Rebeca Rubio Interview

As a TV hostess in Guatemala Rebeca Rubio is well known there. My goal is to help make her more well known in America. A beautiful woman, with a great physique, highlighted by amazing abs, Rebeca is making a big name for herself in the Fitness world. She was a cyclist, but to avoid the dangers of injury she moved to fitness, and we should all be glad she did. Just reading her written words you can see she has such a love and passion for training and fitness. Rebeca Rubio is a name to remember because she is constantly improving and is going to go very far in the Fitness Industry.




Q: First Rebeca I want to thank you for taking the time to do this.

Q: Can you start out by telling a little about yourself.
A: I was born in Guatemala City, the biggest country of Central America. I was an only child of a young couple, and have been grown with my grand parents. I studied primary school in a German college; my favorite classes were arts and sports (Obviously). My childhood focus was on studying and doing a lot of homework, due to the bilingual education. However sports was already in my veins. I enjoyed a lot of the gymnastic routines of the Olympic games, but just on TV broadcast. My dream was to become a gymnast, because of the talent to do flips all over the floor. But I never could.

Q: Before the gym were you an especially athletic person? Play any sports?
A: Yes, since I've got memories. I mean since I was 5 years old, I was already excited to prepare myself to compete. I remember I was in a 5km run, and I was training after my school time, in the afternoon, running around my home, in a small park where other boys and girls used to play. Me, I was already training for my goal. After, I started to practice resistance sports, from swimming, to running and then cycling. i became a triatholonist, running third in the classification, in my first National competition. From the 3 sports there, I chose cycling to be my sport, but there was no women racing team in my country yet. I was wondering.... how can I be in a competitive sport; I really wanted to do that.

Q: What initially led you into the gym?
A: It was when is tarted to work as a TV hostess in 1997, I was practicing road cycling and I started to be worried about the danger of the roads, an accident could take me out, with an injured face! So I decided to quit, but I started to gain weight, normally, the intensity of pedaling was high, like 3 or 4 hours daily, working so hard never made me think of dieting. So, I felt that for convenience of my schedule of TV transmissions, I decided to go train in the gym. Also, training my muscles made it easier to be in shape for TV and media exposure.

Q; Was training something you picked up fairly easy? How long before you saw results?
A: Since I got my first foot in the gym, I was motivated to work hard and find another similar experience I did with cycling. I was always dreaming of toned legs, and abs, something I saw before in the women bodybuilders. Maybe one month after I started, I began to hear about something they called "Fitness contests". I have just fallen in love with that word, even though I did not know exactly the meaning. The results did not come easily, for sure, my body was very thin, not so much muscles because of the resistance training. I saw my first results after 9 months of preparation, when I won the first National contest in 2000.

Q: What made you decide to compete for the first time?
A: I remember my first show was in August, a National competition, in which I got just 3 months out. I had great motivation for doing that contest, even though I had no experience in that field. I was already used to training everyday, and even if I got the resistance training I did not have "any" experience to do weights and do routine stuff. I was very stiff. I did not get my hands to my feet! I did my best effort, and with no preparation I still got second place. That was my first time on stage, after that I worked very very hard to keep improving myself into the competitive level. i won two years later my National title, that made me officially a Fitness competitor of my country in the IFBB amateur contest agenda. Since then in 2000 I am competing almost every year till now.

Q: Was competing something your family and friends supported at the time?
A: Not really. Even my boyfriend at that time, who was a cyclist too, however he was a sport fan, he never liked my "new" sport. He hated my chicken breast and egg whites for breakfast, instead he enjoyed pancakes. To become a fitness athlete was not popular at all around here in Guatemala. Just because my work in TV and media, as a public profile, it helped me in some way to get exposure in magazines, TV reports, news, and mass media in general. Bodybuilding in Guatemala in a non-popular sport, and also causes something like shock, when the final preparation comes out, maybe because women are seen as the feminine side without strength and power. That's something that goes against my ripped abs and legs!!!

Q: Was competing what you expected?
A: Competing in fitness was the best sports experience in my whole life. It surprised me of course, because I found out a big field of self knowledge as an athlete and as a person per se. It helped me to find the deepest of my weakness and also discover the most powerful sides of myself, not only physical, even emotional and mentally. To be a fitness athlete made me change a lot of my everyday life, the way I eat, to the way I can search for my goals. Definitely the sport made myself a better person.


Q: Can you share your contest history.
A: I started in 2000 as National Fitness champion.
*2001 Bronze Medal IFBB Iberoamerican Championships, Paraguay
*2001 Central American Fitness Champion, Guatemala
*2002 Silver Medal in IFBB Iberoamerican Championships, Ecuador
*2002 Silver Medal in IFBB Central American and Caribbean Championships, Venezuela
*2003 Bronze Medal Pan-American Games, Dominican Republic
*2004-2005 National Fitness Champion, Guatemala
*2007- Placed 9th in Worlds, IFBB Fitness, Barcelona Body Fitness- 163cm
*2008- Placed 11th in World Championships, IFBB Fitness, Barcelona Body Fitness 163 cm in both, best American athlete classified.
*2010- Won Muscle Mania Figure Universe

Q: As far as body parts, what do you feel is your best one?
A: My abs, they come in a great shape when I prepare myself and diet right.

