“CrossFit is a platform for me to share the gifts that God has given me ... I work hard to be good at this sport, not for me, but to be able to bring that love to other people.”
Rory Zambard is ready for this weekend’s North West Regional.
“No big surprises really,” she said. “The events are playing out as I expected them to. I did catch some of the coverage last weekend to see what other people's strategies were, but watching them stresses me out. I’d rather put my blinders on, play my own game and keep focused on what I can do rather than what other people are doing. I have a game plan for each event. It is about keeping my mind on what I can do, what I have worked for. You can only control what you can do.”
She stood atop the podium at the conclusion of the North West Regional in 2013, and the year has flashed by, Zambard said. She’s excited to test her well-honed skills against her fellow athletes in the regional events.
“I am surprised how fast this year has sped by,” she said. “I will take on each event, having faith in my training and preparation. However, I am looking forward to Event 6, the 50s, on Sunday.”
Lessons
After her performance at last year’s Games, Zambard learned a lot about herself and her athletic abilities.
“My biggest takeaway was taking an honest assessment of what my strengths and weaknesses were, not only in relationship to competition, but within myself,” she said. “It was a new experience (going to the Games) last year. I wasn’t even sure if I would make it going into regionals, so it gave me the ability to go into competition with a completely open mindset, no expectations. That allowed me to come away with a really honest calculation of what I needed to work on and improve for the next year.”
The 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games experience cast a light on holes in Zambard’s fitness, which in turn became part of her training leading into 2014.
“At the Games, Cinco 1 and 2, which had the handstand walk and the handstand push-ups, and then 2007 with all the pull-ups in it … I knew that was a weakness going in, but those events were really an eye opener to see how big of a hole it was for me,” she said. “I have spent a lot of time in the offseason dialing in those two skills in particular.”
That proved to be a good decision for Zambard, considering this year’s regional events include handstand walking and strict handstand push-ups.
“My gymnastics have improved exponentially,” she said. “Post-Games, I could only do three handstand push-ups in a row. Now I can do much more.”
Enthusiasm
The experience of having competed in the Games does not alter Zambard’s enthusiasm for helping those she coaches or trains at her gym, or at Level 1 Seminars as part of the Level 1 Seminar Staff. Instead, it gives her a perspective she can share for those interested in taking CrossFit to a competitive level.
“I can now speak to that, firsthand with more authority, what competition looks like,” she said. “But it has not changed my approach for coaching the principles of CrossFit, regardless of the level of athlete I might be working with.”
Zambard said the most rewarding moment to date in her CrossFit journey was winning last year’s regional.
“Having taken a year off to rehab my shoulder and have surgery, then to spend an entire year training … hoping for the best, I went into the regional weekend hoping to vie for a spot to the Games with no expectations,” she said. “I had no idea what I was capable of compared to other people in our region, so to have the events play out the way they did, and to come out on top was a pretty amazing experience.”
“On top of that, to share that with my coach, Kurtis Bowler, who has coached me since I started CrossFit when I was 14, was pretty empowering,” Zambard continued. “To have it all come full circle like that was one of the best moments of my athletic career.”
Zambard is thankful she’s able to share her experience with others.
“CrossFit is a platform for me to share the gifts that God has given me,” she said. “A lot is talent that I have been blessed with, skill that I have been given and I work to develop. It is a wonderful platform that I get to affect other people’s lives in a positive way. I find a lot of joy in that. I work hard to be good at this sport, not for me, but to be able to bring that love to other people.”
Whether it’s at the ShoWare Center arena on the competition floor, or in a home gym, she said there’s no place where she feels more empowered.
“That environment can allow you to shine at what you are good at and when you are fully in that element, there is no other feeling like it,” she said. “That's where I sit with CrossFit. It is so rooted in my life and is such part of my soul, that when it comes time to walk into the arena, there is no other feeling like it.”
