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Morning raves - the new fitness craze sweeping the globe
If you’re a raver from way back, or just love to jam out to cool sounds, crack-of-dawn dancing like no one’s watching, is sure to get your pulse racing.
I first experienced this new direction in wellness when I discoed my way down to Daybreaker in New York City one Wednesday morning. I was a little dubious. Were 1000 people really going to turn up with their corporate clothes in a backpack and boogie for a few hours while munching on protein bars and knocking back coconut water? As I walked towards Space nightclub and saw an epic queue of legging-dressed and fitness-obsessed punters my adrenaline surged and my question was answered.
The Kickstarters
Daybreaker kicks off with yoga, and walking into a dimly lit nightclub at 6am to downward dog and salute the glitter balls was one thing but at 7am, when the DJ hit the decks and the glowsticks appeared, that’s when the key really turned on my day.
Another morning movement, Morning Gloryville (MGV) who are waking up the world with parties from Melbourne to Montreal, have revellers raving.
“It was a shared vision with my partner and I that came out of wanting to find a healthier way to party,” says founder of MGV, Sam Mayo. “We wanted to see if we could party without stimulants and it turns out it’s a lot more fun.”
The fitness element happened organically. “I could never quite get into the whole gym thing,” says Mayo. “So we thought maybe if fitness was more fun it would be something we would do more regularly. MGV has been about exactly that and allowing for spontaneous movement and burning calories.”
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But what do the experts think?
“I love this idea!” says Thamsin Dunn, National Master Coach, Fitness Instructor & First Aid for the Australian Institute of Fitness. “I used to love raving in my younger days, and always recognised it as a great workout. Now I’m a little older, and it’s not really my scene so any opportunity to re-experience that awesome atmosphere in a much cleaner and more positive environment is brilliant.”
Costas I. Karageorghis a reader in sport psychology at Brunei University London and co-author of Inside Sport Psychology agrees: “The benefits of this activity elevate vigour, excitement, enthusiasm and energy,” he says adding that it broadens your social circle and even your ability to find a potential partner.
Music for the people
What Mayo refers to as “conscious clubbing” is in part so successful because it lends itself to community spirit.
“Group workouts have considerable benefits,” says Dunn. “Many people with hectic work lives use exercise time as a way of socialising – they can go with their friends, or make new friends there. It’s also safer for people who may not be confident about exercising – they can hide in a group.”
No Lights No Lycra (NLNL) is a Melbourne movement given legs in 2009 by then dance students Heidi Barrett and Alice Glenn. “There is a strong sense of community at NLNL- it’s formed when people come together to share something they have in common, in this instance a desire to dance. You feel it in the energy around you,” says Heidi.
“Dancing in the dark allows people to switch off, shake out stress, loosen up their joints and find joy in the unique way their body moves, as well as being a fun way to exercise,” she says.
And you can feel the burn
The benefits to shaking your booty in the morning are impressive – depending on your style. “Professional dancers, who can activate and use every muscle in their system and at high speeds can burn upwards of 600 calories an hour,” says Dunn. That’s the equivalent of a spin or body attack class.
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“For the rest of us, it depends on how you move,” she warns. “If you are highly active, jump around a lot and do big arm movements, you may burn up to 400 calories per hour.” That’s the equivalent of two 60-minute, fast-paced yoga or Pilates classes. “The good thing about dancing for exercise is that it’s all done standing, can use big muscle groups and is rhythmic, which is good for dynamic posture.”
If you really want to gauge the intensity of a dance workout Dunn suggests wearing a heart rate monitor. “They aren’t perfectly accurate, but you can estimate calorific expenditure by keeping your heart rate high.”
