health
ramadan
&
exercise
by: Nadoona
T
he blessed month of Ramadan is my favorite time of the year. A month of worshiping Allah, gathering at the masjid, seeing family and friends, and so much more! It is also a month where you can potentially lose a lot of muscle tone and put up a roadblock to your fitness goals. When people lose weight in Ramadan, it is usually water weight and muscle tissue that is lost, not fat. The goal for Ramadan is to try and maintain your current fitness level and muscle tissue. You have to ask yourself a few questions to determine what your perfect exercise regimen should be during Ramadan.
• How were you exercising before Ramadan? • How much time do you have? • What is convenient for you? • What is accessible for you? • What are your Ramadan obl igations? • Your overall health: do you experience light or severe side-effects of fasting? After evaluation of your habits and what a realistic goal for you is, you can determine how much exercise during Ramadan is right for you. If you haven’t exercised in years, Ramadan definitely is not the time to start a new workout routine. Ramadan is also not the time to increase the intensity of your workout.
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August/Ramadan 2012/1433
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