Effective Gym Tips for Fasting During Ramadan

This article isn’t just for those fasting during Ramadan; the basic principles apply to anyone when they fast. Only difference is that during Ramadan, water can’t be consumed as well.

It’s time of the year again, Ramadan is upon us.

This is time where people get stronger mentally and spiritually when they undergo fasting from sunrise to sunset.

If you’re a Muslim gym goer, the question of getting stronger physically might pop into your head. You might be thinking that due to the long hours of going without water and food, skipping the gym might be the best idea.

However, that’s not exactly true.

It’s not impossible to gain or maintain muscle mass and it’s probably a good way to lose fat during the Ramadan period.

Before we go into some tips and pointers on how to minimize the loss of progress in the gym, let me point out some of the benefits of fasting.

1. Improved mental willpower
2. Improved insulin sensitivity and nutrient partitioning
3. The ability to let working out and eating take a back seat while you focus on other priorities.
4. Potential greater fat loss.

To make this article as practical as possible, I’ll split it into two different components: Nutrition & Training.

Nutrition

Your eating strategy during Ramadan is critical due to the limited eating hours.

First you need identify what kind of person you are.

Are you the kind that lose weight during Ramadan or the kind that gains weight?

Next would be to match that to your goals, be it muscle gain or fat loss.

For most people, gaining muscle can be hard due to the small eating window, but losing fat or maintaining muscle mass seems to be a more attainable goal.

Protein

And the most important factor no matter what your goals are is your protein intake.

Protein is responsible for the growth and maintenance of muscle mass. It is also the macronutrient that keeps you full the longest periods of time.

That means it can keep cravings at bay when you are fasting.

Here is an optimal strategy of consuming your protein during Ramadan.

Suhoor – Slow digesting protein to feed your muscles and keep you full longer.

Iftar- Quick digesting protein since it would be your first meal after training.

Pre Bed- Slow digesting protein to keep feeding your muscles.

Carbohydrates

The next thing to take note of would be your carbohydrate intake.

Let’s get one thing straight, during this Ramadan forget about eating clean or cutting your carbohydrates out.

You will still lose weight because by fasting such long hours, you will most likely be in a calorie deficit provided that you are moderate with what you eat.

Do not stress yourself out with the need to only eat “clean foods”.

Now that’s out of the way, here are some carbohydrate recommendations:

Suhoor- Try avoiding carbohydrates as it usually can cause hunger later in the day.

Iftar- Quick source of carbohydrates to refuel your muscles

Pre Bed – Not very important but having some carbohydrates can help you sleep better.

Fats

Last but not least would be your fat source:

Suhoor- Have a small amount of good fats as this helps you keep full longer

Iftar – Avoid fats directly after training as this may slow absorption of protein. Consuming it an hour later would better

Pre Bed – Not very important

*Don’t forget to get your essential fatty acids such as Omega 3’s in, using a fish oil supplement would be sensible*

Hydration

Last but not least would be hydration. Often forgotten, hydration can play an important factor when it comes to training and health.

That being said, here are some hydration strategies you can use:

Suhoor-  Consume water immediately after waking, try to aim for 1-1.5L before fasting.

Iftar onwards: An electrolyte would quickly rehydrate you, aim for 2.5L before bed with the most of it further away from bed. This is to avoid waking up in the middle of the night to use the washroom.

Training

When it comes to training, my recommendations here are pretty simple. There’s nothing much to cover but here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Train directly before breaking fast: This will allow you to consume enough nutrients to support recovery.Besides people do feel hungrier after training so unless you would like to train at 3am before dawn, it’s better     to train and then head for Iftar.Even if you could wake up at 3am, I would think that sleep carries a bigger importance here than your training.

2. Use low to moderate volume: High volume workouts are harder to recover from and cause much more fatigue. The goal of training during Ramadan is a preservation of muscle mass and low to moderate volume will do the trick.
3. Keep cardio at bay: Unless you are an endurance athlete, try to keep cardio at bay. Trying to further create a calorie deficit with cardio in addition to resistance training will further increase fatigue

Putting it all together

Here’s how an example of a nutrition and training would look like this Ramadan.

Suhoor:  2-3 eggs + milk +Nuts + vegetables/fruits. Casein protein is optional

Fast

Training at 6pm: Moderate to low volume resistance training

First meal after training: BCAA’s/ whey protein + dates or quick digesting carbohydrate source.

Iftar: Chicken, Rice, Satay and whatever you like in moderate amount

Pre Bed: Some meat or any other source of protein + fish oil. Casein protein is optional.

With this simple guidelines, do remember to enjoy Ramadan. Training shouldn’t be the first thing you should be focusing on during this period.

Let training & dieting take a back seat this Ramadan and focus on your spiritual development instead.<—— Click To Tweet!!!

With that, Selamat Berpuasa and Ramadan Mubarak!

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