Sunday Session with Nadia Zebouni

Our featured athlete this week is Nadia Zebouni. She is a coach, program analyst, diet coach, and regional athlete for Team Soul/CrossFit Soulin Miami. Nadia has a fantastic outlook regarding training, her nutrition and life in general AND she's one of the coolest chicks you'll ever meet!

Athlete: Nadia Zebouni Age: 26 Height: 5'3" Weight: 130 lb Fran:4:18 Fight Gone Bad:345 5k:19:40 400m sprint:1:15 C&J:170 Snatch:145 DL:285 Back Squat:205 Max Pullups:35

1) What kind of athletic background did you have prior to starting CrossFit?

I grew up surfing, skating and participating in other teenage rebellion shenanigans throughout middle school and high school until I was forced to fulfill a sports requirement my junior year and selected Cross Country. I was initially reluctant but eventually became quite passionate about it... so passionate in fact, that I ended up in a wheelchair for 6 weeks with stress fractures in both of my femurs. That experience inspired me to learn about preventing such injuries through resistance training which lead me to become a personal trainer and exercise physiologist, allowing me to continue racing throughout college where I ran my first (and only) marathon. Soon after, I started CrossFit and never looked back.

2) What does a day in your life look like on average?

Everyday is a little different but training days follow the same general pattern:

6AM: normal wake up stuff, take 3g fish oil, vitamin D, greens shake (Trader Joes Super Green Drink with frozen berries), drive to CrossFit Soul

7AM-9AM: AM training session (usually rowing, running, assault bike, and/or gymnastics skills)

9AM: MEAL 1 a staple breakfast for me is 2 eggs, 3-6 tbsp egg whites, 1 banana, 1 tbsp PB and 2 slices of Ezekiel bread

9AM-12PM: WORK: I help manage Team Soul Training, an online training and nutrition program so "work" means developing and implementing those programs. It's a pretty epic gig.

12PM: MEAL 2 this usually looks like a HUGE helping of some kind of lean meat or fish and some kind of whole grain or sweet potato

12PM-3PM: PM training session

3PM: MEAL 3 usually a small snack like yogurt and an apple and/or a post workout shake 

4PM-7PM: MORE WORK same stuff as above, either at the gym, at a coffee shop, or at home

7PM: MEAL 4 usually something similar, often identical, to meal 2 plus 3 additional grams of fish oil

7PM-9PM: shower, relax, and try my best to fall asleep by 10PM to do it all over again

I think it's important to include that I also occassionally drink a glass of wine, pint of beer (or 3-5 shots of tequila depending on the kind of night it is) and consume ice cream, chicken wings, chips, burgers, pizza, etc. when the mood calls for a celebration! It's a rare occasion, but I don't place any rigid restraints on this kind of fun. I also don't ALWAYS wake up at 6am and/or go to bed at 10am and my work schedule changes around all the time. This is just an example of an average day eating, training, working, and sleeping.

3) What’s in your gym bag (your must have items, like favorite shoes, must have supplements)?

Considering I pretty much live at the gym, I keep most of the things I need in my cubby (yes, adults can have cubbies too) which has my weightlifting shoes, metcons, weightlifting belt, wrist wraps, tape, and jump rope. I also carry around a backpack with my laptop and charger for work and a change of clothes (which I rarely change in to- usually just bath
e in sweat and dirt all day, but I bring them anyway incase I feel like being classy). My callous shaver usually ends up in the mix too.

4) Your favorite workout, lift, movement?

I absolutely LOVE bodyweight movements. I particularly enjoy hand stand anything, toes to bar, running, burpees, and box jumps. Pretty much all of the things that most people hate, haha.

5) What motivates you?

I am motivated by my passion for health in every realm: physical, emotional, mental, financial, spiritual, ...everything. Most of what I do is in effort to be the healthiest version of myself in each of these realms and to empower others do the same. I've also surrounded myself with and listen to audio books/podcasts by like minded, hard working people who hold me accountable to do just that everyday, even when I'm not feeling it in the moment.

You can follow Nadia on Instagram @health.vibes