Ambassador Stories: Natali Zollinger
New to the Garmin ambassador team is a stand up paddle boarder with a lot of pizazz. Natali Zollinger comes from Northern Utah but has been living in Moab for about 7 years now. She was first introduced to the thrill of the rivers in college and hasn’t looked back since. Then around 2012 Natali saw people trying a new sport called stand up paddling. She was so intrigued with SUP that she decided to quit river guiding and go all-in on SUP.
“I’ve always wanted to be part of Garmin. They have been a company leading the industry and raising the bar for all things adventure and fitness. I am honored and humbled to unite with them to help support and grow their products that I use on a daily basis.”
Natali grew up swimming, diving, and playing water polo, so SUP felt like home. In 2014, Natali decided to quit her job and give SUP racing a shot. She travelled around for 3 months competing in big events like the Payette River Games and did quite well. She ended up taking a spot on the podium in almost every event she entered and this gave her the itch to train, travel, and live the life of a SUP athlete.
Living in Moab, adventure is around every bend, so whether she’s mountain biking, road biking, hiking, trail running, SUPing, swimming, or rowing on the rivers, Natali has had a lot of time to track her fitness routine with her fēnix 3.
“When I’m in race season, I take training very seriously. I focus a lot on nutrition, sleep, and get pretty aggressive with my exercise routine. I SUP rivers or focus on a flat-water workout 2-3x a week. I fill in the rest of the week with VO2 max, HIIT training, balance, strength, and agility work. Every evening I try and work on mobility, body rolling, and a calming restorative yoga practice to help balance the stress my body is put through. I also give myself a full recovery day once a week to rest, catch up on Netflix, and hang out with friends playing cornhole or slack lining at a park.”
At the beginning of April, the whitewater season is in full force until about the end of June. At that time the flat-water races start to pick up and go all the way into the fall.
In addition to the SUP racing and surfing clinics, Natali has combined all her favorite passions into one retreat in Moab called the Red Rock Reboot. It is a 5-day adventure where you’ll paddle, peddle, and rappel your way around the desert. To help clients get in-shape for this retreat, she came up with the PRETREAT. A program composed of 6 workout videos that you repeat every week for the month before the retreat to help lose weight, build muscle, and gain confidence. Each day is paired to a style of training that will help teach and guide you into developing your very own sustainable fitness routine. Every individual who signs up for the PRETREAT will also receive their very own Garmin vivosmart HR to help them track and understand their body.
Natali’s passion in life is to teach and lead others towards their own health goals. We can’t be more excited to have her on our team. Join the adventure and follow Natali here as she competes and spreads health awareness. Don’t forget to share your adventures with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and use #HaveNoLimits.
