Exercising While Fasting

If you have started fasting recently, you might be wondering about the effectiveness of combining exercising with fasting. Exercising is considered essential for a healthy life in the normal routine, and it is also safe for the majority of the people while fasting. If you are a healthy individual and do not suffer from any health problems, exercising while fasting should not pose any problem for you.

The fat-burning process is increased while fasting, so there should be a good balance n exercising while fasting. If you exert you too much through heavy physical activity, your health can deteriorate, which will destroy the purpose of fasting. This post deals with the relationship between exercising and fasting in great detail.

Should you Exercise while Fasting?

Generally, exercising while fasting is very beneficial for your health if you do it intelligently and after thorough planning. You should not start a strict physical fitness routine during a fast without consulting a medical expert. Usually, low-intensity exercises are recommended to the fasters, especially beginner fasters.

If you start feeling sick, dizzy, or excessively fatigued, you should limit exercising and drink lots of water throughout the day to remain active and energetic.

Exercising and Water Fasting

You are only allowed to drink water during a water fast. You can make the decision about exercising during a water fast, depending on the duration of your fast. For example, if you are fasting for a continuous period of 24 hours, you should not exercise much and stick to light physical activity like yoga. Excessive exercise makes you extremely hungry, which can prove to be a hurdle in competing for your fast success.

Water is a calorie-free drink, but it lacks the essential electrolytes needed for proper body functioning. You should add some natural electrolytes and flavors into your water, which can provide calcium, chloride, and magnesium to your body while water fasting.

Exercising and Juice Fasting

Juice fasting is almost similar to the water fasting. Instead of drinking water, you drink juices throughout the fasting period. Juice fast can last up to three continuous days. Since juices contain a small number of calories, you can exercise while juice fasting to burn any extra calories. Most of the juices can provide essential electrolytes as well.

Exercising and Dry Fasting

Drinking water is not allowed while dry fasting. It is not safe to exercise while dry fasting.

Exercising and Prolonged Fasting

If you are fasting for an extended period of time, you should adopt some light exercising activities in your routine. Avoid heavy exercise as it can make you fatigued and dizzy.

Exercising While Fasting in Islamic Month of Ramadan

Ramadan is the holy month of Islam in which Muslims fast for the whole month for about 11 to 17 hours per day. A single fast starts from the dawn and ends on the sunset. Since it is a type of dry fast, people should plan their exercise routine appropriately and go for light physical activities to avoid dehydration and fatigue. 

Conclusion

As seen from the above explanation, we can conclude that light exercise is the most suitable type of exercise for most of the fasts.