Why You Get Weaker During Ramadan (And Why You Should Train Anyway)

You finish 12 reps of bicep curls. Normally you'd hit 15. The bar feels heavier. Your arms are burning earlier than usual.

You're not weak. You're not failing. This is just what happens when you train fasted.

I tested it recently — 80kg bicep curls that I'd normally rep out easily. I got to 10 and that was it. And that moment of struggle is actually one of the most important things you can come to terms with during Ramadan.

This article is for every man who showed up to the gym during fasting hours and felt like he was fighting his own body.

What's Actually Happening in Your Body When You Fast

When you haven't eaten for 12-16 hours, several things are working against you in the gym:

Glycogen depletion. Your body stores carbs as glycogen in your muscles — that's your primary fuel for moderate to high intensity effort. After a long fast, those stores are partially emptied. Less glycogen means less explosive output. This is especially acute if you trained in the evening after a full day of fasting.

Hydration status. Ramadan fasting means no water during daylight hours either. Even a 2-3% drop in hydration significantly impairs strength performance. Your joints feel stiffer. Your perceived exertion is higher. Recovery between sets slows down.

Cortisol dynamics. Fasting raises cortisol — your body's stress hormone — which is catabolic by nature. It's not a disaster, but it does mean your body is slightly more primed to break down tissue than build it during extended fasts.

Lowered insulin. Insulin drops when you haven't eaten. Insulin is anabolic — it drives amino acids into muscle cells. Lower insulin means your muscles are less efficient at rebuilding during the fasted state.

None of this is a reason to quit. It's just the physiological reality you're operating within. Understanding it actually helps you frame training differently.

What Doesn't Change: Your Ability to Stimulate Muscle

Here's the thing people miss: strength loss during fasting is mostly neurological and metabolic, not muscular. You're not losing contractile tissue in a single training session. What you're losing is:

• Central nervous system output
• Intra-set endurance
• Peak force production

But the stimulus for growth? Still there. Your muscles still experience mechanical tension. They still get DAMage in a good way. The adaptation — bigger, stronger muscles — still happens when you feed and rest properly.

The gym work during Ramadan is not wasted. It just needs to be reframed.

Train Anyway — But Train Smarter

Don't use Ramadan as an excuse to do nothing. But also don't pretend you're going to hit lifetime PRs at iftar time.

Lower the weight, keep the volume. If you normally do 80kg for sets of 8, go 65-70kg and hit the same rep range. The mechanical stimulus is similar. Your joints will thank you.

Front-load compound movements. Do your heavy compounds — squats, deadlifts, rows — early in your eating window when you're hydrated and fed. Save isolation work for the fasted state if needed.

Expect 10-20% strength reduction. This is normal. Plan for it. If you go in expecting to lift what you lift on a full stomach, you'll leave frustrated.

Prioritise protein at iftar. Your first meal sets the tone for the night. Get 40-50g of protein in within an hour of breaking the fast. Grilled chicken, fish, eggs, lentil dal — these are your foundation meals.

Use suhoor strategically. Slow-digesting protein at suhoor — Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs — to support muscle retention through the fast. Add oats or brown rice for sustained energy.

The Mental Side Matters More Than the Physical

The real win during Ramadan isn't the gym session. It's the discipline of showing up when it's hard.

Most men skip training during fasting because it feels uncomfortable. The gym is emptier. Your energy is lower. You have to fight yourself to get there.

But the men who show up anyway — who accept the reduced performance without self-judgment and just put in the work — they're building something that goes beyond muscle tissue. They're building an identity. The identity of someone who doesn't need perfect conditions to do the thing.

That's the mindset that transforms bodies long-term.

What About Losing Gains?

This is the fear everyone has. And I'll be straight with you: some performance will drop off, especially in weeks 3-4 of Ramadan. If you're in a calorie deficit as well — which many men are, because they overeat at iftar — muscle loss becomes a real risk.

Here's how to protect yourself:

• Eat at maintenance or slightly above on training days. Ramadan is not the time for aggressive cuts. You're already in a metabolic stress state from fasting.
• Keep protein high. 1.6-2g per kg of bodyweight minimum. In practical terms: 130-160g of protein daily. That's chicken breast, fish, eggs, yogurt, and lentils at every meal.
• Don't do excessive cardio. Steady-state LISS is fine. High-intensity fasted cardio is a muscle-loss trap during Ramadan.
• Sleep matters as much as nutrition. Your body rebuilds during sleep. Get 7-8 hours even if it means going to bed earlier.

The Bottom Line

You will be weaker during Ramadan. Accept it. Plan for it. Train anyway.

The goal isn't to maintain peak performance through a month of fasting. The goal is to preserve as much as you can, keep your habits intact, and emerge on the other side with your discipline and muscle tissue mostly intact.

That 10-rep struggle with 80kg? That's not a failure. That's you working with the hand you've been dealt and showing up anyway.

Download the FREE Ramadan Gains Guide for the full nutrition and training blueprint — click here.