Exercising during Ramadan: Weightlifting and Cardio

Within two weeks, a special month is approaching. Ramadan is the 9th month on the Islamic calendar and it's where Muslims all over the world fast from dawn to dusk. Most people in Ramadan feel that there is lack of time to exercise, so they decide to ditch training all together - either because of the lack of time or proper planning.



This post will include the following:

• Possible weight lifting times, with pros and cons. 
• Possible cardio times, with pros and cons.
• What I did last year (training-wise) & worked well for me.

p.s. Before applying any of the below, consult a physician or a nutritionist. I am neither. This is based on knowledge gained through previous research & personal experience.  

Ramadan & Weightlifting: 

Generally, the body uses carbohydrates as a main source of fuel, secondly fat, and thirdly, muscle. While fasting, your body mainly uses fat as a source of energy, and if you did not have enough or proper nutrition, it will use muscle. In other words, lack of proper nutrition may cause a loss in muscle while fasting. More on nutrition in Ramadan next week.

Studies suggest two main options for weightlifting in ramadan.

1) two hours BEFORE breaking the fast:

Pros: The idea behind training before breaking your fast, is simple. You can eat right after training (iftar), and can have multiple meals for recovery.

cons: Training on a fasted state means training with low blood sugar, meaning you may feel dizzy and some may get nauseated. Also, your body will lack the energy to go through, say a heavy weight-training session, and use your muscle for energy, instead of carbs or fats, causing muscle breakdown and increase in corsitol hormone (aka "stress hormone".)

My conclusion: I personally don't see the benefit of weightlifting while fasting, as you don't have the energy to go through a moderate-intense workout. Unless your plan is to lift light weights, and personally prefer it; knowing you will not get dizzy or injure yourself & understand how to eat properly to maintain your muscle mass.

2) two hours AFTER breaking your fast:

Pros: Training after iftar (2-3 hours later) would mean your body has the right amount of energy/calories to go through a grilling workout and you'd be hydrated enough through the workout. Lets not forget lack of hydration could lead to dizziness.

cons: The cons, muscle-gain or loss-wise, are slim to none; so no cons there! The issue is mainly finding the "right time" to fit in a good workout session during Ramadan. Training during Ramadan should be short and avoid useless "exercises"; such of those bicep curls or leg extensions.

My conclusion: I mainly prefer working out a few hours after I have eaten Iftar, because I have the right amount of food in my system to go through a good weight training session and I am not afraid of losing muscle mass. Also, it's best to stick to compound lifts, instead of isolation exercises. It is also possible to GAIN muscle in Ramadan as per some studies, but it's not something I know well in terms of details to share as of yet.

Do read my PREVIOUS POST to understand why I value muscle perseverance.

Ramadan and Cardio:

When it comes to Ramadan and Cardio, it's very simple. It really depends on your goal.

Do you want to lose fat but don't care much for muscles? Then the best time to train is before breaking your fast, although training in a fasted state DOES burn fat because lack of glycogen, so your body uses fat for energy. However, it also uses muscles for energy, hence losing muscle mass. Again, remember, muscle mass is an active tissue and requires more calories, and the more lean muscle mass you have, the more calories your burn = less body fat.

My conclusion: It's doable if A) you can handle low-impact cardio, B) not get dizzy due to lack of hydration, C) don't care much for muscle loss.

Do you want to preserve muscle mass, and gain little or no fat? Limit cardio session to 2x/week, keep them short but intense, anytime between Iftar - before Sahoor, will just do. Your cardio session should not be longer than 45 minutes. I prefer 20-30 minutes.

My conclusion: It's the safer choice to do intense cardio after having broken your fast, and between the hours it's permissible you eat. If you wish to do cardio while fasting, make sure to stop immediately if you felt a spell of dizziness.


What I did last Ramadan:

Last Ramadan, after doing a lot of research, although still learning, I found that FOR ME training two hours after I have broken my fast worked very well for me. Not only I had energy during my workouts, I saw strength gains and I recall this was the month I added 5kgs (55kgs that time) into my DEADLIFT (sorry, it's the lift of my life!)

Last year I had a 4-split training program; which means 4 days of weightlifting broken into A) legs, B) Back/Biceps, C) Chest/Triceps, D) Shoulders. Frankly, it was waste of time as a routine, however I did gain strength, lifted heavier and started doing half chinups all during Ramadan.

As for cardio, I did a 20-30 minute boxing routine twice a week. I firstly did gain a bit of fat the first week as my body was adjusting to the new routine, but soon after that I was able to maintain my weight and muscle to fat ratio.

This year I plan to do the same in terms of time to workout and almost similar workout routines. That would be three days weightlifting (sticking to big lifts; i.e. deadlift, squats, pull ups, chin ups, bentover rows, chest press, and a few other olympic lifts). Also will be doing an MMA class twice a week as I do now, but at night. My training routines will not be more than 45-minutes, except MMA, which would be one hour. In addition I will have one light-day (i.e. either brisk walking or yoga), and finally one full day of rest, most probably Friday or Thursday.

