LANI ROSE R DIZON
DOHA FASTING during the Holy Month of Ramadan would not mean less work for sportspersons in Qatar who are to continue with their training and work-out routines while on fast.
According to Qatar Women’s Sport Committee (QWSC) Secretary-General Lolwa al Marri, national teams in Qatar will continue with their strict trainings during Ramadan but with changes in schedules. She told Qatar Tribune on Monday, “The handball and basketball teams have just returned from training camps in Hungary, while the table tennis team is just back after training in China.
We are preparing for the upcoming Arab Games in Doha in December so trainings for the various national teams will continue until the competitions.
However, trainings which were normally conducted during daytime will now be conducted after Iftar (breaking of fast). Our athletes are already used to this and they have very good coaches who will guide them.” Currently, the QWSC has more than 2,000 women athletes who make up the national teams for handball, volleyball, basketball, football, table tennis, and swimming among others. Al Marri said that all the teams barring the women’s swimming team would continue their trainings during Ramadan. She also said that the committee is currently organizing a Ramadan competition for football and basketball. The games are open to athletes as well as schools in general.
According to experts, athletes or fitness freaks need not cut back on their training and work-out regimes while fasting during the Holy Month of Ramadan, as it is mainly sleep deprivation, not starvation which affects an athlete’s performance during Ramadan fasting.
Moreover, exercise is vital for weight control even during the fasting month, say experts.
In an earlier interview with Qatar Tribune, Dr Hakim Chalabi, director of National Sports Medicine Programme at ASPETAR Qatar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, spoke about the effects of Ramadan on athletes. He had said that it was mainly sleep deprivation, not starvation during fasting which affected an athlete’s performance during Ramadan.
“Most people suspect that it is fasting that may decrease an athlete’s performance during Ramadan but studies now show that sleep deprivation may be the main reason for the impact of Ramadan on athletes’ performance,” he said.
Dina Isaifan, nutrition and diet expert at the Nutrition and Diet Center, Doha, added, “Sleep deprivation causes tiredness, headache and irritability.
But waking until the wee hours of the morning and sleeping in daytime is not advisable.
Sleeping hours may be changed in Ramadan due to new meal timings.”
http://wwww.qatar-tribune.com/data/20110802/content.asp?section=exclusive1_1
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Health: Fasting and sports performance
The 2012 London Olympics falls during the fasting month and Muslim athletes are concerned about the effect it will have on their performance, writes SUZANNA PILLAY
HOW does fasting affect an athlete’s performance? The answer is a complex one, says Dr Ahmad Munir Che Muhamed, chairman of National Coaching Board.
But the topic is important to Muslim athletes worldwide, he says, as the 2012 London Olympics will be held during the fasting month from July 27 to Aug 12.
“With the London Olympics 2012 being held during the fasting month, the topic of fasting is of interest to Muslim athletes and the sports science community. Many are concerned that Muslim athletes will be at a disadvantage because they will fast throughout the event.”
Many coaches and athletes share the general perception that fasting will have a negative effect on sports performance.
During Ramadan, Muslim athletes will refrain from fluid and food intake between the hours of sunrise and sunset, with an average fasting period of between 12 and 15 hours, depending on location (latitude) and timing of the month.
The general perception on exercise during Ramadan is that there will be increased physiological strain during exercise, reduction in capacity to perform submaxial exercise for an extended period of time, reduction in the cognitive function and motor control and a decline in sport performance.
“Athletes are particularly concerned about dehydration which, even at a mild level, has been proven to have adverse effects on their performance,” says Dr Ahmad.
He adds although both athletes and coaches harboured this negative perception about fasting affecting an athlete’s performance negatively, there was little supporting scientific evidence so far.
“Various studies have shown that fasting during Ramadan has no significant effect on sports performance and variables, such as total energy intake, body composition, cellular and biochemical properties of blood.”
Other concerns raised are the changes in eating habits, sleep patterns, reduction in energy reserves, timing of testing done and fitness levels of subjects.
“Not surprisingly both groups would like to know whether training intensity can be maintained with fasting and what health concerns can surface when training or competing.”
To better tolerate training while having to fast, he says athletes should increase their overall physical conditioning prior to Ramadan, while coaches should alter the training programme to accommodate the expected changes in the sleep-wake cycle of the athlete.
In the research of Reilly and Waterhouse (2007) on Circadian rhythms during Ramadan, athletes reported having a lower quality sleep time, which resulted in a decrease in the willingness to train.
Ensuring that a fasting athlete maintains a good nutritional intake despite the change in meal time is another important step for coaches to follow.
As a general rule, eat sahur (morning) as a lunch portion, iftar (breaking of fast) as a dinner portion and morae (after tarawih) as supper. Delay sahur as late as possible.
