Ramadan and working out

The holly month is coming up and you are probably wondering what to eat between dusk and dawn and when to train to maintain your physique.

First of all; Ramadan is mainly about fasting, praying, reading Qur’an, du’a and charity. So, we are just trying to fit in our training sessions and schedule our meals in a way that doesn’t affect our Ebada (acts of worship) in the holly month.

Training in Ramadan

There are two opinions about when to train in Ramadan?

1-      Train after Taraweeh, thus you have eaten two meals, drank lots of water and have the ability to take your intra-workout supplements and shakes.

2-      Train fasted 2 hours before Iftar, thus you can eat your main meal after working out and you can eat many times in the feed time (from dusk to dawn)

Last year I used to work out right before Iftar, the dehydration was really hard and I got a kidney stone by the end of the month. But I used to do HIIT sessions after weight training routines and I used to sweat too much.

I think this year I will train mainly after Taraweeh. If I had to train before Iftar any day, I’ll prevent any high intensity training and I’ll drink lots of water after Iftar.

Anyhow, don’t stop training in Ramadan; you don’t want to lose muscle and strength or gain fat. If you are not going to gain muscle in Ramadan, then at least don’t lose what you have.

In Ramadan, you may have only 30-60 minutes to do your workout, so your best thing is to do the major movements. Do squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, bent over rows, inverted rows and you may add biceps curls and triceps extensions.  Don’t do assistance exercises that may make you over exhausted and dehydrated that may cause muscle loss.

And you know what?  KEEP IT HEAVY!!

Yes, do heavy weights and low reps. 3X5 to 5X5 would be great for training in Ramadan.

For gains during Ramadan eat several times after Maghrib, drink lots of milk and water and don’t do cardio or HIIT.

If you train to lose weight, do your cardio after a light Iftar or after Taraweeh and drink a lot of water.

Nutrition in Ramadan

-          Avoid junk food, I know it’s not an only Ramadan tip but the temptations are high during Ramadan, don’t get week.

-          High protein, high carbs meals are what you should be eating during the feed time if you are aiming to gain or maintain.
If you are aiming to lose weight you have to eat carbs as well. You can eat carbs before and after your cardio session, for energy and recovery.

-          Eat light protein meal before bed, like cottage cheese, berries, ground flax seeds.

-         An advantage of working out after Iftar is that you can take your intra-workout supplements and post workout shake.

-          Sohour meal may contain eggs, oatmeal, broad bean, peanut butter, banana, veggies, meat, chicken breast, nuts, honey, dates, flax seed oil, olive oil and a lot of water.

-          Dates on Iftar are Sunna. Dates are very healthy, they contain unique blend of glucose and fructose and have very high potassium content and are very good for energy.

-          Don’t eat excessive desserts that are hard to fight specially during outings and gatherings. I know it’s hard to fight Kunafah, Qatayef and Phyllo (Baqlawah) but don’t eat much.

Sleeping in Ramdan

The holly month is a month of acts of worship so it's not easy to find time to sleep and you know that sleeping is important for muscle growth and recovery.
Sleep the available hours at night and try to take a nap or two during the day, 30-60 minutes each.


A final tip; plan your day before the month begins and don’t over think of your training and nutrition during the month. Make a plan previously to clear your mind during the month for praying, reading Qur’an and doing all acts of worship. Enjoy the greatness of holly Ramadan and make your training and nutrition just as simple act as breathing, don’t give them larger attention and forget what really Ramadan is about.



Thank you

IR.