Ramadan Training Tips by Asma Aljanahi

Asma is an Emirati triathlete and the first Emirati woman to finish 5 IRONMAN 70.3 races. She hopes to open doors for other women in the region to join the sport.  Asma’s proudest sporting achievement is finishing the 3 Ironman 70.3 Middle East races all in one season (2019-20).

What’s your training regime during Ramadan?

I always train after Iftar, as I break my fast with a light meal and a cup of coffee, then head to my training, then i come back for the main nutritious meal after my training session.

How do you adjust your training to the fasting/eating and sleep pattern?

Ramadan itself is a whole different routine. I try to keep it as consistent as possible so my body doesn’t have to go through a lot of changes.

While fasting I’ll take everything easy, work during the day, have a short nap in the afternoon and keep the hard work for after iftar.

My training become shorter during ramadan nothing more than 90min/day (its not the right time to build fitness) with almost the same frequency as usual days.

Sleep pattern changes a lot, we stay up later at night or even until early hours in the morning to have suhoor (the meal before we start fasting) then sleep until later hours because work starts later. After work, I nap in the afternoon and wake an hour before iftar.

Which tips would you give to athletes trying to keep the same training regime through Ramadan?

Tip 1: do what works better for you, I personally like training after fueling my body with some energy but everyone is different.

Tip 2: try to have a consistent routine for your eat- sleep- and training times, so your body can adapt to it.

Tip 3: listen to your body, you don’t need to push too hard when your body is under-fueled for 30 consecutive days and always enjoy what you do.

Thank you Asma, Ramadan Kareem!!