Shift Work and exercise...a losing combination!

markfla

Just wondering if there are any shift workers on here who find it hard to get a good exercise routine going, I work 12 hour shifts.... 4 weeks nights and 4 weeks days, 7 to 7 o' clock.....I'm finding it tougher and tougher. Any suggestions?

MagicMarker

3 days off?

Roper

When I worked shift I was in great nick. Gym at 8am when there was nobody there? Yes please. Loads of time to prepare lunches/dinners for work because there was only me in the house, loads of free time during the day and loads of opportunities.

The only thing that was a proper pain in the arse was canteen food, which makes it really hard to eat well. Thereare lots of shiftworker/dolite classes running in gyms. In fact, I'm off to teach one at 10am!!!

Other people are going through the same as you it's just a matter of being creative.

BossArky

markfla wrote: »

I work 12 hour shifts.... 4 weeks nights and 4 weeks days, 7 to 7 o' clock.....I'm finding it tougher and tougher.

A lot of people would be happy to have such structured work hours.

It means you can plan ahead and know exactly when you can and cannot get your work outs in. I don't see how that can be so bad.

Can you get a work out / run in during your shift at maybe noon / midnight, or would you prefer 6am / 8pm or 6pm / 8am?

j@utis

I work shift too. I enjoy going to the gym at the times when almost nobody is there. I nearly have all gym for myself. But this is on my days-off. If I get to work weekends I can't go to the gym at all because gym is closed at the time I'm out from work. So you have to adjust a little bit around it. I plan my workouts couple of weeks ahead around my shift schedule. And I have to agree with Roper here about the free time and empty house

LouLou1

Mark, your shift is exactly the same as mine and I really find it tough. Unless you do the shift yourself it's difficult to understand how hard it is on your body. Dont know about you but when I'm on night I have terrible cravings for unhealthy food, chips, chocolate and the likes. The only way I overcome this is to bring in my own food as canteen is brutal.. Getting to the gym can be difficult, but you need to push yourself. Start off doing a little and then build it up gradually otherwise it will be too much and you may be inclined to just give up...

puntosporting

Working shift 12 years and i was like you making excuses about training and work for years!
You need to tell yourself to get in and train!
I go before work when im on nights and after work when on days,and ive 2 small kids at home that need minding too!
Stop making excuses and just get in there!
To be honest i have a lot more energy since i started training properly ,i sleep better and my appetite is healthy !
I did find that id be burnt out form doing too much cardio before night work so on your work days stick to 45 mins of solid lifting!
Do your cardio on a day off thats easy enough to achieve i reckon!

markfla

Don't get me wrong, I used to get in loads of hours on the current shift pattern, I'm doing this shift 9 years....but I'm finding working nights a killer lately, I'm finding that I'm very groggy during the set of nights and after a set of 4 nights I'm just drained....I used to hit the gym at 5pm and straight to work with no hassle........Currently when I work days I come straight home and take out the dog and jog about 8k three or four days in a row depending on how many days I'm working and go hard on the weights on the days off mixed in with spinning classes but come nights I'm wrote off! I'm on nights at the minute and what I did yesterday was a 12K well paced walk (with the dog again!) to blow out the cobwebs..better than nuthin I guess

BossArky

Give more details:

- typical daily diet
- typical weekly exercise program

sunnyjim

When I worked shift I was in great nick. Gym at 8am when there was nobody there? Yes please. Loads of time to prepare lunches/dinners for work because there was only me in the house, loads of free time during the day and loads of opportunities.

Mind if I ask, what pattern were ya on?

Roper

sunnyjim wrote: »

Mind if I ask, what pattern were ya on?

I did continental for a while but then did mostly 5 day swing, 7-3pm/ 3-11pm. Also did some nights.

I was actually talking this morning to a cop who does crazy hours- he frequently gets woken up by a phone call- and he still manages gym 3 times a week, has two kids and a home life too.

I just think there's always an excuse.

sunnyjim

I did the same as you, except I was either 5am, 3pm or 11pm. In theory, it was great because I had the house to myself, could cook away to my hearts content and have time for gym, running etc. After a while I spent most my time figuring out when I'm meant to be sleeping or not! No excuse though!

Roper

Yeah I'm making it sound rosy in the garden there but the truth is I hated shiftwork. Being in good shape was about the only positive I drew from it.

Pain in the ass.

itsallaboutheL

I was without a doubt my strongest when doing 4 day swing shifts!!

Gym in evening before work, eat like a horse in work, gym in morning after work 7 hours sleep, repeat for four days, drink all weekend!!:D*



*DISCLAIMER: itsallaboutheL takes no responsibility for anyone who dies following this advice, however, if you add 30odd kg to your bench feel free to recommend me!!