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.

Working out on vacation!

Working out while on vacation is tough, but I’m working on keeping up with my running and strength training as much as possible during our family’s weeklong trip to Tampa, FL. It helps that there is a really good treadmill at our host’s home and a Planet Fitness gym just a few miles away.

There are so many activities going on and this has made it hard to find time to get out and exercise. It is an active vacation so we’re in the pool, in the ocean, walking around the beach and carrying kids and other stuff from here to there and back. It’s tiring but I’m not sure I’m really getting the training I normally get.

I’ve got a membership at Planet Fitness on Gunn Highway (Tampa, FL). It’s a decent gym. I hope to get to the gym a few times during the vacation.

Woes of working out when traveling - Iowa City, IA

This weekend I’m in Iowa City, IA for a Writers Workshop clinic. I went to the University of Iowa as an undergrad. Back then I worked out hard and often. Between the schools’ various workout facilities and a gym called “Body Dimensions” in downtown Iowa City (located right next to a still running restaurant called “The Brown Bottle”). I didn’t expect to experience an issues or concerns when it came to working out here.

The hotel gym is excellent for cardio workouts. I dropped in to take a look and I saw newer-looking treadmills and other machines. The strength training equipment looked limited. Consequently, I went next door to Iowa City Fitness, a 24-hour gym. It cost me $10. That’s a price I’m happy to pay in order to get a great workout.

At first blush the gym looks great. When you walk in and start planning out the workout, however, you notice that the equipment is a mishmash of machines that was put together. While it doesn’t look so great, if it works well, then the look of it doesn’t matter.

The equipment stinks. The machines don’t adjust their seating positions on several of the pieces I sought to use. The cushioning was loose on the leg extensions and in the middle of my first set the cushion upon which my left ankle was pressed slid almost off the bar. This is just one example.

The leg press machine wouldn’t allow me to adjust the position of the backrest so the range of motion for the exercise was static. It looked like it was set back in a position that worked for someone much taller. As a result, my range of motion on the exercise was less than 45 degrees. I like a full range of motion on my leg exercises so this was not helpful.

In the lower level of the gym where the free weights were I found some better equipment. The problem in the free weight area, however, was that it was a mess. Clearly this gym didn’t require patrons to put the weights back when they were finish.

Also, there aren’t nearly enough plates for the number of machines they have. It was fine for me last night because I was working out alone and I had to move about the space to find plates. Given the size of the room and the number of machines in the free weight area if there were 10 people doing strength training at once and they were at my level or better, then they would have to share weights. That’s horrible. It’s one thing to share the equipment with another person, but to have to share the weight plates between machines would be extremely disruptive to a serious training session.

I wrapped up my workout with a light 30 minute cardio session on a treadmill. It was an old Cybex machine. It was ugly but fine.

Today’s schedule calls for strength training for my chest, shoulders and triceps. I’m not sure I want to go back to Iowa City Fitness to get it done.

A 5K tomorrow: I'm very excited!

Tomorrow evening I’m running in the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services’ Race Judicata 5K! I’m running with my colleagues from the office.

The response from the office has been very good. There are ten of us participating in the the run/walk event. Six of us are running and 4 of us are walking. I’m not really nervous but I do have some butterflies in my stomach because of the six who are running, one is an experienced marathoner, another a half-marathoner and one is a triathlete. Between the remaining three I am the slowest!

I’ve got the butterflies because I feel a need to perform well. I’m the “captain” of my team since I organized this outing. I’ve been talking about the run with the office to promote it and in the process I’ve talked about my own running endeavors (humble as they are). The reality is that no one will care how I do, but my ego is convinced that everyone will be watching to see my final race time!

It’s been a while since my last race. In fact, I think my last race was the 10K I did with a colleague in Evanston, IL. I’ve been working out (strength training and running) a lot since my last organized race but I can’t tell if I’ve really been pushing myself or not. For me at least, competition is the best way for me to push myself. Tomorrow will be a good opportunity for me to assess my progress.

I’m trying to workout smart so that I’m not too tired tomorrow. However, I also need to keep things in perspective - this is a 5K and not a marathon - and not overdo the “resting the legs”. Today I went to the gym and did strength training for my chest, shoulders and triceps.

My bench press is definitely improving. Today I did 215 pounds for 7 reps. When I can do 225 pounds for 15 to 20 reps then I’ll know that I’m getting closer to where I need to be. The bench press is not the only (or even the best) measure of one’s strength training progress. It’s a psychological thing from my youth (remember the question everyone asks at the gym in high school - “how much can you bench?”). My leg strength, shoulder strength and back strength are all improving too.

