After Ramadan: putting your training back on its usual clock

Ramadan lasts 29 or 30 days, depending on the moon sighting, and the UAE government portal u.ae notes that it arrives about 11 days earlier each Gregorian year. For the month, the fast runs from dawn to dusk, Taraweeh prayers fill the mid-evening, and the portal says working hours are reduced by two hours a day under UAE labour law. Training usually moves too, often to after iftar or late at night.

Two reviews give a sense of what that does. A 2020 meta-analysis of 24 studies by Faris and colleagues found that people slept less during Ramadan, by roughly an hour a night on average. Another 2020 meta-analysis, by Abaïdia and colleagues, pooled 11 studies of physical performance during Ramadan fasting. Most measures, strength and aerobic performance among them, were not affected, while power in sprint tests dropped.

For many people, then, the job after Ramadan is to rebuild routine and sleep rather than to win back lost strength, especially if they kept training. If your membership was on hold for the month, check the date it restarts. If you are choosing a gym now, compare RPM's membership options against the timetable you will keep for the rest of the year.

WHO's 2020 guidelines advise adults to start with small amounts of activity and build up gradually, and the table follows that pattern. If Ramadan ran into a longer break, such as a summer away or months without training, use the plan for restarting after a long break instead.

During the month, many people train after iftar or after Taraweeh. Once Ramadan ends, the shorter working day ends with it, and the late slot that worked for four weeks may no longer fit your evenings.

• Pick your post-Ramadan slot before Eid is over, and plan the first three sessions in it.
• If you will train early in the morning again, move your bedtime earlier over a few nights first.
• Drink through the day again, and take a bottle onto the floor.
• Expect the first early session to feel harder than the late ones did. Judge the week, not one session.

Some people keep voluntary fasts on certain days after Eid. The u.ae portal's Ramadan health tips advise against exerting yourself physically while fasting and recommend a moderate level of activity, so keep sessions on fasting days light or move them to after iftar. If you have diabetes or another medical condition, or take medication whose timing changed during the month, follow your doctor's advice as your routine changes back.

Abaïdia's review closes by advising that sleep and nutrition be made the most of, to limit the build-up of fatigue. After Ramadan, that turns into a simple rule: hold your loads until your sleep is back to normal.

Eid Al Fitr follows straight on. The u.ae portal lists it as a public holiday for both the public and private sectors, with its dates set by moon sighting. For many families it brings visits, big meals and late nights, and sometimes a trip.

There is no need to train hard through it. One or two short sessions keep the habit alive, and the bridge starts in your first normal working week. The post-Eid return plan covers a short holiday break in more detail.

RPM is one club, on Level 4 of AD HUB Sports Complex in Al Manhal, with free on-site parking and a lift up. The hours below are the usual ones. RPM has not confirmed its Ramadan or Eid hours, so ask the team whether they change and when the usual hours return.

Men train in the Mixed section, and the Ladies section is a women-only space with its own strength and cardio equipment and the Pilates studio. If you are choosing a gym during the month itself, choosing a gym during Ramadan covers training windows and what to ask.