Ramadan is a month-long religious event which is followed by billions of Muslims across the world. From the U.K, to America, to even Singapore, Islamic communities from a multitude of cultures come together as one to remember Allah to attain taqwa  and help the misfortunate during this time as they strive to become better Muslims.

Although we aspire to do this by reading the Quran, learning more about our faith, taking part in charity work and helping the less fortunate that doesn’t mean that we have to abandon our workouts in the process, it is still ibadah. The idea of working out on an empty stomach and with no water is a scary one. However, it’s simpler than you think. In fact, all you need for it to be a success is a little planning and some motivation. Here are some of my top tips for a successful Ramadan workout:

Eat carbs and drink water

A common mistake a lot of us make is neglecting water after we drink a litre or two when we break our fast. We lunge towards our fizzy drinks, smoothies, and juices because their flavours are what we crave. Although you could argue that these all include water, this doesn’t take away from the fact that they only include a small amount of water. A lot of us think that our water intake isn’t as important as our food intake, but that is incorrect. In fact, water is the most important factor when it comes to working out. Not drinking enough water causes dehydration throughout the day and when this is paired up with working out, this results in fatigue as your body is unable to operate properly. You feel as if your regular workout is harder due to the stress felt within your body as it isn’t hydrated enough nor is it able to cool itself off properly. Not only this but, in order for our bodies to function properly even when we’re not exercising, we need to drink a considerate amount of water in order to make our fasts easier and minimise our chance of ‘cotton mouth’.

I would recommend increasing your water intake up to 3 litres to start off with before increasing it up to 4-5 litres. Obviously you’ll end up going to the toilet a lot because your body isn’t used to handling so much water but, after a week or two you’ll have found that your body has adjusted. Not only will your workouts feel a lot easier but you’ll also feel healthier and happier in general as all you’re doing is feeding your body what it desires – water.

Plan your workouts

Depending on what area you live in, this will determine whether or not you have a 24-hour gym nearby. If you do and if your parents are fine with you going to the gym after iftaar and taraweeh, then go do so! However, if you’re like me and you live in a smaller residential area and have a gym which closes at around 10pm, then I would recommend that you go as soon as you wake up and not to leave it an hour or two before iftaar like many do. This is simply due to how our body is still digesting the food we ate for suhoor and so we still have a lot of energy in our system. The logic here is simple – the longer you delay your workout, the more food digested, and the less energy you have in your system. The idea that working out an hour or two before iftaar is a dangerous one. Not only will you have critically low levels of energy in your body, but this could also result in you injuring yourself when working out, especially if you’re lifting weights. Through lack of concentration being a by-product of low energy, this can cause you to become lazy with your form which in many cases has brought about injury – whether the injury is for life or whether it’ll take several months to heal is something only a doctor can tell you.

Now when I talk about planning what workouts to do, I literally mean plan them. I’ve been doing this ever since I started workout out and it has made my workouts so efficient. When modifying my workout plan for Ramadan, I’m easily able to take out any accessory workouts and only do compound lifts. Accessory workouts/lifts/exercises being less taxing movements on your skeletal system and nervous system. By taking them out, I am allowing myself to still reap almost all of the benefits of a full workout without using up even more energy, for example:

Let’s say my regular workout consists of Deadlifts, Assisted Pull Ups, Seated Cable Row, Chest Press and Goblet Squats. For my Ramadan workout I would take out Assisted Pull Ups and Seated Cable Row due to how although they are beneficial for my back and biceps, Deadlifts and Chest Press target them as well. By taking them out, not only will I be conserving more energy (and therefore I won’t feel as fatigued) but I will also be reaping almost all of the benefits of a full workout.

One last tip, if you end up suffering from cotton mouth as a result of working out, just gargle cold water in your mouth and throat as it will help take away the dryness.

