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With the festive season in full swing, you may feel like you have to choose between fitness and socialising. That’s not the case, however, if you can go ‘out out’ without boozing, as sober socialiser Kezia Rice has been finding out. 

After months of isolation, spending back-to-back nights partying this summer felt nothing less than necessary. During lockdown, I’d been doing early morning workouts and weekend runs just to keep myself sane. But when bars and clubs reopened, my daily routine soon slipped into a new cycle: work, drink till the early hours, artane bambini dosaggio barely sleep, repeat.

I wasn’t initially bothered that my workouts had fallen by the wayside. As Strong Women writer Chloe Gray wrote a little while ago, sacrificing sport for socialising is especially reasonable post-lockdown as we make up for lost time without our friends. However, the longer my relentless party routine went on, the more I realised that I was skipping exercise-induced endorphins for mornings spent feeling exhausted and hungover. 

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At some point, I had a light bulb moment. Those hours spent on the club dance floor were a workout in themselves. The high I got from dancing? Tick. The group mentality, with everyone moving as one? Tick. The aching legs the next day? Tick, tick, tick. Could going clubbing be some sort of substitute for the exercise I was missing out on?

Not long after this realisation, I went partying with the most energetic dancer I know: my dad. He hasn’t had more than a sip of alcohol for 17 years after giving up alcohol for health reasons. We had a blast boogieing together, and it occurred to me that his sobriety doesn’t hinder but rather helps him on the dance floor, where he is known throughout our town for being the life and soul of every party.

The thought crossed my mind: could I also give up drinking on a night out? Maybe this way I could get all the benefits of dancing without the accompanying hangover. 

But when I imagined spending an evening sober, I immediately felt panicked. I would be on show, self-conscious, bored – disconnected from the music and my fellow dancers without alcohol pulsing through my veins. The link I had formed between alcohol and having a good time was entrenched after several years of partying. If I wanted to have any chance at breaking it, I had to give a sober night out a try. 

Sober anxiety is natural – trust in the music

My first sober night began with pre-drinks with my close friends, where I sipped on tonic and attempted to join in the fun. I’d told everyone about my plan to stay sober, and they were more than supportive (“I’ll drink enough for both of us,” was my mate Nick’s enthusiastic response). 

However, as the group became steadily drunker, I found I could no longer contribute to the increasingly illogical conversation topics, soundtracked by the same Oasis song played on repeat. I took on the role of the non-inebriated navigator and began herding everyone out of the door and en route to the party.

As soon as I walked into the club with its flashing lights and thumping bass, any anxiety I had about not being able to enjoy a sober night disappeared. The placebo effect was in full swing: I felt completely immersed and totally at home. I found a spot in front of the DJ and set up camp. My friends drifted from the smoking area to the bar to the dance floor, but I stayed put. There was nothing I wanted to do apart from dance. 

Dancing on a night out will benefit your other workouts

Here’s the scientific question: can dancing in a club be considered a full on workout? I conducted my own experiment that first sober night, tracking my steps and clocking 22,000 in the four hours I spent in the club. An online converter tells me that’s the same as walking 10 miles, which I would consider an energetic workout by any means.

When asked what physical and mental benefits dancing could offer, Hannah Robertshaw, programmes director at Yorkshire Dance, explained: “Dancing can help with overall fitness, muscle tone, mobility and flexibility alongside increasing cardiovascular health by raising the heart rate.

“It can also improve cognitive function through the use of spatial and movement memory.” 

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But would dancing in a nightclub make a difference to my workout? Well, Robertshaw thinks so: “The benefits of dancing in a fitness class or in a club are largely social, encouraging connectivity to other people. Additionally, if you’re out for a night of dancing in a club, you will probably be dancing for several hours, as opposed to a fitness class which typically lasts around one hour, or at home, when you might just dance to a few songs. In essence, regardless of where you dance, dancing is good for your health.” 

I woke up from that first sober night out feeling exhausted. My body had been moving for hours on end and I’d been awake for 24 hours. But I was hooked on the feeling I got from having had the best time without the alcohol I’d previously relied on.

Since then, I’ve been on several more sober nights out. However, quitting alcohol completely was never my plan, and I still enjoy regular post-work drinks or weekend benders. I just see a sober night as one more activity I can regularly enjoy.

How to get into the sober mindset

My main tip for partying sober is to dress for the occasion. Just as dressing well for the gym makes your work out better, a great look will get you pumped for your night out. I’m already a bombastic dresser, but I put even more effort into a sober night, relying on the excitement of wearing my outfit to boost my mood even further.

As for thinking of my night out as a workout, I’d rather reap the benefits without putting an ‘exercise’ label on what should be a purely fun situation. It may be a great physical movement that leaves my legs aching the next day, but the thought of expelling energy or building muscle should be far from your mind when out with mates.

Instead, I’m in search of the feeling I get from dancing euphorically for hours on end. So long as the clubs are open, you’ll find me at the front of the dance floor, caffeinated but probably not drunk, propelled by the music – chasing that high. 

Find more first-person fitness tales and sober fun in the Strong Women Training Club library. 

Images: Getty/author’s own

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