Strength gains in Ramadan

This Ramadan has definitely been a journey for me. Unlike last year, I did not have to deal with so many things. All I had to do was fast, pray, and exercise.

While this year, I have a full-time job in the media industry - and it goes without saying - a 24/7 kind of job, whether I like it or not. Due to the time constraints, I did not make the time to plan my eating habits, however I did plan my exercise - up to an extent.

During the third week of my training, I actually almost had a melt down, because of exhaustion, feeling not up to par as I did last year, and did not see myself adding plates to the barbell. It crushed me.

I worked very hard for the past two years to get where I am today. People tend to overlook that aspect about who I am. God knows how many times I fell off the wagon, but I had to get up again. I freakin' love weight lifting. I just do.

So after a push from my trainer, Candice Howe, who might I say is the fittest woman in Asia as per Crossfit standards, I finally started upping my game again.

I know I am physically strong, but sometimes my mind fails me. Hence that day I just felt I couldn't go through the workout, I actually gave up. However, giving up in training is not who I am so I walked into the gym with a new mindset. Since then, I have seen a strange jump in strength gains - and not by the amount of muscle of fat I have lost or gained - but by the capacity my body is able to go through.

Although Ramadan, is not over, I can proudly say that in Ramadan I have achieved the following:

- My first 6 reps pull ups (something I couldn't do before!)
- My first 52.5kgs x 3reps with squats. I never shared this before - I actually have a fear of squatting! So imagine me squatting my own body weight on my back?
- I also have lost some body fat and have leaned out a bit, despite my eating habits are the most. I am still consuming whole-foods for the most part, aside from gaimat!

And what saddens me is to read about people "overeating" in Ramadan, or spending hours watching the TV, while they could've exercised in that hour. Some say to me that my tweets makes them crazy, as they have gained X amount of weight in Ramadan, and have eaten X amount of food. Well, if you wanted to be healthy, you'll do something about it. It is what it is.

And I chose to stay as healthy as possible in Ramadan, keep training hard, because I want to reach somewhere, whatever that place is, I know I want to compete as an athlete one way or another. Maybe not this year, or next year - but I am hungry for it, and I plan to get a bite.

Yours truly,
Gym freak @999fitness

"Emotional Salad" By Amna Al Haddad at TedxAjman 2011

Dear Readers,

I hope you enjoy the video - just fyi: that is me speaking!

Yours truly,
GymFreak @ 999fitness.