August Featured Athlete- Jonathan Ojeda
Where are you from?
Guanajuato, Cortazar, Mexico
What brought you to Ithaca?
Postdoctoral research at Cornell
How long have you been in Ithaca?
1 year
You are married, how long have you been married?
2017, 7 years
How did you meet your wife?
Met in high school through some friends, but she didn’t like me at first.
What is your education in?
Bio Tech
What do you currently do for a living?
Research postdoc at Cornell in Corn Genetics
What’s your favorite part of your research?/Least favorite?
I get to do multiple things, constantly varied like CrossFit. Some days I am in the lab extracting DNA and the next day I will be doing bioinformatics, computational biology. Least favorite would be to do the same thing over and over again.
What brought you to Pallas?
I started doing CrossFit in Texas because I wanted to find a community. I went to a gym in Lubbock and it helped me a lot and I made a lot of friends. When I got the job in Ithaca, the first thing that I did was look for a gym. Luckily one of my coaches in Lubbock told me about Pallas and he knew of Tim Paulson. I emailed Tim and he emailed me back and that's how it started.
How long have you been a member at Pallas?
1 year in June, I started here the same day as my first day of work. I did a workout and then headed to Cornell for my first day.
What keeps you motivated to keep coming to the gym?
I feel like my day is not complete without doing CrossFit. I always leave knowing that I can get better and it keeps me wanting more. The more that I do CrossFit, the more I realize it takes time to achieve my goals and get better and it makes me want to come everyday to chip away at those goals.
What’s your favorite and least favorite CrossFit movement(s)?
Favorite: Thrusters
Least Favorite: Rope Climbs
What would your ideal WOD consist of?
5 rounds
500 m Run
50 DB Snatch
5 Heavy C&J
My previous gym let me program this on my last day and it might not be the best balanced workout because my shoulders really hurt after.
Above WOD playlist/5 song max?
Trophies by Young Money & Drake
pride.is.the.devil by J Cole
Smells like Teen Spirit Remix by R3HAB & Amba Shepherd
Let the Drummer Kick by Citizen Cope
Ojitos Lindos by Bad Bunny Bomba Estereo
What’s your go to comfort food?
Thai Food, never had it before moving here and I love it.
Where is the coolest place you’ve visited?
Cancún
What do you miss most back home?
The food, especially Tacos al pastor
What book would you recommend to a stranger?
Not the End of the World by Hannah Ritchie
If you could live anywhere and money wasn't an issue, where would you choose?
I would really like to live in Merida or Baja
Tell us something about yourself that would surprise most people?
I was really good at the dance game Pump it Up, I could play both foot boards at the same time. I'm really clumsy and don't really like to dance so it was cool that I was good at it.
What advice would you give to someone who is hesitant to start at Pallas?
Just start. There is this misconception about CrossFit that you only flip tires and do crazy stuff but you are actually doing functional movements that will help you for the rest of your life.
The community is incredible, it's not just publicity, it's a fact.
Favorite thing about Pallas?
Recently I have really enjoyed that we have the weightlifting club and the community it has created. I love that you support the community with hosting Phoenix and blood drives. I love the coaches, they have all been really nice to me.