From the category archives:

Fitness Facts

Exercising During Ramadan - I can’t believe what I saw yesterday at my Body Transformation Camp @ TTDI

by dailymuscle on August 13, 2010

This is an ‘unscheduled’ blog post - but I absolutely had to write this.

Yesterday, my Muslim Campers at my Transformation Camp in TTDI amazed me. Despite the fact that they were fasting, their energy levels were high - in fact, I’m almost certain some of them seemed EVEN MORE determined and focused than they usually are.

I have to be honest, that I did expect them to be a little on the lethargic side, but nope!! They were perfectly fine. And if you think we toned down the intensity of our workouts? Well no, we didn’t.

We actually kept the intensity of the workouts pretty much the same. In fact, the non-Muslim clients who aren’t on a fast told me that yesterday’s workout was one of the more intense ones!

At times, we gave the Muslim campers options, but they kept going strong.

Now this totally blows my mind and changes my perception on fasting and exercise because this isn’t what you read!

As a non-Muslim, and never having fasted in such a manner before… I had ‘presumed’ that they would be significantly weaker. This makes me really wonder now, when I read materials that keep telling you to ‘tone things down’, and to ‘go really light’. Of course, in a dehydrated state, one should certainly take those precautions, and this isn’t the time to be setting any world records… but like I said - what I saw yesterday contradicted everything you would read about the effects of fasting on exercise.

At 7:28pm yesterday, we all took a quick break, and we provided some dates and plain water for those who were fasting (yes, you’ll never see any junk food or cakes or sugared drinks here). Thanks Azrin, for sharing your watermelon with us and for helping me bring the dates from your supermarket, Presto.

To all my campers, both Muslim and non-Muslim - you guys totally ROCK.

Have an awesome weekend!

The DailyMuscle Blogger
Head Coach & Program Director, Body Transformation Camp

P.S. - Dear Campers, on Tuesday, 17th Aug, we are all headed over to Rasta TTDI for a ‘break-fast’ gathering immediately after camp, in our sweaty t-shirts! All campers are invited to come, and feel free to bring your kids, spouses, colleagues, (or anyone else willing to stand the smell of our sweat).

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How to Maintain Your Exercise Routine During Ramadhan

by dailymuscle on August 6, 2010

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. [click to continue...]

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The Secret To A Productive Workout

by dailymuscle on June 3, 2010

In response to Tuesday’s Blog Post “Having an Unproductive Workout?“, I’ve decided that due to popular request, it is only appropriate that today, I give you my Number #1 secret to having a productive workout.

I’m here to tell you that you CAN see great results with efficient 1 hour workouts or even less - whether it’s weight loss or to build a physique like a greek god. Anyone who tells you otherwise probably doesn’t have a clue on what he or she is doing. Take for example the personal trainer at your gym who only spends 1 hour with his/her clients, but when they do their own workouts - it sometimes goes up to 2 hours each. Are you being cheated? Well no - it’s just that they probably have no clue on what they’re doing themselves. But - we’ll save that story for another day before this post becomes a long-winded rant. So I’ve just got ONE secret to share with you - and actually, it’s not much of a secret at all.

Are you ready? … [click to continue...]

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Running Your First 10km Race - Part 2

by dailymuscle on May 18, 2010

This post is the 2nd in a two part series in which Lim Ee-Van (also known as Stupe) shares how to prepare for your First 10km Race. Read Part 1 here.

With two weeks gone, you should now be able to run 5km in 45 minutes. Week 3 and beyond will help you improve on your stamina plus your speed. [click to continue...]

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Study Strongly Links Fat To Cancer

by dailymuscle on May 17, 2010

On Sunday, while having a conversation with a friend of mine, she casually mentioned to me that her husband is actually very, very healthy. Her reason was that he eats regularly and goes to the toilet often - yes.. that really is what she said, and she was proud of him - it showed in the way she spoke and in her facial expression - so she wasn’t kidding.

Of course, she chose not to take into account the fact that he’s easily 20 - 30 kg overweight, eats too much sugar, and lives a sedentary lifestyle. It was at that point I realized how disillusioned some people can be and overlook the obvious. I don’t blame her for this - it’s not her fault she just doesn’t realise those to be a problem.

I, however, personally think he’s a walking time-bomb, and it’s just a matter of time before something lights his fuse. More alarming is that I realised that somewhere out there… there are also many of you who MAY think that as long as you ’seem’ to have some healthy habits in place, you can totally ignore everything else and be irresponsible about your health.

Some common examples are those who are blessed with a fast metabolism and don’t gain weight as easily, whose daily diet consists of foods shockingly high in fat (especially saturated fat and trans fat) - some people can’t live a single day without their daily burger or pizza. And they let this ’slip away’ simply because it doesn’t show a toll on their physiques - hence, they’re still healthy right? Or if you are significantly overweight… but still think ‘that’s okay’…

Well this prompted me to look up a research I knew existed from way back in 2007 (and I found the article that talks about it) as I wanted you guys to read it. So, I’ll let the article do the rest: [click to continue...]

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