This document provides tips for working out while fasting during Ramadan. It discusses common mistakes like not training, not eating enough healthy foods, and not sleeping enough. It recommends training fasted 2 hours before breaking the fast to maximize recovery. When lifting weights during Ramadan, it suggests focusing on strength gains by decreasing sets while maintaining intensity and dropping isolation exercises in favor of compound movements. To lose fat while fasting, it recommends strength training, eating whole foods, drinking water, avoiding junk food and cardio. To gain muscle while fasting, it suggests consuming calorie-dense foods like milk, liquid meals, protein supplements, and following a sample meal schedule.
2. How to Workout While Fasting
1 Common mistakes during fasting
2 On lifting weights
3 How to lose fat while fasting
4 How to gain muscle while fasting
4. • Not Training. Because Ramadan lasts for roughly one month, you won’t lose that
much muscle & strength if you stop weight lifting during Ramadan. But you’ll tend
to stick to your diet less. This can cause more muscle/strength loss and fat gains
than not lifting.
• Not Eating Healthy. Lots of people gain fat during Ramadan. The main reason for
this is that a lot of the Ramadan foods are high in sugars & fats.
• Not Eating Enough. Food is energy. If you don’t eat enough you’ll lack energy at
the gym and won’t recover well. You must focus on caloric dense foods to get the
most out of your feeding window.
• Not Sleeping Enough. Short nights can cause sleep deprivation. This can kill your
motivation to go to the gym. Consider naps.
6. Train fasted, 2 hours before you break your fast. This way you can eat
several times post-workout to aid recovery. You also maximize your feeding
window since you don’t spend it training.
Focus on pure strength gains:
• Decrease the number of sets without sacrificing intensity. For example: if
you are doing StrongLifts 5X5, switch to 3×5. This means doing 3 sets of 5
reps instead of 5×5 on all exercises (Deadlift 1×5). Keep the workout
routine 3x/week.
• Drop isolation movements and focus on the vital compound movements.
Do Squats, Deadlifts, Overhead Press, Bench Press, Inverted Rows only
during the Ramadan period.
8. • Get Stronger. Strength training prevents muscle loss. Keep lifting weights and work
at getting stronger. Check StrongLifts 5×5.
• Eat Healthy. Eat whole, unprocessed foods 90% of the time. This article will show
you how.
• Drink Water. Avoid coffee & green tea: they’re diuretics. Drink water to avoid
dehydration. Aim for 1 gallon between dawn & dusk.
• Avoid Junk Food. Lots of people gain weight during Ramadan because they eat
unhealthy food.
• Avoid Cardio. You can’t drink water during the fast so cardio or HIIT is a bad idea.
Stick with lifting only until Ramadan ends.
10. • GOMAD. Drink 4 liters whole milk per day. Spread your intake
between dawn and dusk. Read the GOMAD guide for more info.
• Eat Caloric Dense Foods. White paste is the best food you can choose:
250g contains 1000kcal. Try also: rice, mixed nuts, bananas.
• Make Liquid Meals. Digest faster than solid meals. Drink lots of whole
milk. Make smoothies: banana, oats, plain fat free yogurt, milk.
• Consume Protein Supplements. It is easy to neglect your protein
intake during fasting, so be sure to consume enough whey protein to
refuel your intense workout sessions.
11. EXAMPLE
7pm : lift weights. 3-4 compound exercises for 1 hour max.
9pm : break fast. Proteins & carbs. Pasta, tomato sauce, ground round.
10pm : proteins & carbs. Example: tuna, brown rice, pineapple.
11pm : light pre-bed meal. Cottage cheese, berries, ground flax seeds.
11:30pm : bedtime
3:30am : breakfast: eggs, veggies, meat. Back in bed after 1st prayer.
7am : wake up, get ready for work
1pm : 30mins nap
5pm : 1 hour nap pre-workout
