Fitness Program in Ramadan

Proper nutrition, supplementation & exercise during ramadan yOUR  5 Essential Tips for Your Fitness Program in Ramadan

With Ramadan just a few short weeks away many Muslims who exercise or who are

concerned about their physical fitness find themselves wondering how and when

to continue their fitness program during the month of Ramadan.

 When you are already exercising you do not want to stop all together

because an entire month of inactivity can give you significant setbacks in strength

and cardiovascular endurance.  Not to

mention the mental and emotional effort it would take to become consistent

again.

Some people get into little panic before Ramadan thinking that they will lose all their hard earned gains as it is impossible to benefit from good nutrition, supplementation and exercise during Ramadan.  This isn't so, and with a bit organization and thought there is no reason to take a big step backwards. If minimising fat accumulation (or fat loss for the super ambitious) is your goal the mainstay of macro nutrients would be from protein and "good fats" (think unprocessed, natural fats and you wont go far wrong)

There are also few supplements that would definitely help ease the metabolic challenges of Ramadan. My few top Ramadan supplements would be :

Performance Drink

Energy Soy Protein

Cinch Cafe Late  Shake ( to keep my muscle and loss the fats with balance nutrients with leucine and low calories)

Lecithin - Fat emulsifier

Vitalea ( multivitamin) - to increase my metabolism and provide nutritional

GLA - to ease hormon imbalance

Alfafa - to reduce water retention

Herb Lax - for colon cleansing

Here are also 5 tips that will, Inshallah allow you to continue to stay active in Ramadan

without over taxing your system and jeopardizing your fast.

  

#1- Adjust Your Fitness Goals in Ramadan

If your goals are to lose weight, get stronger or simply to become more physically

fit put improvements on hold during this month. 

Make your goal simply to maintain where you are.  Making fitness or weight loss improvements

requires you giving your body a deficient of some sort which causes a reduction

in energy, and often compromises the immune system.  Both of these can significantly affect your

ability to fast.  So instead of

overworking your system to get your body to change simply maintain where you

are and prevent you self from going backwards.

#2-Reduce the Intensity of your Exercise. 

Reducing the intensity of the exercise will allow you to stay consistent in working out

without over taxing your energy reserve.  If you normally run reduce to a speed walk.  If you lift weights using 12lbs use 8lbs, and if you normally workout for an hour reduce your workout time to 30-45 minutes.  The most important thing to do this month is to continue to exercise.  Consistency is

the key ingredient to maintaining your fitness level.

  

#3-Combine Cardio and Resistance Training

If you normally do both cardio and resistance training as a part of your workout

and can’t find the time or energy to do both in Ramadan then combine them both

into a resistance training circuit. 

Circuit training in general is one of the most effective ways to burn

fat and it has the extra benefit of allowing you to burn more calories in a

short amount of time.  A circuit is

performed by doing 3-6 exercises in a quick succession without stopping between

each exercise.  Doing this will allow you

to build muscle and increase cardiovascular endurance all in one workout.

Here

is a basic circuit you can do at home –

• 10-15 pushups
• 10-15 squats
• 1 min jumping jacks (or walk in
  place)
• 10-15 Bench dips
• 10-15 lunges
• 1 min jog in place (or walk in
  place)

Repeat

2-3 times  or until you have exercises

for 30 consecutive minutes (or longer if you would like)

   

#4-Be Consistent, Even if it is Small

To achieve and maintaining any fitness level or goal is 80% consistency. Being consistent

in doing something will make the biggest difference in having a successfully

fit Ramadan.  With getting up at 4am to

eat zahur, followed by a 12-14 hour fast, getting to the Masjid for Tawarih

which may not end until 11:00 in some cases, finding the time to exercise may

be a challenge.  But taking a 20 minute

stroll will go a long way towards helping you maintain your fitness level and

allowing you to ease back into your normal routine after Ramadan in done.  You don’t have to do your normal sweat n’ to

the oldies routine or 60 minutes of all out cardio.  Do what you can, when you can, to maintain

consistency throughout the month.

   

#5 Workout When it Works

If you feel the need to fit a good workout in you may have to plan your workout in

your day.  Instead of exercising when

it’s convenient choose a time when you have the most energy and it won’t

compromise your fast.  This may mean

waking up just 20 minutes earlier than you would normally for Zahur so you can

work out and then eat immediately.  Some

people find they have a renewed since of energy right before they break their

fast and that may be the best time to exercise. 

Pay attention to your energy level during the first few days  of Ramadan and find a time that works for

you.  Whatever time or day or night your

energy level allows you to expend extra calories without becoming fatigued is

the best time of day for you to exercise

We must remember fasting the month of Ramadan is an obligation that Allah has

commanded for his servant and no other priority should interrupt or sabotage

the fast. It a time for the believer to get closer to

Allah through doing something solely for the sake of the Lords of the

worlds.  Allah says "”

Every action of the son of Adam is given manifold reward, each good deed receiving then times

its like, up to seven hundred times. Allah the Most High said, 'Except for

fasting, for it is for Me and I will give

recompense for it, he leaves off his desires and his food for Me.' for the

fasting person there are two times of joy; a time when he breaks his fast and a

time of joy when he meets his Lord, and the smell coming from the mouth of the

fasting person is better with Allah than the smell of musk." [al-Bukhaaree]”  Indeed there is no better health

than the spiritual health and is facilitated by obeying Allah.