Last year, I wrote about Keeping Fitness Levels And Our Physique In Check During The Fasting Month of Ramadan. But hey.. there’s only so much I can say as I’m not a Muslim and have personally never experienced such a fast and it’s impact to my workouts, so this time, I’ve decided to get some input from someone who has.
Exercising During Ramadan
By Mohd Shazly Khan
Every day during the month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world break their fast when the fourth prayer of the day, Maghrib, is due. They eat before the sun comes up at a certain time and after a certain time during the night.
Its very obvious that the coming month will create a buzz for those who would like to continue working out. The common misconception is to cut back totally on our workout and resume only after Hari Raya (also Hari Raya Puasa, literally “Fasting Day of Celebration”, the Malay term for the Muslim festival of Eid ul-Fitr).
However I would like to think of it differently. Please note that these steps that I’m going to suggest works well for me, so it may not necessarily work as well for you. My best advice is to listen to your body.
For me, its not really a question of “Should I train?” or not but rather what kind of workout and at what time I should do it. It is as straightforward as that. Some would doubt if cardio workouts are advisable since the body lacks water (fasting can make us dehydrated, symptoms are like fatigue, dizziness & headache). I would think of it differently, since the absence of glycogen due to fasting, then the opportunity to burn some fat should not go to waste. The only thing that we should make sure is not to over strain and stop immediately if we feel light headed. If we time our workouts properly, i.e few hours prior to breaking fast, we will be able to refuel shortly thereafter. We should avoid high impact sports during the day as we are not in the condition to endure performance sports.
The other good time to workout is after breaking fast. However this is not applicable if you have just eaten a cow or something equivalent to it. Get the point? Be sure to consume small portions and stick to foods that are easily digested . Let me remind myself and all of you out there, that Mutton or Lamb are definitely not easy to digest. However, feel good to understand that digestion alone can consume up to 40% of our calorie output.
As for weight training, I would only do them after breaking fast. To draw rapid energy from what is already lacking will result in our body drawing energy from other muscle and if I were to do weights, I will make sure that I drown myself with a protein shake right after the workout. We should lose fat, not muscle instead. Some would disagree, but more protein can help to generate more muscle, and more muscle means more calories being used to maintain them, thus driving fat-loss into overdrive.
However if some of you decide not to train at all, you will definitely lose some size and strength just like the professional athletes who lose their stamina during an off season. The good thing is that we will regain it quickly if we work hard enough.
The key lesson here is simply to be smart. Listen to your body. If it tells you that it needs to rest, then do what is right and do it smart.
Shazly Khan is a Certified Personal Trainer, Triathlon Competitor, Marathon Competitor and most of all, someone with a Passion for the sport. He is currently attached to a local Fitness Centre with an established chain of health clubs in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. Read his blog at http://shazlykhan.blogspot.com
DM says:
So, to summarise:1. Decide on the type of exercise you’re going to perform - avoid high impact sports during the day
2. Exercise either few hours prior to breaking fast or after breaking your fast
3. Eat small portions, something light & easily digested if you plan to workout after breaking your fast
4. If you wish to weight train, it is better to do it after you break fast - don’t forget that post-workout protein shake!
5. Completely avoiding training during the fasting month will cause you to lose size, strength, and stamina
6. Learn to listen to your body at all times - don’t exercise if your body is telling you not to!
Fasting month commences tomorrow, 13th Sept 07, and I wish all Muslims a happy and productive fasting month! May you continue to be focused and never lose sight on your goals this 1 month.
Articles you might like:
- Exercising during Ramadan and the Notorious Pasar Ramadan Today, we've got guest contributor Yusof, who shares with us...
- The Fasting Month of Ramadhan - Keeping your Fitness Levels and Physique In Check! I've been asked many times over the past few weeks...
- I just started Exercising… Why Am I Gaining Weight? Hi DM, I am kinda upset today. After 2 weeks...
- Why Do My Muscles Get Sore After A Workout? Muscle soreness - something I'm sure EVERYBODY can relate to....
- Am I consuming enough protein for a beginner? If you're one of those just starting out at the...
