The beginning of Ramadan is no reason to park your fitness regime.
Experts are of the opinion that exercise and fasting can go hand in hand, meaning you can still hit the gym in the coming weeks.
Here, senior fitness manager Trevor Flowers of Fitness First Motor City offers his guidance.
Train to maintain
During Ramadan, it is advised to plan your training with the goal of maintaining your fitness level.
When putting your body into a fasted state you will most certainly deplete your energy stores, which means you will be running on
empty. With that in mind, keep your sets and reps consistent, without pushing yourself to your limit.
In this period, try to keep your fitness ticking over, rather than attempting to break new personal bests or records.
Train when it’s right for you
Going hours without food and drink will put you into a fatigued state, effecting your energy levels, mood and focus.
Make sure to adjust your training schedule to whatever suits you. We are all different, and have different times of the day where we feel low in energy.
Training with low energy and a lack of focus means you are more likely to skip your session, or only put in half the effort. If this is the case, train after you have broken your fast, so that you have 100 per cent focus on your sessions.
Intensity
If you plan to train in a fasted state, be sure to adjust your workout intensity to suit your energy levels.
Consider reducing your training volume and working sets. Avoid high intensity training, or max
effort lifts. Instead of going for heavy strength based training,
reduce your loads and use time under tension to stimulate your muscle in a safer way.