By Rushdhi Ismail
Does exercise in Ramadan seem unnecessary or unwise to you? One of the main reasons most Muslims avoid exercising during Ramadan is this: many assume that they don’t have the energy to exercise while fasting while others even think doing exercise will bring hardship to their fasting.
Basically, it’s a ‘mental shackle’ that prevents many Muslims from doing any exercise during Ramadan. So, if you can overcome this mental shackle, you will realise that doing 15-30 minutes of exercise at the right time will not kill you, rather benefit you immensely. Exercise has the potential not only to reenergise your body and mind but also to increase your productivity during the day and night as well.
Here are some benefits:
- Exercising while fasting forces your body to shed your excess body fat effectively
- It boosts your cognitive function (i.e. you’ll be able to think and focus better) and prevents depression.
- It could trigger your genes and growth factors, which recycle and rejuvenate your brain and muscle tissues.
- Exercising while fasting can improve your body composition dramatically. This is because exercising while fasting increases the body’s metabolic rate, reduces your body fat, improves your insulin sensitivity and increases the percentage of your lean muscle mass.
What could be more awesome than that lean and healthy body? However, to enjoy all these great benefits, there is a condition you need to meet – you have to first fix your diet. This means, if you are not eating properly you’ll most probably not reap these benefits.
So the quality of your suhoor and iftar meals play a crucial role in getting things right in Ramadan. For the first three days of Ramadan, don’t do any weightlifting or highly intense exercises. Let your body adapt to fasting. It is best to take it easy and instead stick to walking for 15-30 minutes or to doing some recreational and easy exercises. If you are totally exhausted with no energy left, then skip the workouts and go for a relaxing walk
There is a lot of discussion surrounding the best type of exercises to do whilst fasting. Some swear on cardio exercises while others don’t go beyond strength training. There are lots of opinions floating around but I don’t want to bore you with details. So let me just tell you what you need to know:
The prime time for working out during Ramadan is 30 – 60 minutes before iftār. There are multiple reasons why I encourage doing workouts just before iftār: After 12-16 hours fast, your body is forced to use your body fat for energy. So working out just before iftār increases your fat loss. A post-workout meal is essential for your muscles and body to rejuvenate. So getting your meal within 1 to 2 hours after your workout is important
Doing workouts while fasting will certainly make you thirsty. So working out just before iftār means you don’t need to stay thirsty for long
A good workout just before iftār gives you a real kick of energy for worshipping during the night, bi’idnillah.
Working out after iftār brings numerous problems. You could develop lethargy after iftār and work out late at night will mess with your sleep quality. This will then make waking up for suḥoor harder. But most, importantly the time after iftār is meant for some real worship – not for workouts
Source: Book Title: Health Guide: healthy hacks for an awesome Ramadan.
**************************
Rushdhi Ismail is the founder of Lean and Healthy. His mission is to help the Muslim Ummah get leaner, stronger and healthier, bi’idnillah!