{ 1 trackback }
{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
lose size…as in lose weight?
Lose size here means lose muscle size. Muscle will be shrink down if there is no training. It is partially correct that lose weight as muscle shrink down. However, i would like to clarify that lose weight is very misleading. Our ultimate goal is to LOSE FAT. One well build up body builder might be over 100 kg. But this weight is come from muscle, not fat.
anomie101: That’s a good question. My apologies for not spotting that and clarifying. And kk, thanks for helping to clarify.
Jazakum Allahkhair for this info. I will send it to folks who are trying to keep their fitness programmes without losing their Ramadan and who are trying to keep their Ramadan without loosing thier fitness programmes!
Once again, another great find!
Thank you DM.
Altho personally, I wake up 4am and go for a short half an hour run, and re-hydrate myself, and later at 5am, I have my sahur (eat before the start of fast) with nutritious meal.
It works pretty well for me this way..
Gua hungry DM….
Aiyo you all, puasa is all about mind over matter la. Unless you’re going up for some national or international meet, whats losing a couple of pounds? Could actually be good for you. Our body hates carrying excessive mass be it fat or muskle. So let it chill for a bit yo.
With regards to a different training approach, whats the chance that y’all hit the gym before 7pm on a normal working day? We got jobs and bills to pay so theres this thing called a ‘time constraint’ and we all would like to fit into a so called ’schedule’ so gym-ing hours are usually 7-10pm. By seven you’ll be fuelled up and eight you’ll be in the iron room. Food in the belly and iron in your hand. Anyway how many of you do your 1RM each time you hit the gym to genuinely require your ‘nutritionally saavy’ 150gms of protein? I rest my case.
Running during Ramadhan? You call drinking before and after your morning run hydration? If its a 2-3 click run at 80% of your MHR, your looking for an attack at your immune system. It aint the fuel but the H2O brother… unless your cup is like 2.5litres worth.
Im fasting right now so i know whats its like. I dun have to upkeep a Mr Universes’ physique so i take time to enjoy my breakfast and what nots this fasting month has to offer… be it catabolism, anabolism or analbolism
whoa…my training partner writing here!
fyi, i’m also fasting by virtue by being in brunei and to join my malay colleague. Then, i break fast with him in the evening. Only diff is my Sahur ends at 6.30am and not 4.30am!
Kambing Lord:
Yours is a very good approach, but unfortunately I can’t follow it cuz I have classes from 7am to 6.30pm and then when I get back, I have to rush home to break fast and then go to the mosque for tarawih and only be back home at 11pm.
But there are days I feel light headed, so I have changed, instead of running, I hit the weights for a short 20 mins workout session, and yes, hydration is very important from the instance you berbuka till sahur.
What I’m saying now is, workout (or run) before sahur. This way, your body will remind you why it needs muscle instead of breaking it down, plus, your metabolism will be fired up for longer period of the day before you turn in to bed.
Stupe: I admire you for joining to fast :-)
This fasting months, I have modified my workout so that I will be ripped on 1st Syawal!
I do cardio everyday after terawih, and circuit weight training once a week at the gym, where I try to cover all muscle group.
So far so good, I am still maintaining my strength, muscle size so far did not shrink, but definitely my fat is reducing as i can see my pecs and stomach look more defined!!!
Finally, do what you think is good for your body and do not force yourself into following non-puasa month routine, it might do more damage than good.
My 2 cents worth!
Selamat Berpuasa
Wassalam
You are most likely to gain weight during Ramadan simply because of the fact that your body will be “shocked” into storing fat because it is the only way that the body can function without receiving a regular supply of food.
However if you are gorging yourself on fried foods etc then you are going to gain alot more fat!
That is why most fat-loss diets advocate 6 healthy small meals rather than the regular 3 meals a day - by providing your body with food 6 times a day - the body is less likely to store fat. Now most people will be eating twice a day during Ramadan, so the natural body defence mechanism is to store fat and burn this energy during the day when you are fasting.
Here in the UK fasting starts at 5am finishing at 7:30pm - with isha prayers around 9pm going on to 11pm then there isnt much time left to exercise if you are working the next day!
