Its that time of the year when I will be fasting everyday for the next month. The fast is from sunrise till sunset, which in South Africa is a 13.5 hour day. The fast excludes EVERYTHING from my diet including water.
Prior to the fast starting a week ago I had lost 8 kilos (17.7 lbs) by being in gym everyday with my cardio/HIIT/weights routine. I won’t be attending gym at all for this month so I know my metabolism is gonna grind down to a halt and that the catabolism is gonna have me losing heard earned muscle as well.
Any advice? I’m currenly having a whey/micellar casein shake for breakfast at 5am and before bed. Are there any supplements that may preserve my gains.
So do you recommend that I do at least some form of weights? When would you suggest I train, morning or afternoon, given that in the evening I’ll be quite knackered.
[quote]Siren14 wrote:
So do you recommend that I do at least some form of weights? When would you suggest I train, morning or afternoon, given that in the evening I’ll be quite knackered.
Thanks
[/quote]
Yes, a few sets of heavy lifting a few times a week will give your body a reason to hold onto the muscle. Take a look at Alwyn Cosgroves Hierarchy of Fat Loss article.
As to the timing since you aren’t even allowed to drink water I’d say when you have a chance to properly hydrate. Do you have enough time to workout in the morning pre-sunrise?
Before I go off on a rant, you may want to check the nfl for muslim players. There are plenty who train and deal with the restrictions of ramadan.
All my opinion based on my experience take it how you want it. Don’t lift super heavy under or to failure. Don’t lift light either. Lifting light you will get weak, lifting too failure can stress your tendons and other systems which you mostlikely will not have the nutrients to recover fast from. Find a range that is difficult but not impossible for 10 reps and do that slow eccentric fast controlled concentric.
If you need the benefits of HIIT or other forms of cardio do it on non lifting days with rest between.
I don’t know the restrictions of ramadan and food. Protein shakes are great but more than anything you need whole foods now. breakfast should be eggs and meat(if possible), but don’t pig out. Stay away from caffeine.
The main reason people get tired is because everybody says your supposed to. Focus on the reason for the fast and you will be ok. 13.5 hours is really not that long of a time at all.
i’m fasting too man, and i’ve stuck with AOW workout and gained about 0.5kg already… but i sleep all day and am awake all night so i can have my 4 proper meals :]. I guess if you eat heaps of protein at night u should be fine.
Assalam O Alaikum and Ramadan Mubarak fellow Muslims!
Same as other Muslims, I am fasting too. During Ramadan, I work out about 1.5 hours before the sun goes down. So if the sun sets at 7.15, I work out from 5.45-6.45p, go home, shower, and by that time, the sun has set and I can eat and drink water. For workouts this month, I’ve switched to a 5x5 push/pull/legs with 60 seconds rest in between sets, 3 times a week.
In the morning for Suhoor, I eat 3 whole eggs, a handful of almonds, whey protein shake with 2 scoops, and drink a lot of water before going back to bed.
When breaking fast, my meal plan is the same as brother imasri: a few dates, protein shake, and a small meal (usually chicken and broccoli).
Train, heavy, hard and with low volume 3-5 days per week to keep muscle and strength gains.
Research has proven that you can maintain and even gain muscle on a fasting plan as long as you still work out and hit the weights hard without excessive volume.
Best of luck with that, buddy.
I’m in the military, and find myself involuntarily starving regularly throughout a given year. I know how it feels to come upon drastic setbacks.
