BOONE, N.C. - The dim lights of Varsity Gym are exactly 272.98 miles from where fireworks illuminated the skies over Finley Stadium in Chattanooga 74 days ago. However, here is the Appalachian State University football team, its members working just as hard at 6 a.m. in February as they did when they claimed the school's first national championship in Rock City last December, because everyone in the gym knows that they are taking the first steps towards becoming the first ASU team to defend a national championship next fall. "Winter Gym," as it is known to the Mountaineers, began last Tuesday and runs three times a week leading up to the open of spring practice next Monday, March 6. Beginning at 6 a.m., Winter Gym consists of nine grueling stations and a closing session of full-team sprints that are meant to do much more than get the Apps into condition for the fast approaching spring, summer and fall. "Winter Gym builds a mental edge and instills mental toughness in our players, especially the younger guys that haven't had their conditioning tested since they arrived last fall," ASU strength and conditioning coach Russell Patterson - who supervises the early-morning workouts - said. "It's as much a team-building process as anything else. This is where you see leaders start to emerge." "It gives you something to fall back on when things get tough in the fall," all-Southern Conference tight end Daniel Bettis said. "This is where you learn to trust the man beside you." As the team shuttles from station to station, head coach Jerry Moore moves across the gym with the same energy and vigor of the first practice of the fall. His message remains constant throughout the hour-long workout. "This is what makes you different!" he shouts to the nearly 100 national champions that are dripping with sweat as the light from the rising sun starts to peek through the windows atop Varsity Gym. "You have to outwork everyone else everyday!" A necessary evil is probably the way to best describe waking up before dawn for a workout that would make some of the world's best-conditioned athletes cringe. But, deep down inside, do the Mountaineers enjoy it a little bit? "Nobody enjoys Winter Gym - probably not even the coaches," Bettis said with a smile. "But it helped us get to the top and it's something that has to be done if we want to stay on top."