evilcyber.com
  • Home
  • Workouts
    • Home Workout Plans
    • How To Build Muscle
    • How To Get Toned
    • Home Workout Equipment
    • Advanced Workout Topics
    • Other Workout Programs
    • Important Workout Lingo
    • Recommendable Books
  • Cardio
    • What Is Cardio?
    • How To Start Cardio
    • Home Cardio Exercises
    • Cardio Or Weights First?
    • Best Time For Cardio
    • Does Cardio Burn Muscle?
    • Cardio On Empty Stomach?
    • HIIT – Doing It Right
    • Cross-Training
  • Weight Loss
    • The Secret To Weight Loss
    • Gain Muscle And Lose Fat?
    • Exercise And Weight Loss
    • Diet Reviews
    • Weight Loss Myths
    • Weight Loss Supplements
  • Nutrition
    • Healthy Nutrition Explained
    • Bodybuilding Nutrition
    • What Are Carbohydrates?
    • What Is Fat?
    • What Is Protein?
    • Nutrition For Cardio
    • Marathon Nutrition
    • Exercise On Low Carb
  • Supplements
    • 3 Supplements That Work
    • BCAA Supplements
    • Beta-Alanine
    • Creatine
    • Dextrose Supplements
    • Energy Shots
    • Make Your Own Weight Gainer
    • Multivitamins
    • NAC
    • Testosterone-Boosters
  • The Rest

Fitness, Workout

9 Tips For Ramadan And Working Out

9 Tips For Ramadan And Working Out

  • April 23, 2020 7:10 pm
  • 95 comments

Share this Article

  • TwitterTwitter
  • FacebookFacebook
  • DiggDigg
  • StumbleuponStumble
  • RedditReddit
Author evilcyber visit my website

Soon Ramadan starts for 1.57 billion people in the world and many of them are bodybuilders and workout freaks. Here is is how you observe Ramadan without compromising your workout goals!

1. Ramadan: Don’t Stop Working Out!

The most important tip right: don’t stop working out during Ramadan. Your body maintains muscle mass as long as it feels it’s needed. When you stop exercising, it will slowly build back what it feels is unnecessary luggage costing extra energy.

Even though you may not make gains in muscle mass during Ramadan, you can at least preserve what you have if you keep your schedule up.

2. Adjust Intensity

You do bench presses with huge weights in your regular workout schedule. You handle 90 lbs curls without batting an eye. But let’s say you do your workouts in the late afternoons and then try this intensity during Ramadan. It won’t work. On a typical Ramadan day you have fasted for 8 to 10 hours and a busy day is behind you. Under those circumstances pulling off your usual intensity is very hard to do.

There is nothing wrong with you. Your carbohydrate reserves are depleted and carbohydrates are what let you work out with intensity. So go a bit lower with your intensity.

Boy outside mosque waits for evening Ramadan prayer

Muslims before the evening prayers on the first day of Ramadan

Either adjust the weight or the number of reps. If you want to stay with the weights you normally train with, allow for doing fewer repetitions and lower the weight if you fail to reach your normal number of minimum repetitions. If you want to lower the weight right from the beginning, pick one that under the circumstances of the fast allows you a maximum of 12 – 15 reps.

3. Ramadan And Protein Timing

If you normally follow the rule of having several small doses of protein over the day, you of course can’t do that during Ramadan.

But if you manage to have a meal in the mornings, before fajr (???? ?????), and of course the larger ones in the evening and have some protein in both, you will at least somewhat make up for it: protein in food is absorbed much slower than protein from powders and will stay with you quite a bit of time.

If you want to use protein powder, it should be one based on casein, and not on the “fast” whey (see end of this article).

4. Carbohydrates In The Morning

Another reason for a morning meal is that you can not only have some protein at that time, but also carbohydrates. And as carbs let you work out with intensity, as we said above, loading up some of them in the mornings should counter a lack of carbs during the day.

If you are used to having a pre-workout meal this won’t make up entirely for it, but it at least should help tide you over.

5. Adjust Workout Times

This should work especially well if you can adjust to having your workouts within a couple of hours of this morning meal, as your carbohydrate reserves will then be quite high. If your workouts take place after a long day of fasting, you might feel rather drained.

6. Work Out When It Feels Best

However, many people of course can’t simply go and do their workouts when they would be most beneficial, especially during Ramadan.

A bit of flexibility might help: Instead of your normal times, during Ramadan do your workouts when you have time and feel the most energetic. A workout done when you feel you have the energy and can do it with intensity is better than a workout you squeeze in and do hurriedly, just because in theory your energy reserves would be better.