Read more: Health: Fasting and sports performance http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Health_Fastingandsportsperformance/Article/#ixzz1V3RsehYX
HOW does fasting affect an athlete’s performance? The answer is a complex one, says Dr Ahmad Munir Che Muhamed, chairman of National Coaching Board.
But the topic is important to Muslim athletes worldwide, he says, as the 2012 London Olympics will be held during the fasting month from July 27 to Aug 12.
“With the London Olympics 2012 being held during the fasting month, the topic of fasting is of interest to Muslim athletes and the sports science community. Many are concerned that Muslim athletes will be at a disadvantage because they will fast throughout the event.”
Many coaches and athletes share the general perception that fasting will have a negative effect on sports performance.
During Ramadan, Muslim athletes will refrain from fluid and food intake between the hours of sunrise and sunset, with an average fasting period of between 12 and 15 hours, depending on location (latitude) and timing of the month.
The general perception on exercise during Ramadan is that there will be increased physiological strain during exercise, reduction in capacity to perform submaxial exercise for an extended period of time, reduction in the cognitive function and motor control and a decline in sport performance.
“Athletes are particularly concerned about dehydration which, even at a mild level, has been proven to have adverse effects on their performance,” says Dr Ahmad.
He adds although both athletes and coaches harboured this negative perception about fasting affecting an athlete’s performance negatively, there was little supporting scientific evidence so far.
“Various studies have shown that fasting during Ramadan has no significant effect on sports performance and variables, such as total energy intake, body composition, cellular and biochemical properties of blood.”
Other concerns raised are the changes in eating habits, sleep patterns, reduction in energy reserves, timing of testing done and fitness levels of subjects.
“Not surprisingly both groups would like to know whether training intensity can be maintained with fasting and what health concerns can surface when training or competing.”
To better tolerate training while having to fast, he says athletes should increase their overall physical conditioning prior to Ramadan, while coaches should alter the training programme to accommodate the expected changes in the sleep-wake cycle of the athlete.
In the research of Reilly and Waterhouse (2007) on Circadian rhythms during Ramadan, athletes reported having a lower quality sleep time, which resulted in a decrease in the willingness to train.
Ensuring that a fasting athlete maintains a good nutritional intake despite the change in meal time is another important step for coaches to follow.
As a general rule, eat sahur (morning) as a lunch portion, iftar (breaking of fast) as a dinner portion and morae (after tarawih) as supper. Delay sahur as late as possible.
Read more: Health: Fasting and sports performance http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Health_Fastingandsportsperformance/Article/#ixzz1V3RsehYX
Ramadan and sport
Precompetition taper and nutritional strategies: special reference to training during Ramadan intermittent fast.
Abstract
A marked reduction in the training load in the lead-up to major competitions allows athletes to reduce the fatigue induced by intense training and improve competition performance. This tapered training phase is based on the reduction in training volume while maintaining pretaper training intensity and frequency. In parallel to training load reductions, nutritional strategies characterised by lowered energy intakes need to be implemented to match lowered energy expenditure. The Ramadan intermittent fast imposes constrained nutritional practices on Muslim athletes, inducing a shift to a greater reliance on fat oxidation to meet energy needs and a possible increase in protein breakdown. The training load is often reduced during Ramadan to match the absence of energy and fluid intake during daylight, which implies a risk of losing training induced adaptations. Should coaches and athletes decide to reduce the training load during Ramadan, the key role of training intensity in retaining training induced adaptations should be kept in mind. However, experienced elite Muslim athletes are able to maintain their usual training load during this month of intermittent fasting without decrements in measures of fitness and with only minor adverse effects.
http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/44/7/495.abstract
Abstract
A marked reduction in the training load in the lead-up to major competitions allows athletes to reduce the fatigue induced by intense training and improve competition performance. This tapered training phase is based on the reduction in training volume while maintaining pretaper training intensity and frequency. In parallel to training load reductions, nutritional strategies characterised by lowered energy intakes need to be implemented to match lowered energy expenditure. The Ramadan intermittent fast imposes constrained nutritional practices on Muslim athletes, inducing a shift to a greater reliance on fat oxidation to meet energy needs and a possible increase in protein breakdown. The training load is often reduced during Ramadan to match the absence of energy and fluid intake during daylight, which implies a risk of losing training induced adaptations. Should coaches and athletes decide to reduce the training load during Ramadan, the key role of training intensity in retaining training induced adaptations should be kept in mind. However, experienced elite Muslim athletes are able to maintain their usual training load during this month of intermittent fasting without decrements in measures of fitness and with only minor adverse effects.
http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/44/7/495.abstract
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