Ramadan Workout Planning

Ramadan begins on Wednesday, August 11, 2010. For those unfamiliar with it, this is the month of the Islamic calendar when Muslims fast from daybreak to sunset for 30 days. The fast consists of abstaining from, among other things, all food and drink each day from daybreak to sunset.

I’ve been observing the Ramadan fasts since I was a teenager so I’m used to the rigors of fasting. This year is going to be very different, however, since I now exercise regularly. It’s tough working out during Ramadan. I did it many years ago - probably back in the late 1980s and early 1990s when I was in college and law school - and I remember it as a challenging physical and mental exertion.

It’s going to be tough this time around. Working out hard - running and strength training 4 to 6 days a week - while fasting at age 40 is going to be more demanding than it was 15 to 20 years ago! Most people I’ve spoken to about my plans to train through Ramadan think it’s a bad idea. How are you going to training on an empty stomach some ask? Others wonder - aren’t you going to get extremely thirsty?

Frankly I’m concerned about these issues too. I’m also concerned about getting the right nutrition at the right times during Ramadan. Given that I’ll be eating around 4 am and and then again at 8pm, it will be hard to get high quality calories and enough protein to sustain my training.

My Ramadan Workout

I intend to continue my workouts during Ramadan. I need to be prepared to accept a decline in my performance on a daily basis. The goal during Ramadan is to sustain the gains without any deterioration in muscle strength and running endurance.

The best times to workout will be about 1.5 hours before daybreak, 1.5 hours before sunset or after sunset. Working out before daybreak or after sunset will allow for drinking water during the workout. Both have significant drawbacks though. Daybreak on Wednesday will be 4:26am. In order to work out and still have time for a post-workout meal I’ll need to start my workout at 2am. That’s not realistic.

The post sunset workout is more reasonable. I can break my fast with a light meal and then head to the gym. However, anything more than some fruit and water will make it hard to workout immediately. If I go this route, then I’ll be consuming a post-workout meal right before going to bed and that doesn’t seem like a good idea either. Also, a late evening workout possess the risk of making it harder to fall asleep quickly (while I normally fall asleep very easily, I have a lot of trouble getting to sleep right after a strenuous workout).

The third option is to time my workout to end just round sunset so that I can eat and drink right away. This option isn’t ideal. After working all day it will be tough getting to the gym at 6 or 6:30pm to workout. But as soon as the workout is done I can make my post-workout meal my fast-breaking meal as well. Then I can give myself about 2 hours to rehydrate and relax before going to bed.

I have no delusions that this is going to be easy. Back in college and even in law school I could take naps in the day time and my overall schedule wasn’t nearly as rigorous as it is today. Working out at 6pm when my last morsel of food or sip of water was over 13 hours earlier will be hard. But not impossible. This is where mental strength comes into play. 

People who work in hard labor and soldiers and others involved in vocations requiring heavy physical exertion endure Ramadan’s challenges without missing a day of fasting. Frankly, I need to make sure I workout during Ramadan in order for it to count since working out is a normal part of my lifestyle now, and to eliminate it in Ramadan to make my fasting easier would be like taking a long nap in the middle of the day when that isn’t normally done. Not working out would be a copout.

My Ramadan Diet

I expect to lose weight this Ramadan. This isn’t usually the case (and losing weight isn’t the reason for fasting). Ramadan is usually observed in a rather absurd way by indulging in excessive food and drink during the pre-daybreak and post-sunset meals. Ramadan is traditionally (and wholly in contravention of the religious purpose) a month of indulgence with sumptuous meals early in the morning and late into the night. I’ve often come out of Ramadan a few pounds heavier than when I started it.

By working out and avoiding the fried foods, the greasy stews, the many rice-centric dishes and the abundant sugary treats I expect to lose some weight. While that is fully in line with my plans, I am concerned that I may lose muscle instead of fat because the caloric intake will be drastically minimized.

As such, I intend to load up on protein during Ramadan in the form of lentils, quinoa, chicken, fish, eggs and protein drinks. I will use a protein supplement during the pre-daybreak meal, the post-sunset meal and just before going to bed. I will try to consume fruit and fiber during breakfast and vegetables and meat protein supplemented with quinoa and lentils at night.  Just before bed I’ll drink a protein drink again.

Goals for Ramadan 2010

I’m going into Ramadan a little bloated from a week of vacationing in Florida where I gave into a range of unhealthy foods and only worked out a fraction of the time I normally do. The first week will be a purge of the vacation binge. In the remaining 3 weeks of Ramadan I expect to see some additional (new) weight loss.

I’d like to be at 190 by the end of Ramadan. This would be a 25 pound drop. This is one goal.
A second goal is to cut out all candy and sweets during Ramadan. Candy is self-explanatory. Sweets include ice cream, cake, cookies, sugar and desserts. I will allow myself sugar substitute with my coffee and tea. I will also allow myself some Rooh-Afza (a sweet, rose extra syrup traditionally mixed with water or milk) sweetened protein shakes.

My third goal is to eat more fruits and vegetables. Specifically, I want to consume 2 servings of fruit for breakfast and 2 servings of vegetables for dinner.

The final goal for Ramadan is to drink 64 to 80 ounces of water everyday. This is to insure that I don’t get dehydrated. I’ll accomplish this by drinking water consistently in the evening after sunset and up to the time I go to bed.

Closing Thoughts

Professional and amateur athletes throughout the world train in Ramadan. I’m not breaking new ground by trying to maintain my training regimen through Ramadan.

Other than my training, most of my daily activities are sedentary and comfortable. Millions of people around the world observe the Ramadan fasts under harsh weather conditions while doing back-breaking work for long hours. So I recognize that what I’m doing isn’t particularly impressive.

That said, training hard and consistently while eating balanced meals throughout Ramadan is notable for me. It will be a departure from Ramadan fasting over the past 15 to 20 years.

The purpose of my training is to strengthen me physically and to improve my mental frame of mind. The purpose of fasting is to strengthen my spirituality. By observing the fasts (and the heightened and increased spiritual activities that go with it) while training hard, I can use the coming 30 days to rejuvenate myself like never before.