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Home » Fitness » November Project co-leaders help build community through free fitness – Madison.com

As they do every week, no matter the season, roughly 80 people gathered at the state Capitol building before the sun rose on a Friday in February to work out in 20-degree temperatures.

The size of the group, a branch of the November Project, has steadily grown since beginning with just a few adventurous bodies on a cold morning in February 2013 and includes all fitness levels and ages.

And no one is paying a cent to join the group and stay fit.

I think thats the heart of it, November Project-Madison co-leader Nicole Martin said. Theres no memberships. Theres no sign-ups. People can just show up. Sometimes new things are scary and intimidating. Theres no boundaries here. You shouldnt have to pay $100 a month to have a gym membership to have a community and be able to work out and be fit.

November Project began in Boston in 2011 when two people wanted to hold each other accountable and hold workouts outdoors every day in November. They carried on past that month, and the Madison tribe was born just more than a year later.

According to Martin, the project has now expanded to 33 locations, including London, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Serbia, Iceland and a number of cities across the U.S. and Canada.

Martin and co-leader Moriah Consigny began showing up to workouts in 2013. Theyve led the Madison group since last year and have helped build a safe, free option for those in the community who want to stay fit.

Rain, shine, cold, snow or sleet these early-risers spend every Friday morning at the Capitol at 6:27 a.m., every Wednesday morning at Bascom Hill at 6:28 a.m. and also partake in the occasional brunch run on Saturdays. Only one workout has been canceled since the group began in 2013.

When your eyelashes freeze over, Consigny said. I like those workouts.

What is this group all about?

Martin: Our whole mission is to build community around this idea of free fitness and really create a place for people to land. When I moved here, I came here for grad school, didnt know anybody, and this group of people has given me a home and a family here in Madison and made a new place feel like a place that Im supposed to be, and I think we try every week to make that for other people. Getting new people to come to our workouts is our very, very favorite thing. We like to kind of push boundaries and break out of the normal routines that people are in where a free fitness group, theres no catch ever. Its always going to be free. Its a big aspect of trying to get people out here with no excuses. You dont have to pay for a gym. You dont have to work out inside.

What would you say to the fitness novice whos nervous to try this?

Consigny: I think our workouts are hard no matter what your level is. Thats the beauty to it. You always feel like you got a good workout in. and everybody gets through it. Thats the amazing part. Everybody gets through this workout because we have each other holding each other accountable, pushing each other and making it really enjoyable. We push people outside their comfort zone in a safe environment.

It looks like you guys run a lot, but what other type of workouts do you do?

Martin: We do all sorts of things. A lot of times, well do different patterns around the Capitol, so we might run up and down the stairs (next to the Capitol) or run the inner loop of the Capitol. Well run down all the hills that spray out from the Capitol. Well do lunges, bear crawl up the stairs, hop the steps. We do a lot of funny, quirky partner exercises. Maybe youll do a wall sit and your partner will do some tricep dips on your knees. Some weird things. We like to break the mold a little bit.

What do you think gets people out of bed this early when its cold?

Martin: I think its the people. The people that you meet here are amazing people, and you build friendships. You build relationships with people that you would never meet in your normal, everyday life. As a grad student or as a college student or whatever you do, you have your circle of people that you interact with in your day to day, and November Project is a place where people from all different walks of life and all different stages of life are all coming together. I really think its walking up these steps and seeing a friendly face and getting to hug your friends in the morning that gets people out here, even when its bad weather.

Consigny: I think its the knowledge that were all going to be here and theyre not. Were all going to be here doing the workout, getting high fives, laughing, cheering each other on and theyre going to be in bed. Its warm there, but this is where the fun is.

Interview by Jason Galloway

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November Project co-leaders help build community through free fitness - Madison.com

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Home » Fitness » November Project co-leaders help build community through free fitness – Madison.com