Name: Julio Mercado Occupation outside of being a CFCA superstar: Process Manager Gorton’s Seafood Hometown: Salem, Ma Favorite type of workout music: Anything upbeat. I’m also an older soul when it comes to music.
Favorite movement/exercise: Thrusters or burpee pullups.
Which class do you usually attend? 6:30am class was my go-to but now with the schedule changes attributed to COVID-19 I frequent the 8am class as I prefer indoors. How did you find out about CFCA? My sister Alysia belongs to CrossFit Wicked in Middleton and has really loved her experience. I figured I’d give it a shot and simply google searched the nearest CrossFit gym. Wish it was a more interesting story but after I attended a few classes, I was hooked. Did you play sports back in the day? Or was it all smoking butts under the bleachers? I definitely played sports growing up. I went on and played both football and lacrosse at the collegiate level. I think my experience in athletics made my transition from a typical gym to CFCA more seamless. I’m certainly learning more about myself every day. The variety of different movements and the push I get from watching everyone else of different ages perform has been a delight. The tempo of the classes have restored my interest in physical fitness. How has CFCA changed your life outside of the gym? I think CFCA helped balance my life. I have more energy and more confidence. I have children and simply want to be functional. I don’t attend in search of bettering my image; I want to be well rounded. It has motivated me to live a more active lifestyle. My interests have changed to where I get enthused with finding a nice local place we can walk or venture.
How do you stay motivated? At times it is tough, I’m not going to lie. I just keep pushing. Some days are certainly better than others, but you almost fall in love with the idea of progress, betterment and accomplishment. I feel a sense of accomplishment after every workout.
Name one goal/personal achievement you would like to achieve with the gains made through CFCA? I would be lying if I didn’t say I wanted to be proficient at doing double-unders. I haven’t quite been able to string the reps together to my liking. Eventually I’d like to drop some weight and have the ability to do muscle ups as well.
How have you been keeping busy? Tell us about your hobbies! I have four kids so I’d like to say they keep me busy. They are all so very different and require different types of attention. JJ is 12 and enjoys playing football and wrestling competitively. Bella is my 8yr old firecracker. We call her the mayor because of her innate ability to say hello to everyone on the way to class in the morning. She definitely moves to the beat of her own drum. Gabby is my wild child. Although she is very smart, she is also fearless. She has already broken an arm and has gotten stitches all before the age of 4. Rowan is just 14 months but is starting to follow suit with his older siblings. There isn’t a cabinet he can’t get into or a piece of furniture he can’t climb.
What’s your favorite aspect of CFCA? I love the community aspect of CFCA. Everyone is nice, welcoming and motivating. I do miss the team workouts. I am considering attending more outdoor classes to fill that void. CFCA is doing a great job following COVID-19 guidelines and ensuring our separating to prevent any potential outbreaks so its understandable that at this time we are limited.
Favorite CFCA memory? I don’t have a specific memory that I would consider my favorite. I do recall not being able to do pullups when I first started and now I most certainly can. One of my favorite things to do is bring friends to try CFCA for the first time. I like to bring them to Saturday’s community WOD because its team based so I can help them if needed.