7. Get Enough Fluids

When talking about nutrition, we also shouldn’t forget about getting enough fluids. In my video about how much water you need per day, I said thirst is a good indicator for when you have to drink. However, during Ramadan you can’t drink when you are thirsty.

Therefore Ramadan is one of the few times where my advice is to load up on fluids preemptively, before thirst takes place. Especially for those of you living in hot climates this is rather important; even more so, when you want to do a workout during the day.

8. Don’t Go All Out In The Evenings

Strangely enough, despite Ramadan being a month of fasting, I know a good number of Muslims who actually gain weight during that month. Because what in many families is then served in the evenings more than makes up for what was lacking during the day.

Table with Ramadan meal

Sometimes food is very rich during Ramadan

Of course, it’s rather easy to overeat when you went without food for 10, 12 or even 14 hours, but do exercise some self-control. In the evenings, get that protein we talked about, but keep an eye on the calories you consume.

9. Ramadan Is Tougher In Summer

Finally, don’t forget that Ramadan is more difficult to follow in summer than winter, because during summer daylight lasts much longer, you will have less time to eat and drink and also get less sleep.

Therefore, during the years where Ramadan takes place during summer, as this year, be prepared that you may not be able to put out the same workout performances you get when Ramadan takes place in winter.

Questions Or Comments?

I compiled this advice with my general knowledge of nutrition, working out and physical performance in a fasted state – I am not a Muslim myself. If you therefore have some first hand experience, corrections or advice about Ramadan and bodybuilding you would like to add, please feel free to do so!

If you liked this article and want to see more, you can add me on Facebook, get my updates via Twitter, and, last but not least, subscribe to me on YouTube.

Pictures courtesy of Mohd Tarmizi, Vishal Dutta and “amekinfo“.

Help me spread knowledge and share this:

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Search

Subscribe to EC

Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Most Read

  • teen home workout Home Workout Plan For Teenagers
  • pills Why Bodybuilders Should Say No To NAC
  • home workout plan Home Workout Plan For Beginners
  • Intermediate Home Workout Plan
  • Are You Fitter Than The Average Guy?

Latest Comments

  • No comments

95 Comments

  1. Mai says:
    June 4, 2016 at 7:28 am

    Is it okay if I workout 2 hours after the morning meal?

    Reply
    • Daredevil says:
      June 6, 2016 at 7:58 pm

      Yes its okay but its on u itself you could feel little bitbof starving later but make your self strong enough. Tc

      Reply
  2. Sakem says:
    June 7, 2016 at 8:43 pm

    For my self Ramadan is best for work out.. Either gain muscle or loss fats n cut down.. My optimum best day when
    I breakfast with a light carbohydrates
    Have my big or main meal two hours after
    Then work out two hours later
    After an hour having another meal
    And if an woke up for sahur I will had some load of little carbs or honey etc..

    This work better for me except for less sleep hours that can be compensated during the day..
    Protein imdeatly after work out

    Reply
  3. Kandhy says:
    June 8, 2016 at 4:30 pm

    Great !!!
    usually am doing my workout 5 to 6 times a week at 6.00am in morning treadmill 15-20 minute and than I do heavy workout, since Ramadan I changed to 10 or 11 Pm before I go to sleep like 3 or 4 times a week and take my 100% Gold Standard Protein, is that ok ? and I skip my treadmill during this Ramadan.. Is that fine ? Please advice.

    Thank you so much..

    Reply
  4. Umair K says:
    June 8, 2016 at 6:39 pm

    I workout about 2 hours after iftaar, and I want to know how many scoops of ON 100% Whey Protein I should take after the workout? I take one scoop after workout and wanted to know if I should be taking in more then one scoop.

    Thank you

    Reply
  5. Hana says:
    May 30, 2017 at 10:46 pm

    Hi! My usual workout time is often at noon, right before lunchtime (i.e. I make sure to finish working out before 3pm, at most). Because brunch hours are when i feel most energertic. I’m currently in the US too so I’m going through ramadan during summertime. I was wondering if my workout time is okay and not detrimental for muscle gain and fat loss? For ramadan, i’ll try my best to workout in moderation and do HIIT workouts up to only 7-10 minutes and proceed to muscle training. I’m a 21 year-old, 5’1″ woman. Your insight on this is very much appreciated. Thanks!

    Reply
Previous Comments

    What do you think?

    Click here to cancel reply.


    • About
    • Contact
    • Copyright
    • Disclaimer
    • Privacy Policy
    © Copyright 2022 — evilcyber.com. All Rights Reserved.

    Evilcyber.com uses cookies

    More info about these little buggers in the Privacy Policy.

    Close
    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.