Tips on Training During Ramadan
We at The Kombat Arts Training Academy are blessed with a diverse group of Students and Staff. As a result of this, we have many different people training in our gym and part of our circles. For our Muslim Brothers and Sisters, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar is the month of Ramadan. This annual observance is observed worldwide and is marked by fasting from dawn until sunset for 29-30 days.
So how can athletes, who follow a specific regimen of diet and training, perform at optimum levels while in a fasted state? We asked
Zubair Khan, owner and head instructor of
Warrior Muay Thai; as an athlete, how do you maintain your training during Ramadan?
Here is what we got:
"During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast for all daylight hours without food or water. My first thought is, Ramadan is meant to be a month to tone down extra-curricular activities to focus more on spirituality, community, and self. I often recommend athletes take the month off completely, or at least tone it down a bit and focus more on technique than conditioning. Even so, effective training is possible while fasting. I fought a few fights during Ramadan and have also trained fighters through camps that overlapped their fasting.
The most important thing is using the evening hours to adequately rehydrate and to get good nutrition. I like a quality Casein Protein as it breaks down slowly and gives a steady stream of amino acids for hours. Also, to train strategically. When I did it, I would wake up before sunrise – around
4am to eat a meal before fasting started. Then I would go to the gym and do strength training and then off to work. I’d get home around
6pm, take a nap and wake up to break-fast around
8pm. Then off to the gym again for technical training and conditioning, back home to shower then off to the mosque for community prayers until late night. It was really hard maintaining the balance and the fight was not my best performance, but I did win against a tough opponent and it gave me a cool story to tell!"
Thank you Zubair for sharing your story with us!
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