-
Ramadan tips
Hello , what is the better Option for training in ramadan , some says before breaking the fast because of the sympathic and parasympathic system and some says after because of hydration and lack of amino acids before. -
3 Replies
-
Hi – I’m not sure if you saw Daniel’s reply to your question in another thread, but I’ll share it here with you as well. The short answer is it depends on what your training goal is. Daniel breaks down the why below:
Hey motaz,
It depends a bit on the goal and the person. When fasting, your body tries to keep your blood sugar level stable. Since there is no food, these sugars are released from the liver or made from fats and proteins from gluconeogenesis. This process is stimulated by cortisol production. Fasting therefore can increase cortisol production during the fasting window.
Performance or Muscle Mass
The increase in cortisol isn’t a bad thing by the way. It is functional, to keep you alive. But after a fast, your energy levels are depleted. The advantage of eating first and training second with strength training is that, if you have eaten and are hydrated, you are able to perform better. If the goal is increasing muscle mass or getting stronger, this is an advantage, however…… some people sleep worse since fasting and training both increase stress hormones. With these people, I would advise them to train before dinner since a lack of sleep might make it harder to recover and fast the next day.
Fat loss
For a lot of people training before dinner can reduce the feeling of being hungry. This can impact the amount they eat after their workout leading to more fat loss. But you will have to ask your clients how their feeling of hunger is impacted since it doesn’t apply to everybody. Some people might feel too exhausted which can lead to poor performance. In these cases, I might recommend training after dinner since the benefit of the hunger suppression is often gone as well.Personally, I don’t recommend a lot of liquid carbs before or during training. Most people don’t train hard and long enough for it to be meaningful. The only exception to this was when they had fasted. I personally liked to recommend carbs with a low fructose content. You probably already know this, especially if you follow Bernadette, but fructose isn’t used by muscle tissue and most of the fructose doesn’t pass the liver.
Since the goal is to help stabilize blood glucose levels to optimize performance, I always educated my clients to stay off sugar-like drinks because of the high fructose content. In this context cyclic dextrin for example is a better choice than honey.
-
Thank youuu yes i saw it now , but what about deshydration ? Because fasting for 16h without water and in hot weather can be harmful for the muscle isnt it ?
-
again, define what type of exercise you’re referring to. If it’s intense exercise that will cause further dehydration, then it’s probably better to wait until after you break your fast and can hydrate. If it’s yoga or pilates and more meditative types of exercise, then no issues. Strength training can also be done prior to breaking your fast, but again, if exercise performance and muscle gain is your goal, then do it after you break your fast.
Log in to reply.