However if you are still put off by exercise then follow these brave warriors - Tariq ibn-Ziyad upon reaching the shores of Spain burnt his ships and told the Muslim army that there was no going back - These blessed men fought and won the battle - conquering Spain - this was during Ramadan!
I am a Muslim who is continuing to work out; in fact, I get up at 4:00am each day eat a bowl of oatmeal approx. 30 minutes later I go to the gym lift weights, no cardio, for an hour. I have a protein shake and eat a granola bar, drink a 16oz bottle of water and a 12oz bottle of gatorade before dawn. I am losing weight; however, I am able to continue with my exercise program doing it this way. Needless to say, at the end of the day, like so many others, I am tired.
Assalamualaikum
Ihsan Mubuarick Dude,
Hmm if my maths aint too shaby that equates you to being in the gym by 0430HRS? Animal huh? Tsk tsk tsk… Astargfiralah
Kambing,
I actually get there around 5 til 5.
the gym that i train in doesnt get open until 10am.
i did try working out as per normal (during the day) while fasting, i found myself dying for water just after a few sets. So that day onwards i changed my workouts to be after sundown, which is after fasting hours.
now working out at night gives me just about the same kick of working out during normal months outside of Ramadhan. The energy & strength are pretty much there, plus i get to re-hydrate myself during the workout (and i really do need to re-hydrate myself.. most days i gulp about 2litres of water from start of a workout til the end of it!) The only drawback is that i’m missing out on the tarawikh prayers.
as for the eating, i am not able to eat as much as i need to.. since i am not the type of person who can just eat a whole cow in just one sitting. But so far i just try the best that i can, squeezing an extra protein shake just before fasting starts… and another just before bed.
I know now what you are mentioning Kambing, I send salat before going to the gym, yes, it is early. However, Allah knows my intentions are pure.
just do some cardio before iftar and do some weight training after iftar if you do this you will be soo ripped.
I actually agree with Kambing Lord. Unless you’re an active athlete and have a very good reason to keep training and in need to trim those sxcess fats quick, I say, what’s the harm of giving yourself a break for 4 weeks? Why not embrace this holy month and gorge on food that you hardly find on normal days? So what if your muscles shrink a lil and your stamina decreases. you still have the next 11 months to continue training and build/tone those muscles up again until the next ramadhan comes.
i guess my point is, don’t be too hard on yourself. :)
Hey everyone - this is an incredible compilation of tips we won’t find anywhere else! Thanks for all the input. I hope that this fasting month will bring you much success in your fitness goals.
Hey guys..
Whooa.. so many inputs… NICE
Shazly: I told you so! :P
Im guessing the right diet plays an important factor in making the most out of ur workouts whilst fasting. It wud help if someone recommended which foods to eat for suhur/iftar according to a specific workout program. Many thanks
i have read the posts here and mashallah some are funy and interesting….ramamdan is a blessed month and should be embraced fully. however training shouldn’t stop as it can still be maintained.
for all those who are a bit big this is the perfect time for you to loose those unwanted pounds
as for the people who are gym addicts your training can be altered to achieve maxium results.
ita all about ho you train and what you eat
instead of going gym and maxing out which mayu leave your musles stunted and tired you can do home gym and do natural excercises like push up etc. this will make more musles enough sore to want to get bigger. you fuel that with the proper diet come iftar and sahoor then not only will you looked more ripped but loose the fat. also this will maintain your weight and universally build strength.
if anyone needs more advise ora workout timetable mail me swizzy187@hotmail.co.uk
salam
yusuf: why don’t you share it over here? I’ll put it up as a post so everyone can benefit from it. :)
I’ve been working out during Ramadan. The gym I go to open until 12am. After tarawih prayers, I immediately hit the gym. Instead of doing 4 days a week, I cut it down to 2-3 and I cut the intensity to 25-50% compared to other months. The routine is also changed to complete body workout instead of focusing on a particular muscle and I do 1 exercise per body part. Instead of 2 hours of solid workout, I try to keep it under 45 minutes.
