Girl of the Week Julia Gilas

Instagram megastar, Julia Gilas, is the Slickster girl of the week.  She has earned over five million followers on her Instagram profile.  An immigrant to the USA, she embraces all that is good about the country and believes there is no substitute for hard work.  She weighs in on the future of crossfit and what her experience has been as a personal trainer, helping others.  Oh, and she is knockout, drop dead, 10+ hottie too…

12/24/2017, 3:05 p.m.

Slickster: How long have you been a personal trainer?

Julia Gilas: Over the past few years, I’ve helped a lot of people get into shape, eat better, and in general feel much better about themselves. I made mistakes, I did some things right, I tried different things along the way. I’m still learning. As you know, the science keeps changing. What’s the accepted way today, often isn’t tomorrow. Right now, it’s mobility, functional movements, and high intensity workouts.  But many people have a different approach to what are the correct mobility exercises and functional movements. It took many years for me to figure it out for myself and I’ve passed along what I’ve learned. I’ve been doing this for many years, I’ve lost track of how many it’s been.

There’s so much information out there, and it’s so hard to know what to do. Along comes another workout program or new fad diet and that seems like the answer. There’s always going to be another workout program, or another fad diet. But eventually, all extreme diets or workout programs fail. For people that are competing that’s one thing, but for someone who’s just trying to stay in shape, and be healthy.  My advice is to lighten up the weights, do more reps, maintain perfect form, go for the squeeze, sit less, move more, eat more fish, put more colors on your plate, (purple, red, orange, etc) and eat less junk.

The Crossfit debate

Slickster: In your opinion, is crossfit another fad in the exercise paradigm?  Like aerobics in the 80’s, will crossfit eventually fade away and die, only to be replaced by something else?

JG: Great a question about Crossfit! The Crossfit debate; I wish I had a crystal ball. I know people out there that think Crossfit is another fad,  and many who think Crossfit is here to stay. But it seems that anything that’s “radical” always fades away.  Think of everything that’s like that, radical or trendy hairstyles, clothing, diets, drinks, literally everything that’s very polarized. But, If someone takes the concepts of Crossfit, and uses that to stay in shape, and feel better, then that won’t fade away, or maybe what happens is it “morphs” into something different.

The foundation of Crossfit is very sound. Julia Gilas

Train with weights, variation, functional movement, high intensity, overall body…. But you’ve got to know when to back off the intensity, and give your body a rest. A lot of people are focused on the training aspect, but neglect the food. Carbs have been demonized. If you’re training overall body with deadlifting, squats, push, pulls, high intensity, etc, good carbs must be part of your diet. The expression, “you can’t out train a bad diet” is so true. You mentioned “Aerobics” and that was a fad partly because it didn’t work in the long run. Aerobics was all cardio with no weight training and that won’t change the shape of your body.

Slickster: Have you ever competed in the Arnold Classic?  Did you meet The Terminator?

JG:  I’ve never competed in the Arnold Classic, but I’d love to meet him, who wouldn’t? Arnold, in my opinion is still the greatest of all time.

Julia on Instagram

Slickster: Are guys intimidated by you?  I mean, come on, you have over 5 million followers on Instagram.  Many of them must think you are out of their league?

JG:  Thank you for the compliment. I guess some are, but I’m just like everyone else. I wake up, somedays I feel great. Some days, I have to kick myself in the butt to get going. Doesn’t everybody? I have all the “life” stuff everyone else has. I’m beyond grateful for so many people who follow me. I put in a huge effort. Sometimes a guy or girl will write to me about how to approach someone. I’m not a psychologist or relationship therapist, but the best advice I can give is just “be yourself”.

Slickster: You immigrated to this country.  What drew you to the USA and what do you love about it?

JG: I could write a book on this. The USA was like dream for me. I remember when I first got here, I arrived at JFK Airport.  I went into NYC. One day, I took the double decker tour, (I know real touristy!) Wow! It was incredible. The City has a pulse like no other I’ve ever seen. The food is at another level! Everyone should go to NYC at least once and see it.  But I’ve also had the good fortune of going to Miami, South Beach is really, really cool. Las Vegas, love the shows and the strip, (what better place to people watch!), Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Seattle, New Orleans, and many other cities. If you think about this country, it’s incredible.

Fitness has taken me to many cities. 

I’ve gone from the high intensity of NYC, to the very cool, South Beach “Eclectic Scene” in Miami, strolling down Toulouse Street in the French Quarter, to “LA”, top down, drive Sunset Boulevard to the beach, Phoenix, horseback riding in the desert, to an awesome, no stress afternoon with a cup of Java in Seattle.

Every city is different and has something great to offer. If you think about America, it’s so diverse, so many cultures all rolled up into one country.  I watched American movies, listened to American music when I was a kid. I love this country, I became an American Citizen and I’m so proud. Now, I live in Southern California. I love it here. It’s more than the weather, it’s the people, the scenery, and the lifestyle.

Slickster: What do you want for Christmas?

JG: I had some friends who had a tough 2017, and I wish for them all the best in 2018.   My family recently moved here, and I really hope they can make a life for themselves. That would be the best Christmas present.

Slickster: Thanks again for sharing your stories with Slickster Magazine and best of luck with your projects.  Is there anything else you’d like to add or promote?  Anything goes!

JG: I’m going totally off the page here with one of my new projects…I love fitness, and it will always be a part of my life. But I also need to keep branching out and trying new things and still do the ones I love. I’ve been playing the piano and in a few months, we’re still putting the finishing touches on the song, I am going to release a song that I’ve co-written. I’ll be singing on my new track also. I’m very excited about my new project.

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