Ramadan and weight training

Ramadan mubarak! I've been too tired and busy to update this recently. The holy month of Ramadan began on August 1st 2011. During this month, muslims fast from dawn 'til dusk, abstaining from any food, drink, medicine, smoking or sex.

My training has been going fairly well up until now - I hit a few personal bests in the last weeks of July. I was not sure what to do during Ramadan. My gym is insanely busy in the evenings which is why I normally train before work. There was no way that I was going to be able to train and then not refuel on food or water until the evening!

Several people on the interweb had suggestions such as Nick Mitchell:
http://www.nickmitchellblog.com/ramadan-nutrition-supplements-exercise/

Unfortunately, his advice is not very useful for me. He suggests eating at 545am and breaking the fast at 730pm. Either he has no clue what he's talking about, or perhaps those are the timings for the USA. In the UK this year, fasting has been starting around 330am and ending close to 9pm. In theory I could train in the gym around 8pm and break fast straight after, but my gym is too busy at that time to get anything meaningful done. Also, I would prefer to be at home, break my fast with my family and perform the sunset Maghrib prayers, than be stuck at the gym.

Similar advice from another US trainer, which is again not applicable because I don't at the moment go to a 24hr gym

http://www.suhaibwebb.com/personaldvlpt/worship/fasting-ramadan/the-ramadan-nutrition-and-workout-plan-for-success-by-rehan-jalali-the-protein-shaikh/

Mehdi off stronglifts seems to think fasting is similar to intermittent fasting, but I'm guessing IF people usually pick their 8 hour feed window to be something convenient like 12-8pm, not 9pm-3am. Honestly, you don't have a clue!

http://stronglifts.com/ramadan-weight-lifting-training-build-muscle-lose-fat/

So my solution? Try to eat as best I can, and train once a week on sunday afternoons. I've noticed about 20% drop in strength already. I'm hoping that's just glycogen depletion and dehydration and not all genuine strength loss. Hopefully I can pick up again in September and not be too far off where I started.

There are threads on bodybuilding.com where several muslims seem to be carrying on training just fine. Maybe because they're mostly American and the fasts are shorter there in the US, or they're students and not working full time, or *whispers* most people on there are roid junkies!

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=136878153

In any case, I think for a month it's more important to devote yourself body and soul to God, and come back to the mundane when it's over.

Ramadhan - half way finished

Whew. We're now past the halfway mark on the holy month of Ramadhan. Each year, muslims spend a month fasting, abstaining from food, drink, smoking or intake of anything else during the sunlit hours of the day. This year the fasts have roughly been around 3am - 8pm. Tough, but not impossible. It's more the disrupted sleeping routine thats wearing me down than the food and water ban. Trying to finish my phd is not helping matters. Tomorrow is my last day of major lab work. After that, its just writing and rewriting. My thesis is actually taking shape, its unbelievable. I never thought I'd see this day.

THe downside is that so much time at work = no time spent in contemplation. Muslims typically spend much of Ramadhan in prayer, especially at the mosque in extended evening prayers called taraweeh. Unfortunately I've only been twice so far. I have really neglected my spiritual needs, but soon my thesis will be handed in, and I can reclaim my life and make up for it.

Ramadhan Mubarak!

Well today was the third day of fasting for Ramadhan, I was speaking to a non Muslim about it on a forum, and he exclaimed that giving up food and drink for the daylight hours for a month was far too difficult, that he couldn't even imagine trying it. Does it really sound that daunting to people? No food or drink for just over 16 hours. Yes it's hard work, but a billion people are managing just fine. Many poor people around the world manage to survive on little food for the entire year.

Why do muslims fast, I've been asked several times. Well the most direct answer would be because God told us to!

O who believe, fasting is decreed for you as it was decreed for those before you; perchance you will guard yourselves The month of Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was sent down, a guidance for the people, and clear verses of guidance and criterion.)[Quran 2:183]

Previous religious communities have fasted, and this tradition is carried on in Islam. Fasting teaches us to be grateful for what we have, and to feel pity for those who go without day after day, and increases our self control. The resulting state of ketosis also induces a more spiritual frame of mind.

Well as usual, the third day has hit me pretty hard, I;m tired and worn out. Tomorrow will prob be bad too. After that, it tends to get easier as you settle into the new routine of less sleep, food and drink.

I haven't quite settled into the more spiritual aspect. So far have only been to the mosque once for the additional taraweeh prayers, during which they recite 1/30th of the Qur'an per night, thus reciting the entire scripture over the month. I am doing the dawn and sunset prayers at the start and end of each fast, but haven't really gotten into the swing of achieving more of the Five daily prayers which are required throughout the year. Let's just say it's a work in progress.

I am missing the gym already. I tried some of the mobility exercises instead from Eric Cressey's Magnificent Mobility DVD. I think I need some serious work on some dynamic stretches.