Naz has been a member of our community since May of 2019, and has been doing CrossFit for 4+ Years. She was posted here with the military and immediately joined the QSF community. If you haven’t met Naz at the gym yet, she trains 5 days a week in the 4:30pm class. Naz loves motorcycles, cheese, tattoo’s and training with the homies! Naz’s CrossFit journey started with inspiration from some of CrossFit’s “OG” women, and naturally continues to inspire members at the gym with her incredible fitness and love for CrossFit! Keep reading if you’d like to learn more about Naz and what motivates her to crush it in and out of the gym!
What does an average day-in-the-life look like for you? (food, training, work, recovery, leisure time, etc.): During the week, I try to start with a PT session at the office gym between 7-9am depending on the programming or my schedule. Waking up and working out before breakfast or coffee is dirty but it's the best time for me to get in some training before work. If work is less flexible, I go down to one PT session per day in the evening.
During work hours, I prepare breakfasts and lunches the night before and pack all the snacks( mini Babybel cheese anyone?). After work, I head to Queen Street Fitness’s 4:30pm class Coached by Eric Choi and grind it out with the homies! This class is lit with a solid crew and Eric always has a wicked playlist!
Weekends, oh I love weekends. Saturdays and Sundays I make a point of sleeping in because it feels good and I can. Breakfast is my favorite meal so my boyfriend and I usually go out for breakfast and then hit up a PT session in the afternoon. Sundays are usually rest days or a catch up day if I decide to take Saturday off.
Most of ya'll know me by now but I enjoy, in any particular order: drinking coffee, riding motorcycles, working out, kayaking, tattoos, watching movies and playing music. I play the violin so I try to practice on the weekends when I have more time.
Have you changed the way you eat since you began CrossFit, If so, how?: Since joining CrossFit, I've stopped treating my body like a dumpster. I eat way less processed foods and try to ensure I always get a variety of veggies into every meal with a source of protein. I also stay consistent with multi-vitamins and supplements as well to ensure my body isn't missing out on key nutrients.
One thing I CANNOT give up, is how much I love cheese, I don't think I go a single day without enjoying some variety of cheese. OH MY LAWD, so delicious.
How does training/CrossFit fit into your life?: I always get chirped for working out all the time so I will accept and say it's my life. The way I see it is, if society says it's okay for me to work 8+hr days, 5-7 days a week, why can't I play just as much?
CrossFit has also been a great way for my boyfriend and I to spend time together doing something we both love as well as meet other amazing people. We maintain a social life outside work with friends who are equally passionate about fitness. It's a 2 for 1 deal!
I find that the effort I put into training and challenges I overcome in the gym, mentally & physically, also translate into other aspects of my life, especially work.
What reasons did you have to train when you started CrossFit? Have those reasons changed? If so, how?: The reason I started CrossFit in 2011 was to become as badass and yoked as the famous OG CrossFit girls at that time. I was so inspired watching Nicole Carroll, Annie Sakamoto, Becca Voight and Elizabeth Akinwale (to name a few) slaying it on the internet and changing the game for women and fitness.
My reasons now for training: the community. Nothing NOTHING beats walking into a class, throwing down and grinding alongside your homies with some mad beats playing. NOTHING beats that environment and the cheers you get when you are attempting a lift or finishing a workout. I love the hype.
What improvements have you made in the past 6 months that you are most proud of?: I am super stoked about my latest gains with my Olympic lifts, especially the Snatch and Deadlift (inspired by Sharon Ong-lifting queen and my hero, have you met her?), and improvements in key gymnastic movements like Chest to bars, Muscle-ups, HSWs and strict HSPUs (Julia Moreau & Lindsay Arnold, you two are badass, inspiring Queens).
I remember when I first started, I struggled at everything. Nothing was easy, I could barely do snatches, and toes-to-bars and kipping handstand push-ups were magical movements to me. I couldn’t do any muscle-ups or string together chest to bars. It was so frustrating but the challenge to learn and improve these movements was and remains addictive.
This will sound cliche, but consistency and effort pay off. The best thing I heard when I was training out in British Columbia at Sheepdog Crossfit is: You get better, CrossFit gets harder.
Do you currently have a main focus or goal(s) with your training? : Stay consistent, stay healthy both physically and mentally, and finally have fun and just get absolutely yoked. So yoked that no one will wanna mess with me wherever I go LOL.
What is one thing that you do everyday that you feel is essential in contributing to your success in the gym? : Drink Coffee.
Oh and of course just showing up and doing the work. Doing something, anything, however simple or short it may be, it is better than being idle.
No matter how tired or moody I feel, whether I am away on a business trip or there's a lockdown and I don't have access to all the right equipment, I always just figure it out and move.
No excuses, adversity is a stepping stone.
If you could give yourself one piece of advice when you started CrossFit, what would it be?:
Have fun.
Respect and listen to your cranky body.
Don't be so hard on yourself if you fail, or don't get the results you wanted immediately.
Enjoy the process, you will be doing this for as long as possible.
Do you have a go-to self-pep talk? (i.e. something you tell yourself when things get hard with training or during a workout): On the off days, I try to remind myself that if working out is my biggest challenge or 'problem' for the day, then things aren’t that bad.
The following videos are some examples of what I watch to get me shook or amped up when I need a lil reminder or motivation to get after it. Whether for training, work or life in general, I think these are some great clips I hope you dig:
Michael Jordan - Leadership & Winning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTRZeIm6lsY
Julie Foucher - Event 4 To Boot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bXbq5RLg90
Denzel Washington - Consistency & Commitment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isHuVnqWOhg
CFG Adaptive Athlete & Kickboxer Amy Bream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEE2GRKtnFE
Is there anything you would like to add? : Thank you QSF for this spotlight! This is super cool. I am so humbled. Thank you QSF for being the most epic fit fam and unreal hype squad during some of my gnarly lift attempts and during wods.
Thank you for expanding my imagination and my realm of possibility. Seeing the effort and scores all you homies post on the leaderboard is huge motivation for me, especially at the end of a long work day. Can't wait to slay it with you all in class again!