Training & Nutrition during Ramadan

First of all, Ramzan Mubarak to all of the readers. I hope you are enjoying all the blessings endowed upon us during this month. Out of the many benefits of this month, one benefit that most people like to reap is associated with health. And you would be able to make most of this month if armed with some useful information. I will be answering some of questions regarding working out during Ramzan and how to make fasting work to your advantage.

Establishing workout times:

First point to remember: make sure your workouts are around sehri or iftari times. Workouts take a toll on your body, workouts right before iftari would allow you to replenish yourself with hydration and nutrients and workouts after iftari would enable hydration during workout and especially critical when working out in hotter climates.

For fat loss:

First of all I will start with the biggest goal of everyone is to lose fat and drop weight and look good on eid. Fasting during Ramzan is a great way of reducing stored fat. To lose fat you need drop glycogen level inside your body and fasting will reduce your body’s glycogen level. So, what is glycogen? Glycogen is body’s primary source of energy, the food we eat is converted into glycogen inside the body to be used as energy. Glycogen level is raised when you eat a lot of food (carbohydrates mainly) and once your body’s glycogen tank is full, your insulin level is raised and insulin the culprit puts your fat muscles into growth mode.  

As glycogen is the primary source of energy, fats are only used when body is not able to find glycogen for energy. During fasting your glycogen level will be lowered and once this level is depleted the body will start using fat as energy thus you will have a decrease in fat.

Low intensity cardio is the best way for fat mobilization. So if fat loss is your main goal then I would recommend that you workout just before iftari. No gym work which includes lifting weights is recommended, however you would be doing around 30-45 minutes of moderate paced cardio. Simply put, fats are best utilized by body during slightly fast paced walk instead of running/jogging when carbohydrates are used as primary source. Some good examples of low intensity cardio is walking, hiking, bicycling, swimming and also some sort of sports not played at high intensity for example back yard cricket or football with your mates.

In a nut shell: your body is already low on glycogen and using fat as energy coupled with low intensity cardio enhances fat burning.

For Muscle Growth:

First of all we should determine the best time for a gym workout. Muscles need food to grow and even during your workout you need steady source of energy to provide strength and endurance for the heavy lifts. On the other hand the most important part of a bodybuilders’ nutrition is post work out. After the workout your muscles are like sponge and absorbing nutrients in food most efficiently, so sooner you reload your muscles the better. So putting this science in perspective, the best time for a gym workout would be after iftari in which you would be able to consume food before andafter your workout.

Ideally 2 days of workout should be followed by 1 day of rest, this would allow your muscles plenty of time to recover. 30-45 minutes of gym workout is more than enough, quality of your workout is better than quantity. To further illustrate this I would like to quote a scientific study which was conducted to establish the effects of Ramzan fasting on running performance of 5,000m runners. It concluded that towards the end of Ramzan, a decrease in strength was observed and as well as decrease in performance of -5 percent. However, there was no effect on running efficiency or maximal aerobic power.

Nutrition:

To reap the most health benefits of Ramzan and from your workouts, eating healthy is most important part. There’s a saying that “Six packs are made in the kitchen not the gym”. You cannot out train poor nutrition. What you put inside your body reflects on the outside. Avoid eating greasy, sugary and anything that’s packaged.

The types of calories you are consuming is more important than the number of calories (but still don’t eat a lot of calories in short amount of time). You should be eating slow digesting carbohydrates (oats, bran, brown rice, fruits etc) with lean protein (chicken, red meat etc) and healthy fats (nuts, cashews etc). 

For sehri: keep it nice and simple. Eggs in the form of omelets or boiled would supply your body with protein and healthy fats. Milk and yogurt would provide your body with proteins, fats and good digestive bacteria. And for slow digesting carbs consume fruits and bran breads.

If you are feeling bit hardcore, do a low intensity cardio of 20-30 minutes and then have your sehri. Research has shown a low intensity cardio on empty stomach upon waking up is good for fat burn.

For Iftari: have a small meal, as I pointed out earlier that having a large meal is not healthy and the primary cause of getting fat. Avoid oily and sugary stuff. Hit the gym after your iftar and have 1-2 smaller meals later. Have a light iftari with slow digesting carbs like fruit and some form of lean protein (egg whites, chicken or a protein shake), ideally you should aim about 30-50 grams of carbohydrates + 25 grams of proteins. After your workouts have couple of small meals which consists of healthy fats, slow digesting carbs and protein

Also hydration is a key factor. Replenish your body with a lot of water upon iftar and continuously drink water till sleeping and also remember to consume lot of water at sehri.

And remember, being fit and eating healthy is not that you do once in a while. It’s a lifestyle. Eid day is a day for being happy and enjoy Allah’s blessings after living a month of discipline, so I would recommend keep your food celebrations for eid day. Have whatever you like but after a day or two of festivities, get back to your fit & healthy lifestyle.