Working Out During Ramadan | TrainHeroic

Timing Is Key: Ramadan Workout Strategies

There are a few strategies that make training a bit more manageable during Ramadan. And there are pros and cons to each.

There isn’t one that’s 100% better than the rest. What you choose to do depends on your preferences, situation with your sport and team, and schedule.

Option 1: Train After Iftar

Advantages

With this approach, you’re able to train and re-fuel simultaneously, just as you normally would. You might even be able to squeeze in a small pre-workout, and then proceed with training followed by a full meal.

Disadvantages

Training will be very late in the day, and likely after dark. Facilities might be closed/unavailable during this time. Also, if you want to work out with your coach/team/training partners during this time, it’s probably difficult to convince them to change their normal routine.

Option 2: Train Just Before Iftar

Advantages

As soon as the workout is complete, you’re able to refuel and rehydrate fully. This is when I personally prefer to do workouts during Ramadan.

Disadvantages

Getting through an entire workout while in a fasted state is pretty difficult. Also, like Option 1, it’s still pretty late in the day.

Option 3: Train Just Before Suhoor

This option requires waking up at least an hour prior to Suhoor mealtime, working out, and then eating and carrying on with the rest of the fasted day.

Advantages

Like Option 2, you’re able to fuel/refuel as much as needed mid-workout and post-workout.

Disadvantages

This is a pretty mentally taxing choice if you don’t thrive well off of little sleep (but plenty of people succeed in training with this method).

An additional hurdle with this option is finding the motivation to exercise while sleep-deprived and while it’s still dark outside.

Fueling & Hydrating: The Same, But Different

The key to planning for the nutritional component of Ramadan for athletes is to understand what you will be missing, and fill in those holes.

From a calorie perspective, most individuals do not change their normal total intake during Ramadan, because realistically, it is only one meal (lunch) that you’re skipping. And let’s be honest: most of us more than make up for that one missed meal by gorging ourselves during Suhoor and Iftar.

As an athlete, your needs are different from sedentary individuals. You need to pay closer attention to your carb, protein, and fat intake (based on your weight, training, sport/event, etc.).

This doesn’t change during Ramadan. But when you’re only eating two meals each day, you need to pay extra close attention to your macros during each meal. This is what’s going to get you through the fasted day ahead and aid your body in recovery.

A common misconception is that you can eat whatever you want during Ramadan because you lost so many calories fasting throughout the day. But we all know that not every food is going to be best for your body to recover and prepare for future workouts.

It’s tempting to just eat and eat and eat as much as possible during Iftar, so planning out your plate’s distribution of macronutrients before you begin eating is crucial.

A slight amount of weight loss (or weight gain due to overeating) during Ramadan is normal, particularly in the first couple of weeks. The overarching goal is to start and end at a similar weight to pre-Ramadan.

Remember, you’re only changing the timing of nutrition, not necessarily the amount.

Getting Enough Fluids

The trickier part is hydration. If you decide to train in a fasted state, you’re probably going to be extremely thirsty come Iftar.

The temptation is to chug as much fluid as possible, which feels great initially… until you realize all the room in your stomach has been taken up, and you aren’t hungry enough to eat properly.

My advice during Iftar is to rehydrate as much as possible, but do so slowly, and in conjunction with eating food.

Suhoor is an excellent time to hydrate as well, but again, you don’t want to overdo it and not get enough food to make it through the day. As with many things, balance is key.