I saw this really funny post on the UnitedLifters Instagram page yesterday, and it made me think a little bit.
All my life I’ve claimed to *not* be a “Morning Person.” Yet, I chose swimming as my main sport through high school and college (filled with 5:30am practice times) and I have been a morning class coach at CrossFit gyms for the last 6+ years! I know, it doesn’t make sense to me, either. Before I coached CrossFit full-time, I had another job during the day, coached in the evenings after work, and then I’d often work out after the last class at night.
That means that in my 9+ years of CrossFit, I’ve worked out at five in the morning and at nine at night, based on my schedule at the time. I think it’s such an important experiment to conduct for yourself to see what times work best for you and your lifestyle. While it’s easy to say, “I’ll never set an alarm before 5am because only vampires and crazy people are awake at that hour,” I’ve seen people whose lives completely change when their workout is done for the day before the sun even comes up. As you might assume, anyone who is willing to get up that early is probably pretty determined! That also means the “family” of people who train at that hour really look out for one another. I must say, the Rooster Crew is an awesome group of people! And since you’re done for the day at school or at work, when you leave you can do whatever you want. You won’t need to worry about getting home after 6, 7, or 8pm and still needing to find time and motivation to cook and eat dinner, clean, and then relax. I dunno, that sounds pretty sweet to me!
That said, I’ve also seen other people who come in to the gym that early looking like they rolled straight out of bed and into their car, showed up to class still half-asleep, and left class still looking that way! While there are perks to being in and out early, it’s certainly not for everyone! One benefit of going to class in the evenings, is that they’re typically busier and bustling with energy. After a long day at work, people want to unwind, and the athletes here often form strong friendships of their own. “Work, Gym, Sleep, Repeat” becomes the routine for thousands of people in adulthood, and there are fewer places that can have fun, be social, and help you stay in shape than a good CrossFit box.
We can’t forget that other class; the Nooners! This group typically come from all walks of life! They’re stay-at-home parents, students with a late start for classes, folks who work from home, night shifters, firefighters or those in the medical field who work for multiple days straight and have multiple days off in a row, people on vacation. You can find anyone at a noon class!
I want to challenge you to attend a class at your gym that’s at a different time than your usual. If that thought just made you so uncomfortable to step outside of your comfort zone of the coaches you know and athletes you’re friends with, then we’re onto something! Isn’t it crazy to think you’ve probably never even seen a person that’s been doing CrossFit for the same amount of time as you, at the same gym, just because you go to different classes? Your new best friend or ideal training partner could be right under your nose and you’d never know! If nothing else, it would help make the community of your gym a little bit smaller with a few more people getting to know one another. If you do give it a shot, let me know how it goes.
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