Interview with Camille Leblanc-Bazinet

Ines Subashka:Introduce yourself.
Camille Leblanc:So I am a little girl living in a farm in a little city called Richelieu in Canada. I am 22 years old and I study chemical engineering.

IS:How long have you been doing crossfit?
CL:I’ve been crossfitiing for about 2 years.

IS:Have you been involved in some other sports before that?
CL:Before doing crossfit I was a high level gymnast.I had to stop doing it because I got injured.In fact, one of my hips got ripped and I had to stop or get a surgery.Thus,only at the age of 16 and after 13 years of gymnastic I had to stop!I wanted to find something as challenging as gymnastic so I played volleyball, soccer, ski, I ran halfmarathon and I was captain of my flag football team.One day I started playing rugby.I was at a party with the team, where I met a guy who told me that I was not in shape!!! He was just picking on me, so I decided to give him a shot and see what he had in mind.Then he introduced me to crossfit, and the rest is a just a history…

IS:How did people around you accept the fact that you are doing crossfit?Did they take a jaundiced view of it?
CL:At first my parents were totally against it.All of my friends were telling me that I was stupid and that crossfit was dangerous.I am pretty stubborn and I knew that I crossfit made me feel better so I kept going and improving. Later on my parents and some of my friends decided to give crossfit a try.Now three years later my family owns a gym and most of my friend train there!

IS:Do you have a nutrition plan that you follow? If yes, do you meet disapproval from you friends?Or do they understand why you eat the way you do?
CL:My meals are really strict. I follow the paleo diet.My friends disagree but the thing is- in life at the moment that you show more effort than anybody else around you, it pisses them off,because you are proving them they are wrong. Most often than not,when we go out my friends try forcing me to drink and sometimes it makes me really sad because they get mad at me and they think that I just don’t want to have fun with them!Truth is that my goal is bigger than one night out and I work so hard that I don’t want to ruin all of the work I put into it.

IS:What does crossfit mean to you and did it change your life in some way?
CL:Crossfit is so big for me!It was introduced to me during one of the hardest moments in my life! I love helping people and crossfit is a great way to do it. It changed everything in my life! Now working hard looks easier than ever and I love how you can take proud in everything that you do! I feel strong now and no matter what people say it teaches me to beleive in my dreams as hard as I can and that only crazy people do crazy stuff…and achieve great things!

IS:What is your favorite WOD and which one do you hate the most?
CL:My favorite WOD is Fran! I don’t hate any of the WODs.All of them are an opportunity to improve and be better.You just have stay positive with everything… I am just always excited about every workout!

IS::Is it hard for you to combine your daily tasks with workouts? And have you ever used the excuse that you are too busy to workout?
CL:Yes it is hard to mix all my life together.Truth is I’ve never missed a workout because for me working out is a great way to get away from the everyday problems and to put your emotion out there. It helps changing your mindset, plus I know what I want and what I need to do in order to get it!

IS:What is your biggest accomplishment in crossfit so far?
CL:Participating in the games in 2010 and 2011 and getting my family involved.

IS:Do you remember some funny story with you and crossfit?
CL:One day I was doing a lecture in crossfit Albany and my twin came with me.We went through a warmup where everyone was in a circle on their bellies and we had to run over them… I got so excited… I tried to make my sister fall. 🙂 So just because I was laughing, I tripped on a person and fell on three other people. I was so shy and it was just really funny…
Just the everyday life in crossfit is an adventure…
My first training, I and my twin decided to wear 70’s outfit during the workout,in order to make people laugh. So we prepared for like 2 days, laughing about it and when we arrived at the gym… We were alone with the coach and no one else to laugh… Hahaha it was terribly funny!

IS:What advice would you give to the beginner crossfiters?
CL:Never take yourself too serious and have fun… It is the key to be happy and to accomplish a lot… Be true, and be proud of who you are!