Troubleshooting Training During Ramadan
There are quite a lot of things to take into consideration when getting on with your trainings & workouts during Ramadan and that’s what we’ll be talking about in this blog.
If you have tried before to train during ramadan, I am sure you have run into some “startup issues” like feeling depleted during your session, or too full to the point you feel sick. Maybe you have trained and only afterwards realised it is going to be a while before you can drink and replenish after the workout.
There are mainly two things you need to consider. #1 Your timing & #2 The intensity of your training. ( That serve your bigger goal with your training, to learn more about setting intentions for your training click HERE )
Now, let’s get into these two briefly.
Training Timings
First things first, let’s talk about your timings. This is the first thing you actually have to take into consideration as the other aspect follow after this. Should you do your training before Iftar or after Iftar?
Well, it will always vary & depend on the type of program or training you get yourself into and the intensity of that program.
You have three options to choose from, all carrying their own pros & cons that we can touch on breifly.
One option is exercising in the morning as many say there are great benefits of doing cardio as soon as you wake. Get it out of the way, and allow you not to think about it rest of the day. Con is you won’t be given a chance to recharge or hydrate the entire day.
Secondly, you can exercise before Iftar, preferable an hour before it. This is the best approach to anyone looking to lose extra weight during Ramadan and keep the training out of the way for gatherings and dinner arrangements. The only bad side is you are training from an empty stomach, can leave you quite powerless and drained for your workouts. This is not recommended for anyone looking to improve strength or power during this month. But for just as long as you keep it lower intensity cardio / strength training and don’t overdo your trainings, you’ll get by just fine.
The last option is to exercise after Iftar which many people choose because then, you will have opportunity to eat some food and get enough energy to perform your routines during trainings. Down side is however, you have to be extra careful as It’s not healthy (or pleasurable) to have large meals when planning to exercise afterwards. So, have a light, healthy meal primarily filled with carbohydrates and moderate amounts of protein and save the big meal for after training.
Training Intensity
Let’s move on to the next consideration which is just as important – INTENSITY.
During this season, it is highly important to consider the intensity of your workouts & training routine – going from high to low to medium level of intensity.
This big change in habits, lack of sleep and limited amount of fuel can be quite stressful for the body to handle. So be mindful on your intensity in training especially the first week while you are finding your rythem and grove. A good goal for Ramadan is to maintain the habit, perhaps set focus on a different area in training that you have been neglecting like mobility or cardio. It can be a good rule of thumb to keeping your workouts light in daylight hours, like going on a brisk walk and going a little hard, performing higher intensity workouts after Iftar.
However, if it is most preferable for you to do heavy weight training, then, it is advisable to do it early in the morning before sunrise. With that, you can refuel properly afterwards.
Conclusion
A friendly reminder from your coach before I wrap up this blog. During Ramadan, when it comes to timing & intensity, there’s really no one-size-fits-all approach. It always varies depending on a lot of things. So, don’t forget to be kind to yourself & just go with whatever best suits you. If you need any individualized help with planning out your nutrition, training and habits during ramadan feel free to drop me a message and set up for an individual STRATEGY consultation. Where we break down your experience from past year and make your Ramadan Training a success this year!