It was good workout, and when I came home I followed it up with a meal of quinoa, spinach and beef. For dessert I had Kashi “Go Lean Crunch” with skim milk and a medjool date. Now if I can get to bed early and get a good night’s rest then I should be in good shape for tomorrow’s 5K!

2 Workouts in 1 Day Today

This morning I got up extra early to jog and ride the stationary bike. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel the rest of the day. I had plenty of energy and my fear of hitting a “wall” later in the day was unwarranted.

In fact, when I got home at 5pm I felt good enough to go to the gym like I normally do for a strength training session. I put in 1 hour this evening at the gym. I worked my legs, back and biceps.

For my legs I performed leg presses and hack squats followed by leg curls and calf raises. For my back I did two types of pull downs, and for my biceps I did dumbbell alternating curls and preacher curls. It was a good workout.

Now it’s 10pm and I need to get to sleep. I’ve got to be up at 4:15am. I will not be doing 2 workouts tomorrow, however, so I should get some quality recovery time in on Wednesday.

Tomorrow I’m going do some more strength training. I’ll be working on my chest, shoulders and triceps. I may do some cardio cross-training on the stationary bike as well. I plan to have a hard workout tomorrow - like every other day.

On Thursday I have the Race Judicata 5K charity race after work in downtown Chicago. The race starts at 6:30pm. I should be very well rested by the time the race starts since my last run will have been about 36 hours earlier (this morning).

Pre-Sunrise Run Today!

I didn’t make it to the gym yesterday. I made up for it by working out this morning! That’s 4am to be precise.

I woke up at 3:30am. I drank some water and ate a bowl of Kashi Go Lean Crunch with skim milk. I was on the road by 4am.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. I don’t remember the last time I ran so early in the morning. I didn’t have a choice, however, since I missed my workout last night and I knew the post-work meetings would make a workout this afternoon questionable.

I started out slowly. My intention was to do a slow run and to be mindful of how my body was responding to the new workout time.

The run felt great. I ran for about 39 minutes. It was a very slow run and I think I covered about 3.3 miles. I went back to my house and into the basement to follow up the run with 20 minutes on my stationary bike and some sit-ups.

After the workout I drank some more water and ate a banana. And now I”m on the train and on my way to work.!

With 5 hours of sleep the morning workout felt good. More sleep would be helpful though.
I caught the 6:34am train instead of the usual 5:50am. If I hadn’t done the stationary bike and I had shaved the night before then I could have kept my regular 5:50am train schedule.

Now, as I write on the train, I feel the need for coffee! Assuming I get a good cup of coffee once I get downtown, today should be a great day!

I need to jumpstart my fitness routine

This is the strength training area at my gym

I’ve lost a lot of weight (about 40 pounds) since I started working out again in February 2010. I’ve been at it now for over 5 months. I can run up to 6 miles on a good day under the right conditions and my latest bench press was 205 pounds for 9 reps. That’s all pretty amazing.

I’m not where I want to be, however. I want to get down to 185 pounds. I still have about 25 pounds to lose (sometimes the scale says 30 pounds!) in order to get there. I want to be able to run a 1/2 marathon. I still have 7 miles to go (I’m not even at the half way point in mileage). I want to be able to bench press over 300 pounds. My hunch is that I can probably do 260 pounds for a single rep. I have other fitness goals that I have yet to reach as well.

I need something to kick-start my engine though. I’m starting to feel complacent. No, not so complacent that I’m going to backslide into morbid obesity. But yes, complacent to the point that I may just make where I am now a permanent fitness plateau.

I’m going to start lifting weights more frequently and adding treadmill runs at the end of the weight training sessions. I’ve been focusing on lifting 3 times per week with a routine that hits all my muscles groups. Now I’m thinking about doing more exercises for each body part. That means, however, I can’t finish an all-body workout in 1 hour (it’ll probably take more like 2.5 hours).

Yesterday’s strength training focused on legs and chest. I also ran 2 miles at 5.1 mph on a 1.0% grade/incline. The entire workout lasted 1hour 26 minutes.

I started the workout intending to do my usual full-body workout. However, by the time I finished the leg press, squats, leg curls and calf-raises it was already 30 + minutes into the workout (I wanted to do squats but the rack was being used so I started on the leg press and then moved over to the squats afterwards). That’s when I decided I’d better pick another muscle group and wrap it up with a run.
Today I’m going to do back, shoulders and arms. If my body holds up I’m going to try doing a run outside later this evening after the kids go to bed (in lieu of a treadmill run).

The problem I foresee is not being able to do this workout back to back to back because it’s going to really fatigue my triceps. The alternative is to do back, biceps and legs on one day and shoulders, chest and triceps on the other day. This might workout better.

I’m going to see if this increased focus on strength-training may help me get my workouts re-energized!