How To Stay Fit And Healthy In Ramadan.

Ramadan 2021 is almost upon us.


For those of you who don’t know Ramadan is determined by the sighting of the moon. So the fast begins when the new moon is sighted. This means that the month of Ramadan comes about 10-11 days earlier every year.


So for the past few years the fasting, especially in the northern hemisphere has been quite difficult as the hours have been long and at times we have had hot days. At one point we were actually fasting for 19 hours and that can be challenging as Ramadan is a dry fast meaning you are not only abstaining from food but you are also not drinking any liquids.


So for the next few years the fast is going to be a lot easier as we will be fasting in the spring season and a few years down the line in the winter season.


The fasting in Ramadan commences shortly before sunrise and ends just after sunset so this means that it will be considerably easier to fast in the years to come.


So how do you stay fit and healthy?


The important thing is to try and stay in habit of doing some exercise and perhaps to retain a bit of fitness.


A couple of years ago when the hours were really long this was very challenging but staying in habit is ever so important. So what I used to do is about half an hour of exercise right before sunset and sometimes the same a couple of hours after sunrise.


What is important is to go easy on yourself, when you go without food and drink for 19 hours it’s not really a time to try for any personal bests.


Cardio is probably the best option as cardiovascular fitness is the first to go when you take a break. When it comes to weight bearing exercises a month’s break can actually be good. You can restart and rebuild and actually come back stronger.


If you really want to continue the weights then just cut down of volume and intensity. Just do one or two sets of each exercise bearing in mind that weight bearing exercises are metabolic which means you are going to feel hungry afterwards/day after.


In all fairness, when we get to December/January when we will only be fasting about 10 hours then all training can go on as usual.


When it comes to nutrition it is ever so important to eat the best ever diet in Ramadan. This means “try and stay away from the sambuzas when you break your fast”. You can easily eat twice your daily calories in 10 minutes if you go for the treats when you are starving.


Lots of vegetables, fibre and real foods is what will be most beneficial when fasting ramadan.


What I have done in recent years is breaking my fast with a smoothie(mixed fruits and vegetables) and only eating a very light meal. Then I have been getting up right before sunrise to have my main meal. At one point I believe I had to set my alarm at 2PM to get up for a big meal.
 
At the time of breaking the fast I have actually drank a minimum of 2 litres of fluids and added another litre with my pre sunrise meal. This is obviously because I have been getting dehydrated on hot days with a physical job.


In essence if a person is sedentary then a light training session is a very good option. This could be at a time that suits you.In the morning when you have digested the pre sunrise meal or in the evening just before sunset, whichever works best for you.


If you have a physical job and get dehydrated during the day maybe not but if you feel that you will get out of habit then try to stick to your routine but be very kind to yourself.


By:Abdi-Karim Berleen/Personal trainer in Loughton

Ramadan 2021 is almost upon us.


For those of you who don’t know Ramadan is determined by the sighting of the moon. So the fast begins when the new moon is sighted. This means that the month of Ramadan comes about 10-11 days earlier every year.


So for the past few years the fasting, especially in the northern hemisphere has been quite difficult as the hours have been long and at times we have had hot days. At one point we were actually fasting for 19 hours and that can be challenging as Ramadan is a dry fast meaning you are not only abstaining from food but you are also not drinking any liquids.


So for the next few years the fast is going to be a lot easier as we will be fasting in the spring season and a few years down the line in the winter season.


The fasting in Ramadan commences shortly before sunrise and ends just after sunset so this means that it will be considerably easier to fast in the years to come.


So how do you stay fit and healthy?


The important thing is to try and stay in habit of doing some exercise and perhaps to retain a bit of fitness.


A couple of years ago when the hours were really long this was very challenging but staying in habit is ever so important. So what I used to do is about half an hour of exercise right before sunset and sometimes the same a couple of hours after sunrise.


What is important is to go easy on yourself, when you go without food and drink for 19 hours it’s not really a time to try for any personal bests.


Cardio is probably the best option as cardiovascular fitness is the first to go when you take a break. When it comes to weight bearing exercises a month’s break can actually be good. You can restart and rebuild and actually come back stronger.


If you really want to continue the weights then just cut down of volume and intensity. Just do one or two sets of each exercise bearing in mind that weight bearing exercises are metabolic which means you are going to feel hungry afterwards/day after.


In all fairness, when we get to December/January when we will only be fasting about 10 hours then all training can go on as usual.


When it comes to nutrition it is ever so important to eat the best ever diet in Ramadan. This means “try and stay away from the sambuzas when you break your fast”. You can easily eat twice your daily calories in 10 minutes if you go for the treats when you are starving.


Lots of vegetables, fibre and real foods is what will be most beneficial when fasting ramadan.


What I have done in recent years is breaking my fast with a smoothie(mixed fruits and vegetables) and only eating a very light meal. Then I have been getting up right before sunrise to have my main meal. At one point I believe I had to set my alarm at 2PM to get up for a big meal.
 
At the time of breaking the fast I have actually drank a minimum of 2 litres of fluids and added another litre with my pre sunrise meal. This is obviously because I have been getting dehydrated on hot days with a physical job.


In essence if a person is sedentary then a light training session is a very good option. This could be at a time that suits you.In the morning when you have digested the pre sunrise meal or in the evening just before sunset, whichever works best for you.


If you have a physical job and get dehydrated during the day maybe not but if you feel that you will get out of habit then try to stick to your routine but be very kind to yourself.


By:Abdi-Karim Berleen/Personal trainer in Loughton