There is a lot of buzz going around (and right fully so) that Ramadan 1434 is only 6 months away (possible period being: Monday 8th July 2013 -to- Wednesday 7th August 2013* ~ pending local moonsighting). After doing some research for myself and clients I noticed for Sydney NSW, in this period ‘sunset’ (breakfast ‘iftar’ time) ranges from about 5:01pm to 5:20pm (for other places please check http://www.islamicfinder.org).
My personal recommendation is to firstly check with your doctor whether you are able to workout in Ramadan, and if given the go-ahead then start your workout about 90-120 minutes before sunset time (after performing your obligatory Asr prayer) and workout for about 45-60 minutes (or 75 minutes for those who are able to or are professional athletes). This way you will still have time to get refreshed and have a shower and go to a community iftar (breakfast-meal) nearby wth one’s fellow muslims or one makes arrangements to drink some fluid’s and eat some food once ‘sunset’ time has arrived. Completion of workout as close as possible to sunset time the better
With the rewards up for grabs by the mercy of Allah, in the month of Ramadan – I would highly recommend not to workout anytime after Maghrib adhan (sunset) time. Reason being use the time of Maghrib adhan to Isha adhan to attend as many community and local iftar’s as possible and also try one’s best to attend the ‘Taraweeh prayers’ that are held after the Isha fard (obligatory) prayer, than spending one’s time in the gym after completing one’s Isha prayer and before going to sleep. And with needing to fast in the daytime it may not be ideal to workout in the morning or around midday, for obvious reasons. And if you goto the gym a bit after sunset time, post workout you may feel tired and lazy to go and attend the taraweeh prayer ~ hence the personal recommendation to avoid it in the month of Ramadan
Especially in the approximate period of “Sunday 28th July 2013 -to- Tuesday 6th of August 2013*” there is a night hidden among these 10 nights that is “better” than a 1000 months (83.3 years = 708,000 hours) [Reference: Surah al-Qadr 97: verse 3 (http://quran.com/97/3)]. So I would highly recommend that one spend from 5:30pm to 5:30am the next day (approx 12 hour period it happens to be this time) in act’s of worship in those 10 nights to try and catch this one night rather than attending a gym or fitness centre. What a bargain, when you do 12 hours of worship and deeds but you will receive as though it was 708,000+ hours out of the Bounty and Mercy of Allah
Always remember to drink a lot of water from sunset to pre-dawn (suhur time) the next day and also eat sensibly and in a moderate and healthy manner in the night and especially at sunset time, and try not to eat 2-3 massive plates full of food at sunset time just to make up for missing 2-3 meals in the day. Your body will not be able to absorb all the nutrients and most of it will be a waste literally. Speak with you medical professional whether a halal certified long release protein shake drink would be suitable for you or not, to use either after sunset or before sleep or when one wakes up for ‘suhur’ pre-dawn meal before fasting begins [More information: https://muslimvillage.com/forums/topic/26621-exercise-during-ramadan/]. Also remember if one is not going to be attening one’s fitness centre during Ramdan, do “time freeze” your membership as to save some money.