Training doesn’t have to stop during the month of Ramadan. (Photo courtesy of Coach Jon)
Coach Jonathan Wong[1] has a Doctorate of Science in Holistic Medicine and is the author of “The Happy Body[2] – Getting to the root of YOUR fitness, health and productivity”. He is also the founder and CEO of Genesis Gym Singapore[3], which aims to provide the best personal training[4] and fitness services in Singapore. His views expressed below are his own. [5] This year the Muslim fasting month arrives quite early, and many of our Muslim clients want to know “what should I do to maximize my results?” even though they are fasting for most of the day.
When I was working at my first job in the Singapore Sports School, we did some testing on the athletes who were fasting during Ramadan. We found that if they did the right things, performance was not affected much.
So, it is still possible to get good results even during Ramadan?
Here are 3 things that you can do to keep your fitness during the fasting month of Ramadan in 2013!
1. Have an idea of your nutritional requirements
The good news is that, how much and what you eat are FAR more important than when you eat.
Yes, it’s probably better for most people to eat regular meals, especially if you are in a stressful job, or are training really hard. But as I discussed in my article on different kinds of diets[6], there are many ways to get results.
People often underestimate the calories in food. I don’t teach calorie counting as the no. 1 method of weight loss, but in a social setting like the evening break-fast. It is easy to overdo things.
The most important thing is to make sure that you hit your protein requirements, and fill up the remaining calories with either fat or carbohydrates.
I like to ask clients to eat at least 2g of protein per kg of weight. So that’s about 140-150g for the 70kg man. Here[7] is what 20g of protein looks like.
A good guideline for sedentary people is to take your weight in kg, and multiply that by 25. So a 70kg man would need about 1750 calories per day. You can multiply this by x1.2 if you a mildly active, and x1.6 if you are very active, or are very muscular.
2. Choose foods wisely
It is extremely easy to overeat when you are eating sweets, cakes and pudding. So even though dates, figs and rice pudding are traditional foods, keep those to reasonable amounts.
You can also choose “slow digesting” foods for breakfast which help keep you full throughout the day. These foods tend to be higher in healthy fats and protein as these take far longer to digest than simple starches.
A good choice would be something like curry chicken, or rendang left over from the previous nights dinner. Coconut milk based sauces are also healthy fats and can be used. 3. Choose exercise timings
Ideally, you can exercise early in the morning. Perhaps after the morning prayers, but before breakfast. While not ideal, it is OK to do exercise in a fasted state if you are well nourished from the previous night’s meal.
If this is not possible, then I would suggest training just before the evening break-fast. This will be slightly harder as you may be slightly dehydrated. If this is the case, keep your “difficulty” high, use higher weights in the gym, but reduce the “amount” of training by lowering the total number of sets you do.
Most importantly, enjoy the time with friends and family because this is great for your relaxation and stress management!
Coach Jonathan Wong[8] has a Doctorate of Science in Holistic Medicine, and is the author of “The Happy Body[9] – Getting to the root of YOUR fitness, health and productivity”. He is also the Founder and CEO of Genesis Gym Singapore[10], which aims to provide the best personal training[11] and fitness services in Singapore.[12]
References
- ^ Coach Jonathan Wong (www.coachjon.com)
- ^ The Happy Body (happybodybook.com)
- ^ best gym singapore (www.genesisgym.com.sg)
- ^ best personal training singapore (www.genesisgym.com.sg)
- ^ fitness gym training singapore (www.genesisgym.com.sg)
- ^ singapore personal trainer diets (sg.news.yahoo.com)
- ^ Here (www.fitnesstreats.com)
- ^ Coach Jonathan Wong (www.coachjon.com)
- ^ The Happy Body (happybodybook.com)
- ^ best gym singapore (www.genesisgym.com.sg)
- ^ best personal training singapore (www.genesisgym.com.sg)
- ^ fitness gym training singapore (www.genesisgym.com.sg)
Resources:
The Zone Tone Breakthrough: Unleashing The Mind Muscle Connection For Accelerated Fat Loss, Lean Muscle, and Elite Conditioning (Kindle Edition) tagged “fitness tips” 7 times
Thu, 27 Dec 2012 01:24:52 GMT
The Zone Tone Breakthrough: Unleashing The Mind Muscle Connection For Accelerated Fat Loss, Lean Muscle, and Elite Conditioning (Kindle Edition)By James Villepigue Buy new: $6.99 Customer tags: health(7), exercise(7), fitness(7), fitness tips(7), get in shape(7), bodybuilding(7), athletics(7), fat loss(6), muscle gain(6), build muscle(6), sports psychology(3), mind to muscle(3) http://www.amazon.com/The-Zone-Tone-Breakthrough-ebook/dp/B00A6K4HFS/ref=tag_rso_rs_edpp_url?ie=UTF8&creative=381421&tag=thedays-20
The Zone Tone Breakthrough: Unleashing The Mind Muscle Connection For Accelerated Fat Loss, Lean Muscle, and Elite Conditioning (Kindle Edition)By James Villepigue Buy new: $6.99 Customer tags: health(7), exercise(7), fitness(7), fitness tips(7), get in shape(7), bodybuilding(7), athletics(7), fat loss(6), muscle gain(6), build muscle(6), sports psychology(3), mind to muscle(3) Easy Fitness Tips Volume 2 (Kindle Edition) tagged “fitness tips” 5 times
Sun, 10 Jun 2012 13:56:15 GMT
Easy Fitness Tips Volume 2 (Kindle Edition)By Lisa Jeffreys Buy new: $0.99 Customer Rating: 
Customer tags: fitness tips(5), exercise tips(4), fitness(4), exercise program(3), female fitness(3), easy recipes(3), exercise and fitness(3), fitness and diet(3), gym working out, health tips Workout tips from CrossTown Fitness | WGN-TV
Ana is around town at CrossTown Fitness in the West Loop. http://wgntv.com/2013/07/01/around-town-crosstown-fitness/
The 100 Best Fitness Tips | Men's Health
Build a powerful body and get in the greatest shape of your life. http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/100-best-fitness-tips
New Dentist Dental Ultrasonic Piezo Scaler Scaling Tip G3 G6 fit EMS WOODPECKER
2013-06-27T00:48:45.000Z
End Date: Monday Jul-1-2013 17:48:45 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list
NEW TaylorMade R1 shaft adapter sleeve for R/H, fit .335″ tip shaft
2013-06-20T17:38:05.000Z
End Date: Saturday Jul-20-2013 10:43:05 PDT
Buy It Now for only: $27.99
Buy It Now | Add to watch list
5 Ways to Feel Good While Getting Fit
Setting intentions is a powerful thing. Then when you have that shiny new gym membership in hand, you feel like nothing stands between you and your goals to get in shape once and for all. Trouble is, lack of motivation, unpreparedness and busy schedules have a way of interfering with our plans. If you find […]
Fitbit Wireless Activity Cargo HR Wristband, Black, Small
See if you agree with the following statement. Fat loss and weight loss are essentially the same thing, interchangeable. If, like many people, said yes, you guessed wrong. Fat loss and weight loss are not the same thing at all. In fact, they are not even close. If you browse the diet book section of […]
The new rules of weight loss: the new formula weight loss brand that eliminates confusion … reveals how to take steps to lose weight and stay slim … Quick results … look and feel best possible.