Watch your ego

When we’re fasting we obviously have much less energy than we do on a regular day. Despite this, a lot of us seem to let our ego control our actions in the gym. We know that we have less energy yet we still insist on lifting the weights that we do on our regular days or doing the same amount of cardio, and this is foolish. The only thing you will get out of this is an increased risk of injury (if you’re injured you won’t be able to lift again for several weeks/months/years/life) as well as increased fatigue, thirst, and hunger. Essentially all you’re doing is torturing yourself. We forget that working out and lifting in general isn’t a race, it’s a marathon. Keeping fit and lifting weights is something that we do for life, so even if that means that during the month of Ramadan it takes us a little bit longer to hit our target weight and P.R. than it would during a regular month, that doesn’t mean anything. It really is not that important.

The fact that you’re still going to the gym and you’re still lifting, even if it is a lighter weight than normal, please remember that you’re doing more than what most people could and so you shouldn’t beat yourself up because of that. Instead, you should be congratulating yourself. Just ignore your ego for a second and think about how long your life will probably be (inshAllah) and how long you have to reach all those different target weights and P.R’s. So please, don’t let just one month of having to lift a little bit lighter affect that and cause you to bring injury upon yourself because you didn’t want to lift a little bit lighter. Decrease your weights by a few kilos and see how you feel. Because it is still a workout, you will still burn fat and lose weight. Let go of all the silly voices in your head telling you that you need to lift heavy, and instead focus on what’s best for your fasting body. The sooner you do that, the sooner you’ll be enjoying your workouts during this month.

Eat Suhoor & Iftar

I’m sure we’ve all heard that eating at night or eating past 7pm causes you to gain weight. This is a MYTH. Multiple studies have debunked this misconception; however, a lot of people still believe this. Such a belief paired up with the late eating times during Ramadan can cause some serious under-eating. A lot of people, including myself in the past, believe that eating little amounts of food between iftaar and fajr and then working out the next day will allow for them to lose a lot of weight. Although this does work for some people, this comes at a cost whether that be thinning/loss of hair, frequent headaches, feeling lightheaded, feeling the need to vomit, etc. This is an extremely unhealthy and unsafe method of weight-loss done all in the name of being ‘slim’. If this is the case with you then you really need to work on not only your self-love, but also on your knowledge of the body and how to be healthy.

When it comes to working out, especially if you are lifting weights, you should aspire to eat around a full day’s worth of food within the time given between iftaar and fajr. I know that the thought of it sounds scary because you think you’ll gain weight but trust me, you won’t as long as you workout! By doing this you will be able to work out efficiently and effectively the next morning as you will still have the energy given by a full day’s worth of food without having to eat anything right before your workout. In doing this, your workout and its benefits will be much better than one which was fuelled by a measly sized meal as it would’ve been inefficient as a result of your lack of energy and you would’ve suffered from increased fatigue, hunger, and thirst.

Avoid Cardio

This is specifically for my weightlifters/bodybuilders. There isn’t much to say here besides what I’ve already said before. Lifting weights whilst fasting is already challenging for the body. By adding extra cardio on top e.g. stair-master, all you’re doing is adding extra, unnecessary stress to your body. Drop it for now and resume it after Ramadan.

Reduce your workout

Funnily enough, this one is specifically for my cardio bunnies. Unlike their fellow weightlifters, cardio freaks tend to go to the gym more often – around 4-6 times a week. I understand that you see Ramadan as a time where you can lose MORE fat; however, remember that you’re fasting and so there is no need to be going to the gym almost every single day to tire yourself out even more. Instead, try to go 3 times a week.

Last Words

Whether you’re working out during Ramadan or on a regular day, remember that you can only lose fat when you’re in a deficit of macros/calories. Doing an excessive amount of cardio or weights won’t do anything if you’re not in a deficit.

So that’s it, those are my top tips to help both my cardio lovers and weightlifters have a successful workout during the holy month of Ramadan. I sincerely hope that you all manage to get your bodies right whilst remembering Allah, and InshAllah you all have a blessed Ramadan!