Your Complete Guide to Eating & Exercising Healthy during Umrah!

So, you plan on visiting the holy cities with your family, and you’re a bit nervous. Will you be able to maintain your health while prioritising worship and time in the masjid? Not to worry, these tried and tested health & fitness tips from Amanah Fitness will help you make your next Umrah your healthiest ever WITHOUT sacrificing your ibadah time inshAllah!

• AVOID FAST FOOD Al Baik – not worth it, not sustainable energy – crashes during worship
• INSTEAD… Bin dawood – pick up fruits and essentials as soon as you arrive that can keep in your hotel room and munch on as you get hungry
  • dates
  • barira
  • foul mesdames
  • penut butter
  • fruits
  • nuts
  • BANANA FOR BREAKFAST like c’mon this is soo easy
• BUFFETS? – portion control, portion your plate in thirds, plenty of water, pick veggies  -> whole program teaching portion control @amanah7.com
• PACK IN ADVANCE – protein bars, stevia for tea

• Is working out while on Umrah wasting time??
  • This is hypocritical to claim it’s wasting time when soooo many people on umrah use email, facebook, call friends, go shopping in malls all over, but spending 20 minutes on your exercise is considered “wasting time” ? That doesn’t make ANY sense. Preserving your body should take precedence over your shopping trip.
• WORKOUT IN YOUR HOTEL: Hallway at foot of bed is just the space you need to get an amazing bodyweight workout including pushups, planks, side planks travelling lunges, supine ab exercises, mountain climbers, squat jumps, burpees… I have so many more bodyweight exercises I can teach you. You can get an amazing workout in a VERY short time using nothing but your body. Take 5 minutes every morning and evening and USE YOUR BODY
  • I suggest doing your workout right after Shuruq or Fajr in the Masjid. Grab a banana as you are heading out the door to the masjid before fair or Tahajjud, and enjoy it with some Zamzam. This will hold you over during your morning worship. After Shuruq and your ibadah in the masjid, come back to your hotel after your, and do your 20 minute bootcamp workout. Then, you can go and have your regular breakfast. Getting the workout done early lets you go enjoy the rest of your worship-filled day!
• Even if not exercising – lots of activities that can help you get active while enjoying the rich islamic history
  • Walk around Mount Uhud, consider climbing the archers mound or if you are adventurous climb the whole mountain (good shoes and hand protection recommended so you don’t almost die. Be careful of spraining your ankle.
  • walking to the masjid from far – people think of this as a nuisance, but walking is so blessed.
  • walk, don’t cab. don’t use wheelchair, duh

• Go to the foodcourt in the clock tower – on the upper floors there are lots of grill places where you can get SALAD + GRILLED MEAT for cheap
• TELL the people VERY CLEARLY “PLEASE I NO WANT NO RICE” and you can just get salad + tabouli + meat + hummus which is an amazing lean meal + filling and delicious
• THINK HIGH PROTEIN, NO GREASE OR DEEP FRIED meals!  

• Faith + active activities:
  • climb mount hira at a FAST PACE don’t be a slowpoke, reflect on the revelation
• Fairmont – there is a gym with men and women rooms, you can use for a fee even if not hotel guest
  • Consider after Dhuhr doign a short workout in your hotel room or the fairmont gym… people often shop or sleep then anyway. Keep in mind your workout gives you energy to do better ibadah later
  • Again, I just want to remind anyone who is thinking “I’m not wasting my Umrah time exercising!” … if you are spending any time on fb, email, and ESPECIALLY shopping, you are pretty much saying that your shopping and clothes takes priority over your body and your exercise. And considering that your shopping is to buy clothes to COVER your body, that sounds pretty silly to me.