As for the diet, after the azan, its 3-5 dates, plain water and a protein+creatine+carb drink. After magrib prayers, I’d have some brown rice, chicken/meat. After tarawih prayers I’ll hit the gym, then its some sandwhich or home made burger,eggs etc and protien shake + multi vitamin and minerals. Sahur time, protien shake and oatmeal.
Ramadan is the month of ibadah, not the month of food festivity or total relaxation. If you consider your workout as ibadah, proceed. You can still continue with your life, preform ibadah and maintain a healthy body.
The last thing you want is to pig-out during Ramadan and raid Ramadan stalls for some high sugar food, buying on impulse instead of what your body really needs then throwing it away.
Oh yeah, I do go to work, have a wife and a kid too. :)
Training during Ramadan
He, one who enters the gym without a plan and randomly goes to each machine, watches various people and each of their various goals and tries to imitate them without any objective, will not achieve substantial gains in anything.
But one who decides his goal is aerobic fitness, or muscular size, or muscular toning, or speed, will be able to focus his/her workout on specific areas and grow in this.
Before any work that needs to be done, ensure that the correct type of warm up is done to guarantee that the muscles are ready for a work out. Warming up helps to prepare the body for the strains of working out, be it lifting or running. Though you can workout without it, the work out quality is much better if you can get the blood flowing and prepare yourself mentally and physically for the task at hand.
Whatever you are trying to achieve as in to loose those extra pounds or to gain a few extra pounds make sure that a timetable is set up and followed properly. Don’t let physical discomfort cause you to become lazy so that you don’t stick to your plan and not see any results. For one to keep on top of the game you need to keep yourself hydrated while you workout.
The main goal is not to loose body mass, but rather turn that fat into muscle which should to the healthiest option. Anyone who has an exercise plan will tell you that eating foods filled with high transfats, cholesterol, saturated fats, high amounts of sugar, and insane amounts of sodium - will constantly be an adversary to your exercise. You will put all this effort into working out and get nowhere.
A simple diet regime could be made up of the things you like, however make sure that the food is healthy. To loose the pounds or turn those pounds into muscle the diet plan can be changed in order to have the desired effect either by the amount consumed or the number of times consumption takes place.
A sample training program for Ramadan could be as follows:
At Sahoor. Eat whole wheat or oat cereal or whole wheat bread, 1-2 serving with a cup of milk. Add 2-3 teaspoons of olive oil or any other monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats in a salad or the cereal. Eat 1-2 servings of fruits, as a last item. Or if weight training for protein intake eggs can be consumed with a protein shake or milk
Around 8 – Open Iftar eat the food that has been prepared for you – traditional Ramadan food is fatty food such as spring rolls, somosas and papardoms.
Read magrib
After magrib – eat properly a well balanced meal:
Consume foods from all the following food groups:
Meat/Bean Group: Chicken, beef, lamb, goat, fish, 1-2 servings (serving size = a slice =1 oz); green pea, chickpea (garbanzo, chana, humus), green gram, black gram, lentil, lima bean and other beans, 1 serving (half cup). Meat and beans are a good source of protein, minerals, and certain vitamins. Beans are a good source of dietary fiber, as well.
Bread/Cereal Group: Whole wheat bread, 2 servings (serving size = 1 oz) or cooked rice, one cup or combination. This group is a good source of complex carbohydrates, which are a good source of energy and provide some protein, minerals, and dietary fibre.
Milk Group: milk or butter-milk (lassi without sugar), yogurt or cottage cheese (one cup). Those who can not tolerate whole milk must try fermented products such as butter-milk and yogurt. Milk and dairy products are good sources of protein and calcium, which are essential for body tissue maintenance and several physiological functions.
Vegetable Group: Mixed vegetable salad, 1 serving (one cup), (lettuce, carrot, parsley, cucumber, broccoli, coriander leaves, cauliflower or other vegetables as desired.) Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil or any polyunsaturated oil and 2 spoons of vinegar. Polyunsaturated fat provides the body with essential fatty acids and keto acids. Cooked vegetables such as guar beans, French beans, okra (bhindi), eggplant (baigan), bottle gourd (loki), cabbage, spinach, 1 serving (4 oz). Vegetables are a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin A, carotene, lycopenes, and other phytochemicals, which are antioxidants. These are helpful in the prevention of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and many other health problems.
