Workout Journal - Fasting Month Challenges

I have been going to the gym this past week during the fasting month but I have yet to get into the grove of finding that perfect balance of preparation for a proper workout. I’ve been adjusting the amount of food that I take to break my fast with hoping that I wouldn’t feel too full before my workouts but that’s still an elusive success. Currently I’m down to having my iftar with dried figs, dates, RM2 worth of kuih, protein shakes and red bean porridge and still I feel like I’m carrying undigested food when I work out. I’ve tried to completely stop eating by 8pm since my usual spinning class starts at 9pm but it seems that the hour doesn’t seem to be enough to digest the food. I’m fairly certain that my metabolic rate has started to slow down during the fasting month as I am not eating as often as I usually do outside of the fasting month.

As for the workout itself, I’m happy to note that with a little adjustment, I could keep doing the same routines that I usually do. I still do the same hour long spinning class to begin the workout routine which has become one of my favorite things to do. Thanks for the late meal, I usually find myself struggling a bit by the 7th track when I start feeling a little bit of heartburn happening. I did try to work through it but I’ve found out that it just made it worse so I dial down the resistance and continue spinning my legs instead when that happens. That usually seems to help reset everything so that I can jump into the flow of the spinning class again once the next track starts which is good. Last thing I want happen is if it gets too bad that I feel like I want to puke.

After the spinning class, I usually focus on a particular muscle group for my weight training. I usually do chest, upper back and abs in one session then do shoulders, bicep, triceps and abs on a different day as well as a total upper body workout in another session. I find that I could go through them and be done within 30 minutes since I don’t really do a high rep/set regime. I keep to a 3 sets with 15 reps for almost all of them except for abs which usually be 3 sets of 30 reps of abs crunches. Most of the time I keep the weights around the mid to high exertion levels which works fairly well for me as long as I keep my form during workouts.

I’m fairly happy that I’ve manage to keep to the workout routine on the days that I get to go to the gym. There are so many buka puasa invites and good food to eat this month that is distracting me from my gymming. Thanks to the lower metabolism, all that will definitely go straight to the waist if I didn’t go and make the effort to work out. It’s a challenge to do but the returns, both physical and mental satisfaction after a workout, more than pays for the effort.

Fasting Month Workout Routine

Session 1
Cardio
Spinning class – 1 hour

Weight Training – Chest & Back
Chest Press (reps – 15/15/15, weight – 85/100/115 lbs)
Lat Pulldown (reps – 15/15/15, weight – 70/70/70 lbs)
Pec Fly (reps - 15/15/15, weight – 60/70/80 lbs)

Abs
Abs Crunch Bench (reps – 30/30/30, weight – body weight)

Session 2
Cardio
Spinning class – 1 hour

Modified Upper Body Endurance Workout (3 supersets with minimum rest in between)
Dumbbell Side Raise (reps – 15/15/15, weight – 15/15/15 lbs)
Dumbbell Front Raise (reps – 15/15/15, weight – 15/15/15 lbs)
Dumbbell Lateral Raise (reps – 15/15/15, weight – 15/15/15 lbs)
Dumbbell Shoulder Press (reps – 15/15/15, weight – 15/15/15 lbs)
Dumbbell Bicep Curl (reps – 15/15/15, weight – 15/15/15 lbs)
Dumbbell Triceps Extension (reps – 15/15/15, weight – 15/15/15 lbs)

Abs
Abs Crunch Bench (reps – 30/30/30, weight – body weight)

Session 3
Cardio
Spinning class – 1 hour

Weight Training – Bicep & Triceps
Standing E-Z Bar Bicep Curl (3 position – continuous without rest between position change)
- Low to Elbow level (reps – 9/9/9, weight – 40/40/40 lbs)
- Elbow to Chin level (reps – 9/9/9, weight – 40/40/40 lbs)
- Full extension from low to chin (reps – 9/9/9, weight – 40/40/40 lbs)
Cable Triceps Extensions (reps – 24/24/24, weight – 11.5/11.5/11.5 lbs)

Abs
Abs Crunch Bench (reps – 30/30/30, weight – body weight)