Working Out During Ramadan

Platform 3 founder Omar Al-Duri tells us how we can maintain our fitness levels during the holy month

Fasting, late nights and being faced with huge suhoor buffets can make you tempted to take your foot off the pedal when it comes to health and fitness. However, Omar Al Duri of Platform 3 (www.p3dubai.com/) says that all you need to do to stay on track is a little careful planning…

DO: PLAN AHEAD
Planning is vital when comes to your diet. When you break your fast, you need to make sure that you are doing this with nutritious food and not binge on high saturated foods and unhealthy options. Enjoy your dates and have some lentil soup on standby, which give your body the protein it has been craving. Then if you join your friends for a suhoor, make sure that you keep your plate looking as colourful as possible. A nutritious-looking plate that will fuel your body after fasting could consist of green spinach, red peppers, quinoa and salmon. While you might be hungry, take time to slowly chew your food as this will help you focus on how large the portion is.

DO: AN EXPRESS WORKOUT
Training is very important in Ramadan, but you don’t need to sweat it out for hours on end at the gym to stay in shape. A 30-minute workout is long enough to achieve or maintain results. Planning again is the perfect way to stay on track. Think about when you will do your workout and what you will do when you get to the gym. A good time to train is 30 minutes before you are about to break your fast, so that you will be able to refuel soon after your workout. And go with a plan of what you want to do at the gym when you get there. A superset (that focuses on two or more exercises working one body part) is an efficient way of working out. You could start with back and legs exercises as they are big muscle groups and finish with core exercises. Controlling each repetition with breathing and tempo will help perfect your workout and avoid exhaustion especially in the early stages of Ramadan.

DO: LISTEN TO YOUR BODY
What’s important is to always have a clear mind when training. Use your training session as your time to get away from the daily stress. Listen to your body when you train to avoid doing harm rather than good. Plan your work and work your plan, as it’s a beautiful month to experience.