Exercising and the gym during Ramadan

  • Thread starter Thread starter MaiCarInMtl
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I hope I'm not too late to offer my advice. I exercise a lot as well and I'm fasting. I live in Toronto so I'm experiencing similar time zone changes with fasting as you are. The Ramadans are getting longer as they go into summer.

Personally, I do weights about 40 minutes before breaking my fast. I eat an apple or small orange and then continue with the rest of my workout. Weight training makes me dehydrated because of all the huffing and puffing so I don't do it in the middle of the day. I also take small sips of water during my exercise. Don't go crazy with the water because it'll make you queasy if you drink too much.

As for cardio, I wouldn't even dream about doing it in the middle of the day. That's just torture. I recommend eating a small amount of fruits, drinking some water, waiting about 30 minutes and then hitting the track/treadmill/bike etc. You need to be careful because your automatic reaction is to stuff your face when you break your fast but that causes a lot of indigestion especially if you're going to be doing cardio.

You will notice in the first week that you're not as strong or fast etc. I find that as time progresses, your body gets used to your new diet and you get stronger and faster and pretty soon you'll be at your pre-fasting levels of performance.

If you're a very hardcore athlete, however, I don't think you'll be able to match your peak performance. But at least you'll be doing something and lessening the atrophy that occurs.

I used to not work out during Ramadan and I think that's a very bad idea. Your body gets used to things you expose it to so exercising, although initially difficult, like fasting will become easier as time goes by.

They have a saying in the medical profession: Go low and Go slow. Don't push yourself and over stress your body. Instead gradually increase your performance as much as you can throughout the month.

I hope my advice helps.

Regards.
 

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