I'm a Muslim and part of my faith is to fast in the month of Ramadan. Fasting entails abstinence from food and drink from pre-dawn (that first crack of light) to sunset.
Ramadan began on August 1, 2011 and I've been fasting every day. I've also been running and lifting. It hasn't been easy, but it isn't as hard as some folks might think.
In the early days I tried two strategies. The first was to workout just before sunset (usually 1 to 2 hours before). The idea was to limit the time between the end of the workout and the time when I can eat and drink. This strategy worked. I did it this way for a few days.
After the first few days of Ramadan I tried strategy #2 which involved working out after I broke my daily fast. This was a disaster. I tried to eat enough to energize myself but not so much that I would feel bloated. I found that once I ate something and started hydrating, I was too tired to work out.
If I were alone, strategy #2 may have worked, but I am blessed with a wonderful family. The breaking of the fast is a communal time followed by a prayer. By the time I finished up with these obligations it was already 9:30pm. I had to be up by 3:30am to eat before that first crack of dawn so working out after 9:30pm would leave too little time for sleep.
Strategy #1 - working out just before the breaking of the fast each night - was formally adopted as the way to go. After work I either go home, change into some workout clothes and hit the road or I get home and head straight to gym.
I feel good. Normally I get very sluggish in Ramadan. This year, in addition to the running and lifting, I've been very particular about my eating. I've definitely indulged in some rich foods at special gatherings with family and friends, but mostly I've stuck to veggies, quinoa, lean meats and my protein + fruit smoothies made with unsweetened almond milk.
This Ramadan I'm not just running my usual 12 miles per week. I set goal of 80 miles for Ramadan (it's part of a fundraising effort for orphans in India). That's considerably more miles than I normally run. It turns out to be 40 miles per week.
As much as I'd like to sound nonchalant about it, the truth is that running the additional miles every week is challenging! I've been experiencing soreness more than in other months because currently I'm running almost everyday. I have to because I don't really want to try running longer distances while I'm fasting. The longest I've gone is 5 miles. The trade off to running fewer miles at a time is that I need to run 6 or even 7 days per week.
In addition to the running, I've also continued to lift weights. It's not as often as before Ramadan, however. During the first two weeks of Ramadan I lifted twice each week. I think that's about what I expect to do this week and next week as well.
I'm glad I pushed myself to workout this Ramadan. No excuses!
Showing posts with label Fasting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fasting. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Great strength training day yesterday
I went to the gym yesterday right after work. That’s part of my normal routine. What made yesterday unique was that it was the first day of Ramadan and I was fasting (I hadn’t had any food or drink for over 12 hours by the time I start working out).
It was a good workout. I lifted weights for 1 hour. I focused on chest, shoulders and triceps. I started out on the barbell bench press. I then moved to seated barbell behind the neck shoulder presses, dumbbell lateral raises, upright rows and finally tricep pushdowns.
The bad news is that I feel pain in parts of my body I never thought out would the last time I trained so consistently (that would be about 18 years ago). My right shoulder has sharp painful sensation in the rotator cuff. It will not go away but it doesn’t seem to impede my strength either. My right wrist also hurts. I can’t explain it.
The good news is that I am getting stronger. Back in February I struggled with 135 pounds on the bench press. Yesterday I cranked out 250 pounds for 5 reps (and I weigh 45 pounds less now!). Other milestones include the shoulder press where I’m using 135 pounds for reps (compared to 95 pounds I struggled with in February). In February I used two 25 pound plates on the hack squat and it felt heavy. Today I can put on four 45 pound plates for reps and feel great.
This is great. I felt awful going into the gym back in February. I felt very self-conscious about the weight I was training with. I feel much better today.
But I’m not even close to where I want to be in terms of my overall physical fitness. I’m still overweight - I need to drop another 25 pounds. I want to be able to run a half-marathon (13.1 miles) and presently the farthest I’ve run is 7 miles at one time. I don’t necessarily have set goals for my strength training but now I’m tempted to set some given that the numbers are more respectable now!
I’m heading to the gym after work today (on my way now as a matter of fact). Today will be strength training for my back, biceps and legs!
It was a good workout. I lifted weights for 1 hour. I focused on chest, shoulders and triceps. I started out on the barbell bench press. I then moved to seated barbell behind the neck shoulder presses, dumbbell lateral raises, upright rows and finally tricep pushdowns.
The bad news is that I feel pain in parts of my body I never thought out would the last time I trained so consistently (that would be about 18 years ago). My right shoulder has sharp painful sensation in the rotator cuff. It will not go away but it doesn’t seem to impede my strength either. My right wrist also hurts. I can’t explain it.
The good news is that I am getting stronger. Back in February I struggled with 135 pounds on the bench press. Yesterday I cranked out 250 pounds for 5 reps (and I weigh 45 pounds less now!). Other milestones include the shoulder press where I’m using 135 pounds for reps (compared to 95 pounds I struggled with in February). In February I used two 25 pound plates on the hack squat and it felt heavy. Today I can put on four 45 pound plates for reps and feel great.
This is great. I felt awful going into the gym back in February. I felt very self-conscious about the weight I was training with. I feel much better today.
But I’m not even close to where I want to be in terms of my overall physical fitness. I’m still overweight - I need to drop another 25 pounds. I want to be able to run a half-marathon (13.1 miles) and presently the farthest I’ve run is 7 miles at one time. I don’t necessarily have set goals for my strength training but now I’m tempted to set some given that the numbers are more respectable now!
I’m heading to the gym after work today (on my way now as a matter of fact). Today will be strength training for my back, biceps and legs!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
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.
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.
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