Joining or switching gyms in Ramadan

For about four weeks the day runs on a different clock. The fast lasts from dawn to sunset, iftar comes at sunset, many people go to Taraweeh prayers later in the evening, and suhoor is eaten before dawn. Many workplaces also shorten the working day, so the drive home often moves earlier and the evening stretches out.

A gym that suits you in October can be the wrong one in Ramadan if it closes before you are ready to train. The reverse holds too: a gym that stays open late this month still has to work for the other eleven. Use Ramadan as a test of the gym, and read RPM's membership options with the same question in mind: will these terms carry you through both timetables?

Most people who fast pick one of these windows and keep it for the month. There is no single right answer. The window that works is the one you can repeat after a full working day.

Many gyms in Abu Dhabi change their hours for the month, often opening later in the day and staying open later at night. The new hours are sometimes announced only days before Ramadan begins, while the website still shows the usual ones. Ask by message, so the answer stays on your phone.

• What are your hours on each day of the week during Ramadan, Friday included?
• Does the women-only section, if there is one, keep the same hours as the main floor?
• Which classes carry on through the month, and how late in the evening do they start?
• Can personal training move to late slots, and does my coach's availability change?
• Will the hours change again over Eid?

If a gym cannot say yet, ask when it will know. Do not sign a long contract on the assumption that it will stay open late.

This is general information, not medical advice. During the fast there is no food or drink from dawn to sunset, so a session before iftar happens without water, and everything you drink has to fit into the hours between iftar and suhoor. That is one reason many people who fast move their harder training to after iftar, while others keep sessions shorter for the month.

If you have a medical condition, are pregnant or take regular medication, speak to your doctor before training while fasting, and follow their advice over anything written here. If you feel dizzy or unwell during a session, stop and tell a member of staff.

• Where can I refill a water bottle, and is the water cold?
• May I take a bottle onto the training floor and into the studio?
• Who on the floor should I tell if I feel faint?

In many gyms the daytime floor thins out in Ramadan, and the crowd gathers after iftar and again late at night. These are typical patterns rather than measurements, and no two gyms behave alike. The only reliable check is a visit at your slot during the month itself, ideally in its first week, before you commit to anything beyond it.

If your only window falls in the late rush, ask the team which hours they see as quietest and which zones fill first. For the pattern through the rest of the year, see when the gym is least busy.

Joining in Ramadan makes sense if your evenings are open and you want the habit in place before the normal timetable returns. Waiting until after Eid can suit you better if you are travelling for the holiday, or if your nights are already full of family visits and iftar gatherings.

If you are moving from another gym, take the steps in this order:

1. Check your current contract's notice period and any freeze option, so you do not pay two gyms for the same weeks.
2. Get the new gym's Ramadan hours and its normal hours, both in writing.
3. Visit at your Ramadan slot, then judge whether the usual hours suit the rest of your year.
4. Pick a start date: now, if you will use the month, or the first week after Eid, if you will be away or busy.
5. Ask whether Eid closures or shorter holiday hours eat into the first weeks you pay for.

The guide to switching gyms covers notice periods and overlap in more detail, and the best time of year to join sets Ramadan beside the other seasons.

RPM Gym is a single club in Al Manhal: Level 4 of AD HUB Sports Complex, reached by lift from the free on-site parking. The hours below are the usual ones. RPM has not confirmed its Ramadan hours, so ask the team whether they change for the month and for Eid.

The Mixed section is open to men and women, and the Ladies section is a separate women-only space with its own strength and cardio equipment and the Pilates studio. Your tier decides which of the two sections you can use, so check that before you pay. The three tiers are Floor, Engine and Atelier, with prices, inclusions and freeze terms confirmed on enquiry. The free guided tour is a walk-through with a member of the team rather than a workout, so book it for the evening slot you would use.