New on the Scene: Julian Serna

March 4, 2013

Brenton Roggow

"Right now, all I'm concentrating on is making it to Regionals and doing better than I did last year."

Photos by: Jorge Huerta

When you find yourself on the top of a leaderboard above some of the big names in the sport of CrossFit such as Kenneth Leverich, Scott Panchik and Orlando Trejo, people want to know who you are.

Recently, Julian Serna, owner of BISAO CrossFit, exploded onto the scene by taking first place in a local competition in Miami.

Serna’s experience in competitive CrossFit only began within the last year. At the 2012 South East Regional, he finished 15th.

“Right now, all I’m concentrating on is making it to Regionals and doing better than I did last year,” Serna says. “You always want to improve and that’s my next goal. I want to be better and smarter.”

Prior to CrossFit, Serna trained in Capoeira, which he says helped him with agility and coordination when transitioning to CrossFit.

“Capoeira involves a lot of acrobatics and coordination,” he says. “We learn how to manipulate our own bodies so that we can control them better.”

Between family and running an affiliate, Serna says it is difficult to find time for his own training.

“It’s tough to train for me ‘cause I have a family and own my own box, so between my wife and kids, and running the business, my training sometimes suffers,” he explains. “But I usually get a couple of workouts in during the week — sometimes more, sometimes less.”

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Serna says workouts with heavier weights are his strength. His snatch PR is 255 lb., and his max clean and jerk is 325 lb. Pistols and chest-to-bar pull-ups are two of his weaknesses, which he tries to work on by often incorporating them into his programming.

Serna says he’s cleaning up his nutrition, which he hopes will give him a more competitive edge in the Games season.

“My diet has improved from last year, but it is still nowhere near as good as it should be,” he admits. “I tend to eat a lot of Colombian food, which is my downfall, or perhaps my greatest strength/secret weapon. Who knows? But on a serious note, I have definitely changed my diet, and I am working on keeping it healthy, especially with Regionals coming up again.”

Serna says that with every competition, he is learning and gaining experience. And with just a few days left before the Open begins, he’s focused.  

“I’m just training hard for the Open. I compete ‘cause it’s fun, and I love meeting all the different CrossFitters out there,” he says. “I’ve developed some great friendships just through tournaments alone, along with the knowledge and experience from each new person you meet. It’s something amazing that only CrossFit can give you.”