I very much realize the importance of Ramadan to our souls and us understanding there are many unfortunate people out there who lack food and water that we have an abundance of. It is also the month of forgiveness. However, I think it's also important to keep taking care of your health nonetheless, and have the chance of knowing how to do so, should you choose to keep training in Ramadan. As a fanatic, I cannot stop. So, if you plan right, you can still carry on your religious duties as well as have a balance between your life and religion. Hence, I wrote this last year: Prayer can make you stronger - literally. 

In other others, it's all about trial and error and learning what works for your and your body!

Also, please keep in mind the above cannot be achieved without a proper nutrition plan in Ramadan. This will be for next week's post. 


Yours truly,
GymFreak @999Fitness

Please leave your comments below or if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Some of Weight Lifting Myths vs Facts

When it comes to weightlifting, there are a lot of myths out there that discourage, not only women but some men from weight training. However, weight training has a lot of benefits and thus far, I have seen nothing but great results personally – your average jane who trains heavy.

So let’s debunk some of these myths, shall we?  

Myth: If you stop weight training muscles will convert to fat.

Muscles and Fat can never turn into each other, why? They are two different kinds of tissues. Muscle is denser than fat, and will actually make you look slimmer.  Here’s a picture of how 5lbs (2.5kgs) of muscle look vs. fat. In simpler terms, muscle takes less space than fat and it’s like comparing sand with water.

However, not training for certain period of time could cause the muscle to shrink back to its normal state pre-training, if A) there was lack of exercise for a long time, B) lack of proper nutrition and protein. However, due to muscle memory, regaining muscle is easier. 

Myth: Ab cruches are the best exercises to lose fat from the stomach.  

That's a big no no. Abs are just another muscle group in your body. What you often want to get rid of is the fat layer in top of it. You can do 200 crunches in a day, and you will still see no results. Why? Stomach fat is all about diet, diet, diet - and no I don't mean go low-carb and starve yourself. You may have a really strong core below that layer of fat, but if you don't eat whole foods, lots of veggies, lean protein and fruits, but opt for sugary drinks, fried foods - you won't see your abs. In general to get that body you want it's 70% diet, 20% exercise, 10% sleep. Yup. Also there is no such thing as "spot reduction." Your body is a machine, you can't exclude one part of it and expect it to work to its full potential.

Myth: Weight training makes you gain weight so you look bigger. 

Yes, weight training does makes you gain weight, but at the same time it reduces your overall body fat percentage and not by a miracle where it converts from fat to muscle. Muscles are an active tissue in the body and require energy (calories) to keep functioning. Gaining muscle raises your metabolic rate by 15% and for every pound of muscle (0.5kgs), you burn an extra 35-50 calorie a day, while fat burns 5 calories for every pound. In simpler terms, muscles help burn fat 24/7.

Personally, I have been weight training for almost 2 years now, and have done cardio only once a week (45-minutes only). I weigh exactly the same as I did last year, being 52kgs, but the difference is that I lost almost 8kgs of fat and gained 5kgs of muscle in return, with a drop of 13% of body fat (last I checked few months ago.) In other words, I weigh the exact same, but look completely different.

Myth: Weight training makes you stiff and lose flexibility.

The opposite is true. If you train and use the full range of motion (ROM) of an exercise it will help you maintain and adjust your flexibility. However, if you don't use the ROM of exercise properly, it will indeed affect your flexibility. Plus, sedentary lifestyle affects your flexibility and makes you stiff, affecting your exercise. Make sure you stretch everyday!

I am a living example of bad-not-flexible-shoulders. While doing the Press exercise, also known as the military press (for shoulders), I used to lean back and push the weight up, which caused the front side of my shoulders (delt) to be overtrained compared to my back delts (which look quite horrible!) Now I am slowly fixing the issue with my trainer, as pushing 20kgs above my head is quite horrible only because of the lack of flexibility. That's why form is more important in weight training than actual weight lifted. 

 *rubs hands together* my favorite Myth....

Myth: Weight training will make women bulky.

Women just cannot turn bulky because of the level of testosterone in their bodies. As it's known, one of the functions of the testosterone hormone is to build muscles, and both men and women have it. But here's the catch, a man typically has about 300 -1,200 ng/d of testosterone while a female around 30 - 95 ng/dL. So unless you take steroids is when you'll look like this: 

What you see above is all supplements, steroids, and unnatural way of building muscle...and it ain't pretty. I suggest people spend sometime to look how natural weight lifters look like. (trying to avoid any offensive photos!) To make it simpler, it takes a lot of hard work for a woman to gain muscle mass. Even in general, maintaining your muscle is hard work, requires proper eating habits, weight training, and it's not something that will grow out of air.

I surely don't look like the woman above, nor will I ever, if I keep eating properly, train hard, rest, and not take such supplements that make any person look....unnatural. 

Also, another thing I have to mention is that there are different schools of weight training, bodybuilders, powerlifters, olympic lifters, weight lifters...etc, and all have different kind of physiques, training routines and diet regimes.

I am not sure where I fit just yet, a little of all.

There are a lot more myths regarding weight training (especially for women). Hence do let me know what else you have heard, unsure of, and want to know more about. I will answer your questions.

Yours Truly,
GymFreak @999Fitess