The fasting month is a challenging time for many Muslims all over the world – and it is quite common for many to totally abandon exercising altogether. Today I’ve got someone who has done it successfully and knows exactly what it’s like to fast and maintain an exercise routine. And as I’m not a Muslim, today, I’m more than proud to bring you some words of wisdom from none other than the super-awesome Coach Herny from my Body Transformation Camp.
As an instructor, to give you an idea of her workout routine, she’s been teaching RPM (spinning) and Les Mills Bodypump classes Monday-Friday evening during the fasting month for over 7 years in a row! So let’s get some pointers on how she does it right. Take it away Coach Herny…
Keep Going During Ramadhan
Ok, basically light exercise like Yoga, Pilates, and lighter weights/intensities can be done. Generally, you will want to avoid high-intensity workouts as you will get dehydrated. One really has to drink lots and lots of water, more than usual – at night and also when they do the “sahur” early in the morning at 5am.
Recommended Workout Timing
From experience, the recommended and more realistic time to exercise during Ramadhan is close to the breaking fast time – 6.30pm. I know the last few hours to before breaking fast will be the most challenging, but psychologically you will be able to to workout, really – knowing you will be rewarded with foods and drinks in 40-45 mins time :-)
Breaking fast would be around 7.15-7.20pm. It would be best to have your own water with you, or some form of recovery drinks/lightly sweetened drinks to help bring your sugar levels up and prevent that “cold sweat” feeling. You don’t need something excessively sweet. Eating some dates/something light would help give some instant energy (but not excessively of course, especially for those who want to take the opportunity to lose some weight this fasting month). You can then consume more carbs around 8-9pm when the stomach has settled down – dates, drinks, recover, stretch.
After that, go back and have a more proper/complete meal. With proper nutrition, water and an exercise routine, the fasting month can be a really good time to ‘take control’ of the body size.
Some people would want to exercise at night after breaking fast, like 9pm, and though that ‘sounds good’, from my experience in fasting and working out, it just doesn’t happened after all that food! Hence why I strongly recommend exercising in the evening just before breaking fast, like mentioned above.
Personally, I’d also advise against intense/heavy morning workouts, except for really light workouts – e.g. Yoga, Pilates, Body Balance classes – but certainly not our Transformation Camp style training in the mornings as you will have “cold sweat” and get dehydrated – sometimes experiencing a high body temperature, bad headache… which can be pretty serious! Many years ago when I first started to teach, I attempted a spinning class during the day… it was no joke. I almost passed out after that – with a serious headache and dizziness. I’ll never try that again.
After Ramadhan
Apart from all these extra care of food, workouts and fasting – and getting into shape, you need to watch your food after the fasting is over on Hari Raya…..really!! All those weight loss efforts can go down the drain if you use this time to overeat! The weight will pile up easily within a week with all that rich festival food. You may have lost some ‘scale weight’ during the fasting month, but it may not entirely be fat loss – but muscle mass too. Thats why you’ll need to keep exercising, plus it will be really hard to get back into the momentum after Hari Raya if one were to completely stop during the fasting month. Not good! It’s good to have over 90% of our Muslim campers STILL WITH US at the Body Transformation Camp, and we’re going to help them build on this habit and to reach their personal best.
Exercise and fitness should be part of our life – no matter where you are or what you do – even if it’s while on a holiday or work… schedule your fitness as your lifestyle, and not only when you have the free time.
There are many writeups and stories you will read on exercising during the fasting month, but what I’ve shared above are from my own experience, which I think is the best, and not just ‘theory’!
Comments? We’d love to read them – just leave a note below.
Have a great weekend!
Coach Herny (& The DailyMuscle Blogger)
If you enjoyed this article, join 5,000+ other readers like you who get email updates (it's free)
This post was written by...
Noel Chelliah, ACE-CPT, ACE-LWMC, has been recognized as one of the Top Transformation Experts in Malaysia. No stranger to being overweight himself, Noel has gone through a life-changing transformation himself, from fat, to fit. In 2010, Noel founded the DailyMuscle Body Transformation Camp, which today helps hundreds of individuals exercise and practice healthier habits. In his spare time, Noel serves the community with various programs that promote a healthier lifestyle, and enjoys playing with his dogs.
My name is Noel Chelliah, and I’m a Transformation Specialist and founder of the 
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Herny/DM
I’ve been given lots of advice about training during Ramadhan. And most agree with what you mentioned: to eat high GI food to break fast with, and then eat a bigger meal later once the tummy has settled down.
Your suggestion on training right before breaking fast is interesting. Do you think it’s applicable to weight training as well? (of course, it’s just gonna be lighter weights, higher reps rather than the usual gung-ho “akulah paling macho” training which is usually the case during non-Ramadhan months)
Hey Coach!
Thanks for sharing this. You are right! It’s very easy to sheds sone pounds during Ramadhan but the maintaining part especially to keep those momentum alive after raya is the most challenging & difficult task for me. Mostly during the Ramadhan I will do yoga & swimming at night and managed to lost some kilos and unfortunately I gained almost double after raya so I hope with DailyMuscle I can maintain the momentum to keep on work out with the fullest support from our Coach Herny & Coach Noel. Cheers :-)
i agree with coach H!
did this kind of routines about 1-1.5 hrs pre break fast. it helps to maintain the body’s muscle mass.. not losing any (after the hard u did before ramadhan.. why lose ‘em during??)
plus its good to help body burn more!! using those extra ..maybe little of energy..of what’s left.. then.yay! reward time..berbuka..
but have to get use to the cold sweats.. that’s just for a couple of days. then body will get use to it..
nyways..looking forward for ramadhan…
Hi Aizan,
Yes its applicable for weight training too, with lighter weights of course :) eat extra protein/lean meat on the day u train for weights – eat within 3hours after workout (together with the carbs of course, as like proper meal..)
