If you friend request “Crossfit TCNJ” on Facebook and scroll down its wall, you’ll find comments from collegiettes™ like Melissa Conlon, who last week at 7:56 a.m. wrote:
“I can’t move…I think that’s a good thing?”
A few hours later, Crossfit TCNJ responded to her wall post. The response was peculiar…
“You’ll get used to it don’t worry”
At 7:30 a.m., TCNJ is quiet and still. Brisk November air forces students to retreat under a heap of warm, cozy blankets in their beds, and crisp breezes send yellow, orange and red leaves across TCNJ’s campus.
Most college students try to avoid this early hour all together. And along with the fallen foliage, the November winds might also blow away a collegiette’s™ motivation to work out.
Luckily, Steven Voinier considers 7:30 a.m. the perfect time to embark on what he calls the physical, emotional and mental battle that is crossfit training.
Crossfit is a type of working out that breaks away from traditional weight lifting or body building. It combines strength and conditioning training and incorporates running and cardio with moving weight. It is an intense, concentrated and difficult workout.
Nonetheless, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, about 10 to 12 crossfitters set their alarms to join Voinier for an early morning session. Voinier is the creator of Crossfit TCNJ, bringing together workout enthusiasts who are looking for a different way to exercise. His level one crossfit certification certifies him to teach entry level workouts.
Collegiettes™ like Melissa have joined Voinier’s flanks, taking on the challenging yet rewarding battle.
“It’s probably like nothing you’ve ever tried,” the club’s founder says. “During a workout, you kick yourself in the a** for a short period of time. But it’s worth it.”
Voinier, a senior mechanical engineering major, started Crossfit TCNJ this year. He received an overwhelming response from students here at TCNJ. The Crossfit TCNJ Facebook page boasts over 150 friends, and Voinier says classes continue to grow in size, despite the fact the club is in the process of receiving official SGA recognition as a student organization.
The club took root from Voiner’s own love for crossfit training. As a college freshman, he was always interested in body building, but never found the ongoing rounds of bicep curls and bench presses much fun. On his search for something different, he came across crossfit.
“I looked online and didn’t know what it was or how to do these workouts. I tried some of them but continued body building.
A torn ACL during his sophomore year left Voinier inactive for 12 months. When he hit the gym again a year later, he started doing more and more crossfit right in TCNJ’s own gym. He put together his own workouts, and according to Voinier, fellow gym-goers began to notice and ask him about it.
Regardless, it wasn’t until the summer of his Junior year when he was invited to a cross fit gym that Voinier became an avid crossfitter.
“I walked into this old warehouse that was transformed into a gym and thought ‘what the hell is this?’ The music started — and from there I was hooked.”
His passion for crossfit training is evident in the poetic way in which Voinier describes the feeling after a workout. He paints a picture of it, likening workouts to a roller coaster ride.
“You just go. During the whole thing I ask myself ‘Why am I doing this?’ But you push right through it and when it’s over, I feel like — damn I cant believe I just did that. It’s the satisfaction of overcoming it. You grasp the moment and attack it.”
This idea of satisfaction and accomplishment is a powerful element driving his efforts behind the club. It’s an emotion that he hopes to share with others through Crossfit TCNJ.
“I like when people jump out of their comfort zone and push themselves. Deep down it comes down to them. They can break that mental and emotional hold and just let it go. The physical benefits are good, but it’s all about the mental toughness.”
For the busy student, crossfit provides an escape. He says it serves as a way to relieve stress, getting his mind off engineering things.
Even when he spent last summer in Hawaii interning and studying mechanical engineering, Voinier still made time to get his two crossfit workouts in each day.
“At first I was hesitant,” says Voinier of his decision to attend a crossfit gym in Hawaii. “I didn’t have my glasses on and only found it when I heard clanking dumbbells down an ally way.”
Though he was fearful of being rejected by the island’s native crossfitters, he soon learned that the same spirit of camaraderie that he experienced at crossfit gyms in New Jersey transcended throughout the crossfit world.
“It’s a community based way of working out. The people in Hawaii welcomed me right in, and ended up inviting me out to a party that night.”
Voinier tells members of his own club back here at TCNJ not to be intimidated by crossfit. Instead, his workouts are motivational and centered on what he calls the mental build-up aspect.
Voinier has high hopes for Crossfit TCNJ. Once recognized by SGA, Voinier hopes to set up more permanent headquarters with equipment on campus. He wants the club to go beyond working out, and has visions of holding bi-weekly meetings to talk about nutrition, focus on learning certain movements and fundraise money for charities.
So collegiettes™, Her Campus TCNJ dares you to grab a friend and join Steven for a workout. You will find him in the gym on any Monday or Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Fridays at 7:30 a.m. Take the opportunity to build a healthy body and push yourself to become stronger both physically and mentally. Sure, your muscles might ache and your body might be sore afterwards, but take it from Lindsay Baker: Simply put but well said, this collegiette™ posted a comment on Crossfit TCNJ’s facebook wall after a 7:30 a.m. work out that reads, “owwwwie. But looooove it”.
Still not convinced? Read up on why Hannah Wey wakes up to do crossfit below!
Hannah Wey:
I attend xfit because a challenging workout is exactly what I’m looking for! It’s so quick — I’ve done a workout in 4 minutes and been dripping sweat and so sore the next day — and you never do the same workout twice so it keeps you on your toes. Plus, steve is my friend and most of the members are girls on my lax team so its a really good atmosphere. Its a class, too, so it gives me that slight level of personal competition so that I don’t get lazy. And the people who show up are all people who are in decent shape because who else would seek out an intense workout program at 7:30 AM?
My favorite part is that it wakes me up and gets me going to have a productive day, and Steve does all the work by planning/creating the workouts, so I just have to show up and do them. And I also like beating the boys. Its all weird sort of exercises too, so I’m building my repertoire of future workouts with these new exercises.