How Train became “home” for a family new to Denver

My husband, Samuel, and I (Rachael Contreras) joined Train in September of 2024 – one month after we moved to Denver. If you aren’t familiar with the Contreras Family, we’re the wacky family of 3 (soon to be 4) that comes to the gym at 5:15am!

I’m originally from Nebraska and Samuel is from South Dakota. We were both active kids – cross country and track for me, and football, wrestling, and track for Samuel. After high school we kept up with fitness through road races, weightlifting, and other classes.

In 2019, Samuel and I (still not knowing each other yet) graduated college. Samuel went on to serve 4.5 years in the Navy, and I moved to Maui that summer. Moving somewhere I’d never visited and only knowing one person was a huge step outside my comfort zone. To say my mental health wasn’t the best would be an understatement. I joined a gym, but what I needed more than anything was community and a challenge.

I was talking about this with my friend Savannah when she mentioned CrossFit. I found the closest gym, dropped into a class, and haven’t looked back since. The workouts kept me humbled (as they always do and always will), but the thing that really had me coming back was the sense of community.

Samuel and I met in April of 2023, got engaged the following April, and married in August of 2024. The day after we got married, we drove from Omaha to Denver to start a new chapter together. Samuel knew from the beginning how much I loved CrossFit, so I made it my mission to find us a gym where I knew he could grow to love it too.

While we were “gym-shopping,” stepping into Train just felt different. We were greeted by friendly faces right away. The coaching staff took time to get to know us – our fitness backgrounds, our goals, and our day-to-day lives. Those personal touches made the difference.

Joining Train has been one of the best things we’ve done since moving to Denver – for both our physical and mental health. Samuel is in graduate school, so having a physical outlet for stress has been huge. And CrossFit has been a big mental and physical outlet for me too.

Shortly after joining, I found out I was pregnant with our first kiddo. I felt every emotion, but I was especially worried about how pregnancy and postpartum would affect my performance in the gym. Being super competitive, it’s been humbling – but I could not be more grateful for the coaches at Train. They looked out for me, helped me modify while still pushing myself, and have been extremely supportive when we bring our son, Sammy, to workouts.

Being able to bring Sammy has been a game-changer for our family. We’re still able to work out together as a couple because of Train’s policies around having little ones at the gym. And even though he’s too young to understand, we’re passionate about showing Sammy (and our future kids) the importance of prioritizing your health, even when it’s not easy.

The most impactful thing Train has given us is community. We’ve met some of our closest friends at the gym, and we truly believe walking through life with people who share your passions and values matters at every stage. Moving to a new city and not knowing many people is hard—but when you find a community like Train, it makes the transition so much more seamless.

We could not be more grateful to be a part of this community.

— Rachael Contreras