Chelsea & Gustavo are PUSH511's November Members of the Month!
Chelsea and Gustavo joined PUSH511 in the summer of 2022 and have become regular members of the group CrossFit class afternoon crew. Both Chelsea and Gustavo have demonstrated what consistent work in the gym can accomplish: Chelsea has made incredible strength gains, allowing her to PR her marathon time in her first race since welcoming their first baby. Gustavo has also made impressive health gains and has lost weight, is no longer sleeping with a CPAP machine, and recently ran his first marathon!
Let's see why the PUSH team loves having Chelsea & Gustavo in class:
Always great to have them both or individually in class. They set great examples that CrossFit helps in getting prepared for any tasks/sport/challenge outside the gym and that’s always inspiring to see.
It's been great to have Chelsea and Gustavo in my classes and to watch their family grow as well! They are all-around phenomenal athletes and wonderful people. Now they're incredible role models for their child and those who aspire to continue on their fitness journey considering the schedule demands on parents. Coachable, driven, and fun - keep up the great work!
Chelsea and Gustavo are fun to work out with and coach. They consistently show up even with demanding lives. Love to see how they use CrossFit to help them in sports outside of the gym. Chelsea has been a runner and really focused on getting back into post-baby running form while using CrossFit to build strength. Guess what...it paid off, she PR'd her recent marathon and has sights on a sub-4-hour next March. Her love for running has spread to Gustavo and he just finished his first marathon! A secret hidden talent of Gustavo is that he is the master Caipirinha maker, which we all fully appreciate.
Now, let's get to know our November Members of the Month!
When did you start CrossFit?
- Chelsea: I started CrossFit in June 2018. After completing my first marathon and having very little strength training, or strength in general, I knew that I could improve my time if I was stronger. I had a CrossFit gym close to my home and thought I'd give it a try!
- Gustavo: I started in 2013 when I still lived in Brazil. I was 27 and in my worst shape ever. Working an unhealthy number of hours and barely sleeping 5 hours a night - having to use a CPAP machine for severe sleep apnea. After my doctor told me I was going down a bad path I finally decided to make a change. CrossFit was this brand-new thing the cool kids were doing. There were very few gyms in Sao Paulo at the time (not the case anymore), I even got turned away by the first gym I went to for lack of capacity.
What's your fitness background?
- Chelsea: I'm an endurance runner. That's it.
- Gustavo: Played Team Handball throughout high school and college.
What's your favorite CrossFit movement?
- Chelsea: Kettlebell swings! It's the one movement I actually feel strong doing!
- Gustavo: Bar Muscle-ups and Overhead squats because I'm a show-off :)
What's your least favorite movement?
- Chelsea: Snatches. Also, thrusters. Oh yeah, front squats, too. Not a big fan of wall balls either. I honestly kind of hate everything lol
- Gustavo: Thrusters and step back lunges.
What do you do for work?
- Chelsea: I'm a psychiatric clinical pharmacist by training, but currently serve as Assistant Director of Clinical Services with the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy.
- Gustavo: Financial Crimes Compliance at Morgan Stanley.
Tell us a little about yourselves and your family! We're pretty boring. We sleep, though not too much anymore, work, and spend as much time as possible as a family. Chelsea runs a lot and Gustavo watches a lot of soccer on TV. We met at CrossFit Harbor East pre-pandemic, shortly after Chelsea moved to Baltimore, and remained friends for a while walking home together after classes. The pandemic hit, the gym closed, and we knew we needed to either do this thing or move on. We decided to "do this thing" and 3.5 years later here we are! We have a 10-month-old baby boy, Tiago "Chico" Francisco, who is the sweetest little peanut, and a 12-year-old beagle/basset mix named Buster.
Tell us something we don't know about you!
- Chelsea: I rescue senior dogs. I prefer the ones that have medical issues and are hard to adopt out. I usually only get a few years at the most out of them, but they need love and it's worth the frequent heartbreak.
- Gustavo: My weekends are planned around the English Premier League matches. Luckily, they mostly impact mornings.
How has CrossFit affected your lives outside of the gym?
- Chelsea: I have decreased my marathon time by 70 minutes so far!
- Gustavo: Lost 40 pounds. Got rid of the CPAP machine. Ran my first marathon this past month!
What do you enjoy the most about PUSH511? The coaches! They are supportive and helpful with injuries, training requirements, and never make you feel bad about scaling. In addition, Ardyth is the most supportive gym owner we've ever experienced. She is the first to inquire, congratulate, and publicly highlight any "extracurricular" endeavors outside of CrossFit!
What tips would you offer to someone who is just getting started with working out? Come to this gym with trust. Trust the coaches, trust the process, and trust your body. Whatever your goal is for trying out CrossFit, you will get there, and you'll have amazing support along the way. Also, embrace the "scale" train as much as possible!
What's your favorite song to work out to?
- Chelsea: Veil of Maya: Mikasa
- Gustavo: Portugal. The Man: Feel it Still
What's your favorite restaurant?
- Chelsea: Underground Pizza
- Gustavo: Ekiben
Who's your hero (real or fictional)?
- Chelsea: Eliud Kipchoge
- Gustavo: Ronaldo Nazario (the OG Ronaldo!)
What does your frequently used emoji tab look like? Like most first time parents, the vast majority of our texting is about our baby. So, the sleepy, smiley, crying, and the POOP emojis are commonplace in our conversations.
Words to live by or favorite quote?
- Chelsea: "Life's a garden, dig it." - Joe Dirt
- Gustavo: "Go ahead and eat dessert before dinner."
What's your favorite travel spot?
- Chelsea: Hawaii (the big island)
- Gustavo: Maine (it's all about the lobster!)
If you could win an Olympic gold medal for any sport, real or fake, what would it be?
- Chelsea: The marathon distance (shocker)
- Gustavo: Team Handball with the Brazil national team
What's your hidden talent?
- Chelsea: Running on no sleep
- Gustavo: If you ever want to play World Cup trivia, I'm your guy!
What are your top five favorite movies?
Chelsea:
- Rocky IV
- American History X
- Schindler's List
- Penelope
- Leap Year
Gustavo:
- The Goonies
- Matrix
- City of God
- The Motorcycle Diaries
- The Departed