Fruits Group: 1-2 servings of citrus and/or other fruits. Eat fruits as the last item of the dinner or soon after dinner, to facilitate digestion and prevent many gastrointestinal problems. Citrus fruits provide vitamin C. Fruits are a good source of dietary fibre.
Taraweeh at 9:30. Normally finishing at 11 if you do all 20, earlier if doing 8 rakats. Eat another meal a very light one i.e. consisting of fruits water and yogurt if trying to loose weight or full of tuna jacket potatoes and beans if you are looking to bulk up.
Remember this is a sample diet which has to be added to i.e. protein shakes or milk or more fruit can help to gain or loose the pounds and build muscle.
The actual training itself can either be done after Taraweeh i.e. jogging if trying to lose the pounds for minimum half and hour or weight training can be done around 7-8 an hour before iftar so when you do refuel after working out you have the iftar food to refuel you. As for those not going to the gym and pushing heavy weights you can do natural exercises like push ups, triceps squats etc that will give your body that soreness to develop muscle but not make you over tired.
The other most important thing about training during Ramadan is rest and recovery. Overtraining is terrible for the muscles because the way that muscles build according to most experts, muscles grow through micro tears which develop when they are placed under extreme stress. The body then heals these tears during the recovery period by overcompensating (similar to scar tissue), causing the muscle to come back a little stronger than before.
When we overstrain, we push the muscle to a point of damage where it is difficult for it to come back with added strength; or we keep training during the recovery period, never giving it the chance to recover.
As Ramadan is a holy month and one should make the most of its blessings you can stick to the timetable and ensure that this is met. Eating around 8:00pm and then jumping to Taraweeh and hour and bit later doesn’t give much time for rest. However this can be overcome by ensuring that one sleeps around 7-8 hours a day after Taraweeh and after Sahoor you get a couple of hours of sleep. Other wise one can over train and not see any results as when we are starting from nothing, this is extremely destructive, as we will not be able to sustain more than a few days before giving up completely.
Lastly, every person who works out can tell you that there is no progress without consistency. One must workout on a consistent schedule in order to gain results.
bro Yusuf
Yusuf… I’ll be using your post as a writeup, but just to correct you that we can’t turn fat into muscle, as you have mentioned in your comment above. :)
yes lol i dint mean literally i mean you can reduce your over look beer belly and then convert the rest into muscle by working on it…..however i came across an interesting article…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/08/20/scifat120.xml
Here we are talking about food, exercising and fitness programme during ramadan. Aren’t we suppose to bersyukur/ thankful to God we are given all the food and health which to someone out there to get a decent meal a day seems impossible. Fasting is not all about staying hungry and thirsty during the day. There are deeper meaning in Ramadan itself.Moderate is Islam way of life.
John: Usually when one walks in to a car showroom, they don’t complain that there are cars there. Neither would one question ‘why there is food here’ when they walk into a restaurant.
Perhaps you overlooked the fact this is a blog dedicated to health/fitness/healthy eating, etc?
I love sports and workouts. I love to sweat. But when I try to chk out the correct exercise in ramadan, I found this website quite interesting. Anyway when I went thru it, I realise this is not the car showroom I wanted to be in. Thanks a lot. Have a nice workout.
BEST article ever!! Thank you DailyMuscle!!!
You won’t believe how long I’ve been looking for a comprehensive article on “Working Out During Ramadan”
You’ve nailed it. MY personal experience is that the first 5 days of Ramadan I’m really tired but the rest of the month I feel MORE ENERGY than the REST OF THE YEAR!!!
Even with the prayers and fasting, I’ll find time for short, but regular workouts!!
DailyMuscle.com - MY NEW HOMEPAGE!!!
Yep! Wait til you’re married with few kids. I prefer to work out in bed.
Leave a Comment