Easy exercises for staying fit and managing weight this Ramadan – The Daily Star

The holy month of Ramadan presents to us an opportunity to cleanse both our spirits and bodies. Alongside a healthy choice of foods from iftar to sehri, we need to exercise to stay fit and get our weight management plan back on track. Working out in this hot humid environment of ours can be pretty daunting, especially after fasting all day, so we have some easy exercise tips for you to do in Ramadan.

Timing of the workout

Before doing any workout, the most important thing is to pick the appropriate time for exercise. We advise to skip exercise while fasting as the humid environment will have you at risk of dehydration. But that does not mean you should laze around all day! Be active throughout the day, whether you are at office or home, walk a bit if you can, but remember to take rests whenever you are fatigued.

The best time for a workout in Ramadan is an hour or two after you have had your iftar, as by then your body would be rehydrated thanks to drinking water and you will feel energetic if you had a balanced and healthy iftar meal.

Start with some cardio

Before starting with exercise, make sure to warm up and stretch your body properly. After that, start your workout with some cardio, keeping in mind the heat and the fact you have been fasting all day, start lightly. Go for a walk, or light jogging and check how much you can exercise before you are fatigued as the goal is to have easy enough workouts that will help to maintain your fitness in Ramadan.

Get to strength training

Using dumbbells for weight lifting does not really feel like an 'easy exercise' to do in Ramadan, but strength training can help slowing down the process of muscle loss while fasting. You can scale back your intensity and weight for the training, like using 5 kg dumbbells instead of the 10 kg ones as the priority is to keep your exercises sustainable during the month. Make sure you have a light iftar before strength training and save your biggest meal after the training session.

Be flexible with yoga

Yoga builds flexibility and strength for both body and mind, making it a nice companion to your fasting journey. Basic yoga poses like bridge pose, triangle, tree pose are great workout options if you are looking for something that will calm your mind and maintain your fitness in the process. As it can be done at the comfort of your home, yoga after an hour or two of iftar might just be the exercising cleanser your body needs.

Green tea: a healthy pre or post workout beverage

Because of its health benefits, green tea has become a popular choice of pre workout fix for many fitness and health enthusiasts. According to a study, it was found catechins in green tea have a role in increasing energy metabolism which leads to weight loss. Lipton Green Tea without sugar, unlike milk tea, has zero calories which help to play a key role in weight management.

If you prefer not drinking anything before workout, then green tea also works as a great post workout drink. Green tea is an ideal post workout hydration option as it contains 99 percent water and according to nutritionists, green tea contains amino acid which works to improve brain function along with antioxidants like EGCG that helps prevent cell damage.

Whether it's the pre workout drink that you need or the post workout fix, a cup of Lipton Green Tea can be your health and wellness partner along with your workout routine. Lipton Green Tea is also available in an exciting Honey Lemon variant, which not only is a healthy beverage option, but also tasty.

Exercises help us attain our goal of fitness, weight management and above all, help us lead a healthy life. So this Ramadan, it's time we make the right choice for our wellbeing and include exercising along with a balanced nutritious diet.

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed

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Easy exercises for staying fit and managing weight this Ramadan - The Daily Star