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Walking down JFK St. away from the bustle of Harvard Square, one will eventually cross Memorial Drive and reach the Charles River.

The Larz Anderson Bridge spans the width of the Charles. It marks the divide between Cambridge and Allston, but for Harvard football players, it marks a different divide.

Crossing this bridge in the dark is almost an everyday task for the Harvard football team. The players pass by Weld Boathouse, leaving their academic responsibilities behind for a while and preparing for the daily grind of morning workouts. The first whistle of their day sounds before the sun rises and the last after it sets.

Between 6:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. players hurry from workouts to class to practice, attempting to fit in time for a large lunch and various naps. Afterwards, between dinner and showering, homework still awaits.

“Shoot it’s tough, because you stay up until like 2 o’clock in the morning doing a p-set and then you have to wake up at like 5:30,” said sophomore wide receiver Justice Shelton-Mosley. “A lot of guys will be sleeping on the bus or the shuttle as we get to the locker room.”

While the actual lift starts at 6:30, players’ days begin much earlier.

“Once we get into the locker room and the weight room, we’re focused on getting better,” Shelton-Mosley said. “But up until that point we’re pretty tired and just looking forward to when the lift is done.”

In season, players lift in the morning on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, and the team splits itself into “cards.” The advanced card is made up of athletes who are getting to see a lot of time on the field and lifts only on Tuesday and Sundays, with Sunday being a recovery lift. The cards below that are reserved for athletes who haven’t been playing and are working towards starting positions. These players lift all three days.

“This is because the goal is just to maintain what we’ve acquired through the offseason,” said senior defensive tackle Doug Webb. “Whereas we’re trying to build up the other developmental pairs who aren’t getting reps on the field throughout the season.”

In addition to the workouts are the actual practices, which have been in the afternoon for the last 23 years.

“One hundred percent of the practices, the meetings, start at three o’clock and the practice starts at four,” coach Tim Murphy said. “The kids have a very specific schedule for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. It’s identical so they can set their schedule to it.”

For the players and coaches, these afternoon practices extend into the early evening. Following the three o’clock meetings are 24 five-minute practice periods, and by the time the team huddles up after the twenty-fourth block, it is usually well past 6 p.m.

“We certainly try to get out by six everyday,” Murphy said. “Whether it’s 6:05 or 6:10 by the time you huddle and talk a little bit. Occasionally it’s five or ten minutes longer.”

While the Harvard football team exclusively holds its in-season practices in the afternoon, several local teams, including Boston College, hold morning practices. Morning practices are better logistically, but they can leave players drained for the rest of the day.