Top Tips For Recovery During Fasting

Hi, I’m Uns a PhD athlete and personal trainer.

Ramadan is here! As you all know fasting is the most important element during the month. This can obviously impact our training and hinder our progress; whilst this is concerning for some, I’ll explain how I’m going to optimise my training and nutrition habits, thanks to PhD.

Water and Hydration (hydro tabs)

It’s crucial that with every opportunity you have (Suhoor & Iftar), that you are drinking as many fluids as you can, this can include electrolytes rather than just water. It’s important that you are hydrated, to prevent feeling physically drained during the day. I’d recommend drinking a minimum of 2L of water at Suhoor, with a further 1L minimum at Iftar. To ensure I’m hydrated during the day, I’ll be using the PhD Hydro Effervescent Tablets. When mixed with water they contain 34% electrolytes, which is proven to be more effective than water alone. This is perfect during Ramadan, when we’re trying to ensure we are effectively hydrated when we’re fasting, they also taste great too!

Rest and Recovery

In Ramadan, most of us are up late worshipping and at the mosque praying . This means we probably don’t get as much sleep as we need. To optimise your training try to ensure that you get as much sleep as you can to allow your body to reset and recover.
Also listen to your body. If you’re tired then don’t put strain on it by training. For example maybe switch to a walk rather than weight lifting.

Nutrients (vitamins and minerals)

We need vitamins and minerals for body functions. Without them, your body will not function correctly. I personally struggle with getting all my vitamins in just from my diet, so I take the PhD vital gummies. I’m going to start taking them at suhoor time (just before we start fasting the next day) so that I can reduce my tiredness the next day.

Protein

What’s concerning to most is losing the gains in Ramadan. To ensure you maintain them you need to make sure you are getting enough protein in. For me, having a protein shake at iftaar time (time to break the fast) would be the easiest option for that protein boost. The best protein I’ve ever tasted is the PhD cookies and cream one. I’d also recommend eating a high protein meal such as salmon or chicken.

Training how to alter/ intensity

Take Ramadan as an active rest/de-load month. Your focus should not be to lift heavy but instead it should be to improve your endurance. Training fasted increases your ability to take in and deliver oxygen to your muscles therefore improving your endurance. You should be lowering the weight, and increasing your rest time. This allows your body to have enough time to recover for the next set.

I hope these tips helped you! I pray that you are able to get the most out of this Ramadan.
I’ll be posting my Ramadan workouts and any updates on my Instagram page @unskfit

Written by unskfit