Extremist: Carissa Zenorini
Finding balance between your work, adventure, & fitness
You too can have it all when it comes to fitness and your health; I am going to show you how via hard-working professionals JUST LIKE YOU. And, to kick it all off, we have Carissa Zenorini of Absolute Adventures, INC. JōbuFIT had a great chat with the owner and CEO of the wonderful company that brings a wide variety of team building events to corporate clients in the San Francisco Bay Area.
JF: At Absolute Adventures, what kind of events do you provide?
CZ: Our events are designed to be fun and productive days out of the office and the options include experiences like GPS Scavenger Hunts, Sailing Regattas, Kayaking, Culinary Team Building, Mind-Bending Treasure Hunts, Wine Blending and much more. We can accommodate groups of 10 to 500+ people.
JF: Since you are the owner and CEO do you organize and run all of these events on your own?
CZ: Yes, I do operate on my own. I do everything in the office which includes (but is definitely not limited to) sales, marketing, PR, accounting, website maintenance and new event development, so I am in my office A LOT. But I do get to enjoy facilitating and participating in as many of the actual events as I can, although I have a great crew of contractors and partners that also help out with this.
JF: What do you do to “stay in shape”?
CZ: I always prefer to work out in the morning. I generally run in the mornings and follow it up with sit ups and push ups. I find running to be the most time efficient, because can walk out the door of my house and be exercising immediately, eliminating the travel time. Being a working mom, every minute counts.
JF: Have you always been a “fit” person or did something change in your life to make you fitness conscious?:
CZ: Yes, I have been an athlete my entire life. I started with gymnastics, swimming and soccer. Eventually focusing in on springboard diving which I competed in during my college years; I was the USA National Champion in 1998.
JF: WOW. With an accomplishment like that I doubt you have any fitness low points.
CZ: Actually, I hit a personal low when I decided to train for a marathon. I decided to train for the marathon shortly after I graduated college because I didn’t want to give up being an “elite athlete”. I ignored signs of pain in my foot and continued to train. I ended up with a stress fracture that not only took me out of the marathon but also prevented me from doing anything else for a couple of months.
JF: Is there any advice you would give the everyday hard-working professional that wants to train for something as involved as a marathon:
CZ: Have a weekly routine, no choices make it just what you do. And, always listen to your body; taking a little time off may be worth it in order to avoid injury.
JF: Before we leave you, do you have a crazy fitness story?:
CZ: Before family life, I often had crazy weekends full of as many activities as I could fit in. One of my favorite, jam packed weekends included taking an Absolute Adventures group surfing on Saturday morning, driving to the delta to wakeboard in the afternoon/early evening, sleeping on a sail boat, getting up early for quick morning wakeboard session, taking an Absolute Adventures group jet skiing later in the day and following it up with a coastal hike and oyster BBQ on our way home.
JF: That is one fitness packed weekend.
Okay, not everyone can have the crazy, jam packed weekend schedule Carissa described, but I do believe she made some great points: Commitment is key. Make time for your fitness. Make fitness part of your day; not something you try to squeeze in when you can. If a mother/CEO can do it so can you!
All of these adventurous photos were taken with permission from the Absolute Adventures Website. For more photos and information on the corporate events they offer please visit: www.absoluteadv.com