The key for fast and permanent fat loss is smarter not harder Working Today the public is confused more than ever about what is the best fat loss program is. Most people are very frustrated and confused about the most effective way to go about the best performing fat loss to get the body they […]
Wrist straps Rip lifting tacking (par) – Bono eBook – Lifetime Warranty – cotton quilt – For weightlifting, bodybuilding, Crossfit, strength training, Powerlifting, MMA
Achieving bodybuilding gains. Last week I spoke with a client of mine who had been busy working during the holidays, {because it is the peak season for your business} and had not been able to work as much as wanted in the gym and also has not been able to get in all the meals […]
Fitness Tips To Prepare To Join The Army? I want to join the army, and I would like some fitness tips so I can whip my butt into shape. I’m almost 16 right now, and I’m not really in shape. Any advice from people who have any kind of military experience would be great, or if you just know some tips. Thanks!
Hey man,
You will need to build mental toughness more than anything, but you will learn that once you join.
you should start out by doing 200-300 push-ups, 200-300 sit-ups, and 50-100 pull-ups everyday. It does not have to be all at once.
You will need to get your general fitness levels up. The best way to do that is by doing this
Jumping jacks-30 seconds
shuffle splits- 30 seconds
mountain climbers- 30 seconds
burpess 30 seconds.
repeat that 3-4 times. Before joining the army you should be doing that for 30 minutes a day.
That should help you get started. If you have anymore questions, please ask.
Good luck.
Danny lupiani
Any Fitness Tips For People With Asthma? Just need some fitness tips to help with my asthma. I want to be able to run for a longer period and have an overall better fitness level. I start losing my breath after about 1 minute of running. Any ideas and tips would be very much appreciated : )
First, you have to choose a certain kind of exercise that they really can handle well. Some exercise that might be great choice for asthma sufferers are walking, swimming, riding a bike, as well as hiking. These kinds of exercise needs less physical move than tennis, hockey, gymnastics, long distance running, and many other else. You could also consult their doctors to choose the most appropriate type of exercise for you.
Second, you can take advantage of your inhaler. You can use your inhaler about 15 minutes before you start to exercise. Besides, makes sure that your inhaler is always close enough to you. You will never know when the attack might hit you. Therefore, providing inhaler as first aid near you is very important.
Third, breathing through your nose during the exercise is also important. Mouth breathing tends to trigger asthma attack since it causes you to inhale cold air right into the bronchial tube. In contrary, the air that you heal will be filtered well when you are breathing through your nose. Besides, nose breathing also allows the air to be warmer before reaching the lungs.
The fourth thing you need to do is looking for a certain area that free from pollutions and allergens. However you should also avoid area with too many trees or grass. Then, you should also be aware of the symptoms of asthma that occur during the exercise. If you feel very tired and your chest begins to be tightening, you should be notice that those are the initial symptoms of asthma. Usually, those symptoms will be followed by wheezing. Stop doing any physical activity when these symptoms occur.
By following those tips, asthma sufferers could still have exercise with less risk of asthma attack. Do not let asthma attack prevent you to have regular exercise activity.
Anyone Know Some Good Fitness Tips? I’m really bad at running, and I would like to loose a few pounds, so I was wondering if anyone could give me some simple fitness tips? Just a simple fitness regime, please.
Avoid elevators and escalators,,
climb stairs,, walk long distances every single day.
hour of cardio at your target heart rate every day.
stretch properly afterwards or you wont want to come back tomorrow which blows the whole plan.
good luck
How Can I Increase My Metabolic Rate? Which exercise/fitness tips can you give me to increase my metabolic rate? Also if you can explain the science behind it, I would appreciate it.
-Eat breakfast. You metabolism is slow in the morning becasue you have been fasting all night. Eating breakfast revs it up.
-Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day. Same principal, when you go to long without eating your metabolism slows. Eat something at least every 3 hours.
-Build muscle through resistance training. The more muscle you have the higher your metabolic rate because muscle is active tissue and burns calories even at rest.
-Drink lots and lots of water. Being sufficiently hydrated makes you body carry out its metabolic processes more effiecintly.