Nathalie moved to Baltimore just about 18 months ago and we are so happy she joined the PUSH Family! What do her coaches and sweat buddies have to say.
Nathalie is one of the hardest working people I’ve seen! She pushes herself hard and others to keep us (me) pushing ourselves. She gets her workout day started before almost anyone, and she’s come so far, she doesn’t even realize it!
Nat is a beast! She pushes herself in every aspect of CrossFit. She’s got her eyes on the prize, and she doesn’t deviate. She’s in the gym making herself a better person by 5am almost every day. I’m continually inspired by her dedication and focus. She pushes me to do better and to be better. And on top of it all, she’s a great friend, great squatting partner and awesome teammate!
A morning WOD nemesis, Nathalie has been exciting to watch mature into one heck of an athlete. She came in with an endurance background and now she’s powering through the big weights and keeping her speed. She’s become a motivating factor and key component to the girl power squad that I see every morning. Determined and strong, she continues to impress the coaches and her squad. Gurl, you may have think you have RBF, but we all know it’s because you’re upset the WOD is over. :)
One of the best things about Nat is that she has this quiet tenacity that I don’t think many people see. Coupled with her fierce competitiveness, her skills and abilities have skyrocketed at the gym and I’ve lost count of the number of PR’s she has accomplished recently. She set out on a mission to get handstand walks and within a couple of weeks, she nailed it. She wanted to get a 150# clean and she got it. She refuses to give up and will grind through what she needs to do to get better.
She is an awesome teammate to push and motivate you to always put forth your best effort. Want to get better at burpees and air squats? Do them in a workout next to Nat and try to keep up. You will end up on the floor in a pool of your sweat and tears ;). Working out next to her will simply make you better. Outside of the gym, Nat takes that same tenacity when she approaches her career and life. She continues to seek out ways to challenge herself at work (yay for the new job!) and I am so beyond happy that she bought a house here so she is forced to stay and be a part of PUSH for the foreseeable future!
Nathalie quickly became a friend when she joined PUSH! She is always, always, always putting in the work to get better and improve her CrossFit skills across the board. Her discipline is admirable, and I’m so glad to have her as a friend.
From the first time I met Nat, I knew that we would become great friends. It is crazy to believe that she has been part of PUSH for a little over a year – her presence makes it feel like it has been much longer! Nat embodies the meaning of grit, dedication and hard work. She is such a great competitor and always pushes me to be better not only at the gym but beyond the walls of PUSH. I am so grateful that we have developed such a strong friendship, which I knew will become stronger for years to come!
Now let’s hear from Nathalie
Started CrossFit: MLK Day 2016
What is your fitness background: I’m a jack of all trades, master of none ;) I played many sports growing up including Soccer, Cross Country, Tennis, Powerlifting, and Swimming (rec team). Once I went to Michigan State University, I joined our club Triathlon team and competed in probably 10 triathlons as part of the team including Collegiate Nationals in 2012. Once I graduated I continued to pursue triathlon and endurance sports including a half ironman triathlon (5:26:51). Overall I’ve done well over 20 in at least 7 different states, I’ve lost count.
Favorite Movement: Pistols, GHDs, Squats of all sorts: Back, Front, Overhead, DB Overhead (I guess a pistol is a squat, probably why I like it?), and running over 400m
Least Favorite Movement: WALL BALLS omg I hate them, Assault bike
Occupation: I work at Constellation Energy as a Sr. Pricing Analyst, currently pricing/costing power for load served in the Midwest. I get to use some math, excel, market fundamentals and even some regulatory research. In October I’m switching positions to a Portfolio Analyst where I’ll do a lot more with our power trading desks, Finance, Products and even some Mergers and Acquisition work when it comes up. Basically making sure our position and revenues are integrated across business units and that they are accurate. It’s still new to me so it’s even hard for me to explain.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family: I’m the oldest of 3, and definitely fit the oldest child mold. I have 2 younger brothers; Michael who is 27 and Stephen who is 13. My dad is a retired engineer in the auto industry and my mom is a High School French and German teacher. I also have tons of aunts and uncles and cousins. My best friend Sydney lives in DC, she is like family to me.
I would say that I’m pretty competitive and I have a weirdly good memory if I had to pick a few traits.
Tell us something we don’t know about you: Most people don’t realize I play piano and I used to do classical piano competitions growing up. I own a piano and play it from time to time but also try to be courteous to my neighbors who might not enjoy listening as much as I enjoy playing.
How has CrossFit affected your life outside the gym: I think it has affected my life outside of the gym by being part of my life outside the gym. I’m better at all my sports and activities. I have an awesome group of friends that I talk to and see all of the time. I have moved cross country 2 times without really having close friends or family nearby and CrossFit gave me a community.
What do you enjoy most about PUSH: It’s my safe space. I can push myself outside of my comfort zone and am not judged, if anything I am encouraged. I love the people, they push me too and inspire me. I have made some of the best friends of my life here in only just a year.
I also LOVE when new people join the gym and workout with me because I have been the new guy and I know the feeling and I know that that person is putting themselves out there. That takes guts. I know I might have RBF like 90% of the time, but I’m actually friendly so don’t hesitate to WOD with me because I think that is really cool and I love it when the fit fam grows.
Fill in the Blank:
I like… making my friends laugh is definitely number 1, working out, cats, being on the water, learning new things, Michigan State University sports, long drives, spending nights in with my friends watching movies and post-gym weekend hang outs.
I eat… “healthy” 80% of the time. I followed Renaissance Periodization, which is great about making sure I eat enough food and don’t over eat certain macros. I still utilize the macro nutrient “checks” so to speak but have gotten less religious in following it and am focusing more on fitting its principals into my life. As far as food, eggs make up 25 to 50% of my meals. I like all types of food but as far as what I cook for myself, I’m working on diversifying. I could probably take on almost anyone in an eating contest.
I am… A Michigander. A Baltimorean. A older sis. Single (wink wink). An Athlete and hopefully a friend. O and I’m short.
Favorite Cheat Meal… A whole bag of Garrett’s Chicago mix popcorn. Pretty sure there’s supposed to be 12 servings in a bag but I can polish of a bag in 30 minutes no problem.
Favorite Real-Life Hero/Athlete… My mom. Growing up, she trained and road-raced all over the area , putting up lifetime PRs that I’m not close to touching (yet?). She qualified and ran the Boston Marathon twice. Pretty sure a year after giving birth at age 45 she ran a 1 hour and 16 minute 10 mile time, a 7:37 pace. It was cool growing up and going to her races, seeing her train. I remember we’d go and put water bottles out on the roads for her when she would do her long 3 hour runs for marathon training. She even tried to help me with my running, but there was nothing worse than being 15 years old and getting destroyed by your mom on a run. Eventually I caught on thoughJ However I’m still trying to get her into CrossFit. Outside of sports, she has also gotten after her dreams, living abroad for a few years in her 20s, earning a scholarship and becoming I think the 2nd person in her family to graduate from college at that time.
