity to be apart of their efforts to educate and influence women towards self-improvement and better health.

To know the latest from Justine Vierdag, follow her at:

Women Fitness Team thanks Justine Vierdag for giving her valuable time for this interview and quenching the thirst of her fans to know more about her and made this interview happen.