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It’s the start of Ramadan, where Muslim athletes should fast from sunrise to sunset each day throughout the 30 days. Depending on the sport, athletes will continue to train and even compete throughout Ramadan. Some Boxers seem to avoid it, however if they are fighting late August or early September, can they afford not to train?

Although a lot of Muslim athletes find it difficult to train during Ramadan, there has been research supporting training during fasting to maintain or even enhance fitness levels. You can actually see it as a window of opportunity to stimulate different physical responses you wouldn’t normally have during your regular training routine.

This article will discuss different training, nutrition and wellness strategies to Combat Fasting, and optimise performance during Ramadan.

Low Volume x High Intensity

When training in a fasted and dehydrated state, it is far from ideal to expose yourself to high training volumes, which can cause large calorie deficits and muscle breakdown.

Some would say to train light to maintain strength, however we always aim for programmes to progress an athlete, so we can seek opportunities for development at all times.

Because of this, well-trained boxers should go for high intensity during strength training to target neural pathways rather than metabolic. Boxers will do enough metabolic work during runs and boxing, especially during Ramadan. So strength training should challenge the nervous system through high intensity training.

High intensity can be achieved in two ways, weight lifted or speed. When looking to load an athlete, I suggest to go between 85-90% maximum for about 3 reps x 3-4 sets. If you are looking for speed, you have a few different options across the force-velocity curve.

Speed Lifts: 2 reps x 5-8 sets at 40-50% 1RM (e.g. Squats performed quickly at 40 kg)

Accomodating Resistance: Band or chains on squats or bench press, 3 reps x 4-5 sets

Olympic lifting: Dependant on training experience, go between 60-70% 1RM. However, Ramadan could be an ideal time to develop your Olympic lifting technique.

Ballistic / Plyometric: Jumps, hops, bounds. Keep low intensity and less than 60 ground contacts per session

Training should consist of 2-3 key exercises and a selection of assistance exercises. Again, there are a few options for the remaining assistance exercises.

Bodyweight or Low external loads: Focus on quality of movement and mobility rather than developing strength.

Tempo: Perform slow repetitions to activate signalling pathways for muscle protein synthesis

Leave it: Ramadan is only for 30 days, maybe you can live without the assistance exercises for a short period. Get the main exercises done then finish their for a short, sharp, effective session.

That’s great for the weight room, but what about boxing?

Similar concepts apply in the boxing gym, but it is a bit more difficult to stick a percentage on and determine how many reps you should perform. 

Plus, there is little research into fasted training in boxing. So, based on the principles highlighted above, here are a few recommendations:

Extended warm-up: Boxers may come into the gym low on energy and not switched on, so an extended warm-up might be beneficial in getting them going and focussed. We find co-ordination drills beneficial when working with tired athletes.

Pads: Short intervals with longer recovery times e.g. 1 min on 2-3 mins off.

Bags: Same principles as pads, but don’t look to hit the heavy bag with crunching shots. Go for light combinations, overhanging or wire speedball.

High Intensity Sprints with Long Recovery

Sticking with the high intensity theme, a good idea for conditioning would to include short duration sprints (>30 seconds) with long recovery (2-4 minutes) as part of your high intensity interval training.

These short runs can elicit peripheral adaptations such as increased function of the neuromucular system and oxidative enzymes. Furthermore, these sessions can be brief and less demanding on the metabolic system and muscle breakdown, whilst reducing the likelihood of injury or fatigue.

Athlete Wellness During Ramadan

A Muslim athlete that is training during fasting can find it difficult to perform due to energy deprivation and dehydration. However, performance should not be the primary focus of the coach.

An athletes health and well-being is the most important to consider, especially whilst fasting as athletes can become more prone to fatigue, over training, illness and injury.

Therefore, coaches should implement different methods with emphasis on the boxers well-being. 

Train Late

The most common question we are asked is when should we train during Ramadan. The answer is simple – as long you are fuelled up to train, it doesn’t matter if you train just after your fast, or before breaking the fast to ensure recovery.

Our personal is to train fasted and start your session around 1.5 – 2 hours before you break your fast.

This way you can eat several times post workout to help recovery. Following a long fast and a good session your body will be craving energy, therefore the food you eat will be used to replenish glycogen stores in the muscles.

Training late in the day allows nutrition interventions after training to promote adaptations to the training stimulus, to promote recovery, and might help to reduce muscle damage.

Have a Nap

Due to late night feeding hours, it is likely for athletes to be deprived of sleep during Ramadan. Sleep deprivationcan have a number of adverse effects on well-being and performance, as physiologist Alan Ruddock explained here.

Having a 30-60 minutes nap in the day between or prior to training sessions can help the body recovery and help prevent sleep deprivation effecting performance.

Individual Monitoring

Due to the calorie deficits and sleep deprivation, a boxer is at a heightened risk of fatigue, overtraining, illness and injury. After the training methods highlighted in part 1, we can put a detailed plan in place to try to avoid this. However, we cannot guarantee it.

Therefore, individualized monitoring of athletes wellness plays an important role when training during Ramadan. This allows you to adjust the session to how the athlete is feeling so they don’t become too run down.

Keep it Cool

Increased energy expenditure and body fluid can be lost in hot conditions. So it is best to try and keep cool through Ramadan by wearing light clothing during sessions and when indoors

You can also stay cool by having iced towels during and after training sessions to keep body temperature down. Also, a cool shower is advised over warm ones, as this is likely to increase body temperature and energy expenditure.

Summary 

Ramadan poses a variety of challenges for athletes around training, recovery, and nutrition

In this article, we presented a variety of tips for modifying training to improve performance and manage fatigue

We also presented tips for improving athlete recovery and wellness, using nutrition, temperature, and sleep strategies.

Want to learn more about nutrition for recovery and performance?

Our 25-page nutrition handbook offers guidance on the types of food boxers should eat, plus when and how to make the weight safely and effectively. We also provide hydration, fuelling and recovery strategies so you achieve the optimal results session by session.

We provide a TAILORED 3 phase diet plan to YOUR weight category that will help you reduce body fat and maintain muscle mass to help you become fitter, leaner and stronger than ever. 

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