Man with cerebral palsy inspires by acing the 10-pushups-challenge with a bright smile

Having a disability often stops people from pushing their limits. But that’s not the case with this person with Cerebral palsy. The condition affects a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. However, this video on Reddit by u/Pure_Fact_ shows a man doing 10 pushups on his own. It seems difficult for him, but he pushes through. After doing a few pushups, he tells himself, “Let’s go.” And once he is done accomplishing 10 pushups, his happiness seems boundless. He is truly an inspiration for anyone who wants to push their boundaries and wants to do their best.

The video is captioned, “Doing 10 pushups with cerebral palsy.” Many Reddit users loved the guy’s determination. u/sexygeogirl commented, “This guy is awesome. I can’t even do one push-up.” u/moorandmountain commented, “Impressive! I can’t do one full pushup and struggle to do the alt version ones even with my chronic health stuff. Congrats on all the hard work that got you to this point! You’re awesome! Keep up the hard work!” u/zeronopes commented, “Was anyone else shouting "you got this! One more!" Like I was lol!” u/Xlbucket commented, “Keep going man Ur doing great!”

The video was later removed by the moderators but had more than 650 upvotes. Alex Mercado has cerebral palsy, but that did not stop him from getting his first stripe in martial arts. In a video posted on Reddit, Mercado's teacher can be seen telling everybody in the class, "Me and Mr. Alex, we do lessons every Friday." He then tells Mercado, "Buddy, I'm super duper proud of you." To which he responds, "I didn't cry!" His teacher tells him, "I know you didn't cry. You don't cry in karate." Mercado starts laughing. After which, his teacher begins to tie a white stripe he earned to his belt. Meanwhile, he tells him, "I'm so so proud of you, buddy. All the hard work you do. You deserve it." Mercado becomes ecstatic and starts shouting. The 52-second video ends with the teacher hugging Mercado.

According to WTOC, Mercado was part of the Special Kids program at Pooler Karate in 2020. He was trained by Matthew Sangiorge for 1.5 years in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Sangiorge said, “Definitely a whole lot of running around, a lot of groundwork to keep him moving.” Mercado was doing pretty well. Sangiorge said, “It was definitely your time buddy. Everything we’ve been going over he soaks it in like a sponge.” He continued, “It really just shows what martial arts is all about. You know, that everybody can come in no matter what, and everyone will support you and carry you on your journey,” said Sangiorge.

The video was first uploaded on Sangiorge's TikTok and it went viral. “I was like, ‘wow!’ The power of social media that everybody can kind of see what we’re doing here,” he said. Moreover, he believes that the video sent an important message. He said, “Alex really shows you that you have no excuse. If Alex can come in here with a smile on his face every day, and bust his butt harder than any other student, you really don’t have an excuse. It makes your problems not that bad.” He said that his student had changed his life. Sangiorge said, "I’m saying how can you have a bad day when he comes in? I’m telling you I’m very appreciative. Friends forever."