Q: Do you have a part you most like to train or favorite exercise?
A: I love to train my back, it's my favorite part. But exercise, I am a fan of gymnastics and aerobic training. Love to box too.

Q: What is your normal training routine and diet like and how do you alter it for contest prep?
A: Depends on my goal. I decide to compete at the beginning of the year, so I try to work on strength and power for the first season, then resistance training doing lots of sports like track and field, long distance running, swim, hiking, etc. The whole preparation could take 6 to 8 months, during the last season pre contest diet, and interval training become the prime factors. Usually I do a lot of fitness routines and boxing drills, cardio and low carb dieting.

Q: When someone sees your physique for the first time what is the most common reaction? More positive or negative?
A: In some way they admire the discipline and persistence of achieving the perfect body through hard training and super healthy diet. But, internally people have the conviction that this sport is too strong for a woman. At least in Guatemala.

Q: When they see it that first time, what is the one question or comment you are most sick of hearing?
A: "How can you do the diet?" That's the first question....people complain they don't have the discipline to keep going with food and nutrition restrictions. "You got more biceps than me." is another typical expression from the male side. But mostly, people admire the hard work that came out in the competition shape.

Q: What is the biggest misconception about women who train and compete or the one thing you wish people understood?
A: That bodybuilding is a drug sport, and my goal is to tell everybody that, as me, not all women do steroids. That's why I want to be clean for the rest of my sport career, telling with my story that great results can be achieved without drugs, or substance anabolic abuse. Another thing is that women that train hard loose their feminine side. On the opposite, I think that if you keep training natural your body can become even more sexy, where weights and training hard usually improve the feminine lines.

Q: What is the best and worst part of competing?
A: The best is that competing is the perfect arena to challenge yourself. Teaches you how to overcome obstacles, and go get the goal. The most I enjoy is the road that takes you to improve your shape from the last competition you were in last year. The worst is the negative effects of dieting, changing emotional and personality aspects because the lack of glucose.


Q: Do you have a favorite cheat food?
A: Pizza forever.

Q: If another woman told you she wanted to start training, what is the one piece of advice you would most want to give her?
A: To draw small goals and not to loose the focus on the big one. To dream and to dear, both take you to the victory, even if you can not win the gold, you can learn and be a better athlete in the road to the competition. Competition should be more focus on your own battles, on giving strength to your weakness, on overcoming the most difficult challenges.

Q: Do you think it is becoming more common to see women training in the gym as hard as the men?
A: Not really in Guatemala, but I believe I can start to make people think different with my work as a public profile in the national media. I wish to become a leader to cross the line, and help society to get a more open view of the modern woman in your typical Latin American culture.

Q: Outside of training, any other hobbies or activities you enjoy?
A: I love to write. I am planning to write a book on my story. Also I love to read, and learn foreign languages. To travel and to see what people believe or how the interpret their life in other parts of the world.

Q: Can you describe a typical day in the life of Rebeca Rubio.
A: In this part of my preparation, close to a show my schedule goes nuts for the moment. Usually I start at 6am, have my "sacred" cup of coffee, and go to the first training session at my gym, Frances martin Club, in the city of Guatemala. Then I got to get ready for work in the media department of the National Confederation of Sports, where I do a lot of PR and do promotion, and communication duties. Then I go at 4pm and do my second training session, and then go to prepare my sketch for the sports news. I am hostess of one of the newscasts on the cable national channel, so, I do my research in the National sport activities to program the menu. I got like 2 hours left before I go to the channel, at 9pm, so I work on my personal fitness projects. After my TV show I come home and prepare the next journey, basically my 6 small meals for my next day. I take a hot shower, do some stretching and massage my feet, and go to the sweet dreams.

Q: What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
A: That I am an anthropologist, they never do click between my work and lifestyle with this kind of profession. I did my major degree a few years ago, and I have done a very special subject for my final thesis. It was titled "building bodies: the subculture of the urban Guatemalan gim.", a study around the cultural meanings of beauty, health concepts and body image in different socio cultural zones in the city of Guatemala. nice contribution to both, bodybuilding culture and academics anthropologist.

Q: Describe Rebeca Rubio in five words.
A: Power of Passion, Intensity, Humanity, and Strength.

Q: Any set plans for the near future as far as competing or anything else?
A: Yes, I am going to compete in the Fitness Universe Weekend this June 18th in Miami Beach (Rebeca has since done this show and won). I will try two divisions, Figure, and Model Universe. Also, I am doing my National competition for this yea on June 12th, that means to be classified into the Elite athletes group. To be ready for the IFBB agenda shows around this year, also the Worlds Championship Of Fitness and Body Fitness in Mexico in October.

Q: Anything you want to take this opportunity to plug or promote?
A: That you can see me on www.rebecarubiofitness.com, and become a fan on Facebook www.facebook.com/rebeca.fitness?ref=ts.


Q: Are you looking for sponsors? If so how can they reach you?
A: They can reach me at rebecarubio69@gmail.com. I will be glad to check proposals.

Q: Rebeca again I thank you for taking the time to do this. Any last words before you go?
A: To keep training, dreaming, and believing in yourself. Sport is life....something you will never regret.