I still teach rpm and bodypump in fasting month – 3-4x a week with much lighter intensity and weights-close to breaking fast time. Never get to train at nights after food, too lethargic by then…enjoy training and fasting :-)
“Some people would want to exercise at night after breaking fast, like 9pm, and though that ‘sounds good’, from my experience in fasting and working out, ***it just doesn’t happened after all that food!***”
If I may ask, what do you mean by ‘it just doesn’t happened after all that food’? I’m guessing it’s the comfort provided after a meal, and that makes one less movitivated a.k.a. lazy to hit the gym?
I don’t think it’s about the ‘sound good’ part, but more like why people would actually want to work-out after a meal. During day time, the body fasts for a whole long stretch of hours, and working out without any nutrition (protein particularly) in the body would only result in muscles burnt (catabolism). I know that catabolism cannot be avoided during Ramadhan, but at the very least it can be minimized further?
I’m no expert, but do enlighten me :)
KevL
I think she’s referring to the fact that most people tend to be sluggish/lazy after eating so much when they break fast.
I’ve been there before, that’s for sure.
I break fast by eating heavy, and then get the ‘ular sawa syndrome’ where I get sleepy and too lazy to lift my bum off the chair let alone lift a barbell.
I think I’m gonna change things a bit this Ramadhan. I won’t lift prior to fast breaking but I’ll break fast by eating high GI food, then lift, then only take a proper meal.
We’ll see how it goes.
hi coach,
thanks for good info. I’m planning to workout as usual during this ramadhan and surely will follow your advise.
KevL: Yes, that’s referring to the sluggish feeling one would feel after a typical ‘breaking fast’ type of meal, and chances are high that when one feels that way… they are most likely to skip the workout altogether.
As for catabolism taking place, the lack of amino acids reserves in the body, etc – yes, no doubt that happens, but I think you’re missing the point of the article – which is to help one to form a proper habit, and adhere to their workout routine (not really applicable for people like you and I where it is likely to already be a habit), but especially for someone who is struggling to get into a regular routine. And in order to establish a habit, it needs to be done regularly, repeatedly and consistently – hence why the recommendation to ‘keep going’ during Ramadhan. In my opinion, the benefits of instilling such a habit far outweighs the little muscle mass that may lose if they were to exercise. Of course, the intensity needs to be reduced, so one shouldn’t be going for ‘world records’ here.
To further add to this, here’s what Craig Ballantyne, (CSCS, MS) has to say about fasting and exercising:
“Most people don’t know that when you start doing intense exercise, your liver begins to release glucose into your blood. So you aren’t likely to have low blood sugar when you exercise…until you pounded an insulin-spiking meal or drink right before your workout.
So working out while fasting really isn’t a big deal.”
Read the full post here:
http://turbulencetraining.blogspot.com/2009/03/eat-stop-fast-workout-fast-eat.html
So like I said… no big deal.
great article.. i’m in a weight-loss mode now.. my target is to lose 8kg before raya (then add 2kg after raya, because of the rendang, lemang, etc).. i think it’s achievable because I already lost 10kg in 2 months when I was not fasting..
my plan is workout, break fast, 20 minutes rest, 15-minutes cardio, terawih prayer (which i think the physical effect is equivalent to yoga).. as supplements, i will take multivitamin, protein powder n omega 3.. any comments coach?
DM: If your main reason of doing so is the ‘habit shift’, then I can totally understand. Habits aren’t easy to instill afterall, till they become ‘second nature’ to an individual.
But if you can get the best of both worlds, why not? ;)
I don’t see this as splitting hairs because Ramadhan lasts for an entire month.
And I think Aizan’s idea of ‘eat light – train – main meal’ is fantastic for that. Though, if what Craig said is true, then she should switch something that isn’t high in sugar to avoid that insulin spike.
zhan: Sounds good – but I don’t really like how you’re actually ‘expecting’ to put on 2kg during Raya. That’s compromise. :P
Hi Herny (and DM)
I am an avid gym goer and usually would look into your classes at FF at the Curve.
I lost 12 KGs recently after two PT session and am still ecstatic over it.
I recognize that my body type is not one that can actually take carbs because once I stop my rice intake, my weight flunctuated and my strength increases!
I am a Muslim and for Ramadhan, I decided to slow down my workout. Basically, I am doing more of Yoga and have cut down on free weights and circuit training.
And yes, I am still not eating rice except for that one cheat ‘rice’ day in the week.
I think the no rice rule is simple enough to follow and there are plenty of other things that can substitute rice.
Greaatt Blog… great advice… keep it up!
I am trying to find a solution why I’m sleepy during the day when I’m fasting and stumbled upon this website ;-)
Maybe I need to eat more :-/
Saya: Maybe you don’t get enough sleep in Ramadhan, compared to other times?