It is 8:00 a.m., a time when the average UT student is still sound asleep with no plans of leaving his bed in the near future. However, the time of day seems irrelevant at the McNiff gym. It is filled with a variety of students all going about their workouts for their own specific goals at their own paces.
The weight room is occupied almost entirely of UT’s male population except for the occasional female lifting as well. The guys are going through their sets with extreme focus, constantly checking their lists to make sure they have completed every set. Next to almost every weight bench is a water bottle with some form of protein powder or pre-workout mix that the guys sip as they go along with gallons of water.
Moving toward the cardio machines, almost every elliptical is filled by a girl reading or texting as she completes her workout. The stair masters have the same few students on them every day and are accompanied by individuals who could not find an available elliptical. The treadmills are filled with students at a variety of athletic abilities–some sprinting, dripping with sweat and others walking steadily along flipping through a magazine.
The nautilus equipment area is packed with male and female students alike. The muscular, body builder guys are slamming weights as they try to push themselves to the next level. At the same time, personal trainers are working to introduce both students and faculty members to the benefits of free weight lifting. Mixed in with them are guys and girls making their way through the machines to complete their morning routine before rushing to their classes. Dispersed around the different machines are students stretching and working on their abdominals in whatever free space they can find.
Normally at this time the only people in the studio are individuals stretching, using kettle bells or doing other activities on their own. Some bring weights in to aid with their push-ups and crunches. Other students use the yoga balls and jump ropes to add variety to their sequence. However, this morning the studio is dark, lit only by the string lights along the mirror. There is a spin class taking place and despite the earliness of the morning, there is a handful of individuals peddling away.
Although the gym is not at its busiest at this time, there is a good amount of people working out unphased by the earliness of the morning. The majority of people is often the same and typically goes through the same workouts diligently every day. As time passes, the less dedicated gym goers begin to attend, and those who went at 8 a.m. can relax knowing that they completed their work out at a time when most were still immersed in their dreams.