showcase June 2016 58 Baffled about how to stay healthy during Ramadan? Fitness expert Luis Fialho gives tips on how to balance exercise and nutrition with introspection and fasting during the Holy Month. FITNESS FIRST JUFFAIR MALL KEEPING FIT WHILE YOU FAST mass during this period, you need to continue working out, but with a few practical changes. Aim for short workouts of around 30 minutes to an hour, focusing on different aspects to suit your goals; incorporate bike rides or brisk walks on cardio days or short bursts of highintensity activity. To get the best from your exercise, plan your workouts after Iftar or right after Suhoor, when your carbohydrate reserves are higher. Nutrition: It is imperative for Suhoor, the pre-dawn meal, to be rich in protein, carbohydrates, essential fats and plenty of water of course. Loading up on carbohydrates in the morning meal will increase your energy reserves and provide longer sustenance. Consider supplementing with a solid multivitamin in order to meet the daily minimum requirements of key-nutrients. Watch your sodium intake at this time; a high sodium level will create more dehydration and increase your thirst throughout the day. Some foods that you should include in your Suhoor are dates, bananas, fibrous vegetables that increase the feeling of fullness, oatmeal, chicken, eggs, natural peanut butter, honey, raisins and a protein shake. At Iftar, the key word is ‘hydration’! After long hours of fasting, hydrate yourself as much as you can during the entire evening. Around 2.5 litres of water spread over the evening hours should compensate for the long period without the ingestion of fluids. It’s very important to provide the body with some good quality protein to minimise the damage caused to muscle tissue while you are fasting. Having small meals in the evening will trick your body into speeding up metabolic rate, increase nutrient absorption and stabilise insulin and blood sugar levels. Fitness First wishes you Ramadan Kareem! Call: 17 467-044. Luis Many of us are confronted with the struggle of exercising and eating properly during the Holy Month of Ramadan. Most people see it as a time when they will lose massive amounts of muscle mass, while others gain excessive body fat. Ramadan is a month when almost everyone ends up confused with the balance between muscle and fat that we have worked hard to build over the whole year. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Though it may be difficult to improve one’s fitness levels during Ramadan, one should at least try to maintain. During Ramadan, a healthy diet and a specific exercise plan are more important than ever. So the key is to eat smart and train smart. Working Out: Intensive training whilst fasting can be more detrimental than beneficial. Dehydration during this time increases the risk of injury and can inhibit performance and recovery. Also, the high muscle breakdown causes a spike in levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. But don’t use Ramadan as an excuse to not exercise. Whilst fasting, tweak your training routine by altering the number of sets and repetitions. If your goal is to preserve muscle
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk0MTkxMQ==