IT'S 5:30 A.M. at the Spiral Flight Yoga studio on Wisconsin Avenue. Two yoga masters in kneeling poses chant Sanskrit meditative phrases while a third lies very still on her mat. "I fell asleep," explained Kristen Maresca after class. "I was up until 11:45 last night. I almost didn't come today, but then I thought, 'I have to.'" Despite the ungodly hour, she said she feels more "with it" throughout the day than if she'd slept in.

Maresca, who teaches yoga on the side, is one of about a dozen advanced yogis who meet daily at 4 a.m. for two-and-a-half-hour yoga and meditation sessions. At 3 a.m., said Spiral Flight director Cristen Tighe, "your mind is in a hazy place," an active subconscious state that's ideal for meditation.

"Sadhana," loosely translated as "daily spiritual practice," is intended to help participants attain mental clarity. They start with 20 minutes of chanting, then move into a 45-minute practice. At 5:15 a.m., it's time for a 57-minute meditative chant, preferably while not moving from a kneeling pose. "We clean our bodies," said Tighe. "Why not clean our minds?"

But even non-yogis are setting their alarm clocks earlier to squeeze in exercise before long commutes and lengthy workdays kick in. Gyms are opening earlier — Results' U Street location is even staying open around the clock. And those seeking hardcore pre-dawn punishment would be hard-pressed to find a boot camp in the area that meets after 6 a.m.

At 5:30 a.m., a class of five at the Rockville Fitness First gym begins with 20 push-ups before heading out into the predawn blackness for a half-mile jog. Arriving at a dark side street, they perform forward/backward running drills punctuated by more push-ups. "You're a trooper," one of the regulars shouts to a newcomer. The group jogs another half-mile and pauses for jumping jacks and a series of lunges up a hill affectionately known as "the bitch." ("The bastard" is a few blocks over.) The sky's still gray when the class breaks up at 6:30 a.m.

Boot campers say there's nothing magic about exercising early, other than convenience. One regular trades off boot-camp mornings with her husband because they have two children. Another regular departs before the class cools down, saying she needs to get to work.

The best part of boot camp isn't the physical challenge, trainer Justin Adams said. "It's better than running on a treadmill. There are lifelong friendships formed in this class." (That assumes one can form a coherent sentence so early.)

Boot camps are not for beginners, Adams warned. The Sergeant's Program, which runs several area camps, requires novices to complete a three-week daily training course and pass several fitness tests before they can advance.

Some gym rats apparently don't need group classes to motivate them to sweat it out in the wee hours. Since the U Street branch of Results switched to a 24-hour schedule last month, gym members have "expanded their hours," said Sarah Lengyel French, vice president of business development. Those who used to arrive when the doors opened at 5 a.m. now appear at 4 a.m.; those who rushed to finish by 11 p.m. now stay past midnight. The earliest classes at Results begin at 6 a.m., but French said that could change if members request it. No one's asked, but one or two night owls show up between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. to work out on their own.

With that schedule, they can still make it to a predawn meditation.

SET THE ALARM
» Spiral Flight Yoga: 1826 Wisconsin Ave. NW; 202-965-1645.
» Fitness First boot camps.
» The Sergeant's Program.
» Results: Dupont Circle location: 1612 U St. NW; 202-518-0001.

This post was written by Express contributor Fawn Johnson.
Photo courtesy Michelle Repiso/Express.

Posted by Express at 11:21 AM on November 14, 2006
Tagged in Dupont Circle , Fit , Metro , U St.-Cardozo