Long working hours. How do I avoid losing the GAINZZZ??

Blacktie.

So folks I' going to be working my ass off for the next fairly large chunk of the year. 13 hour days 6 days a week seems to be about average. Might get worse in a couple of months. How do I avoid losing everything I've gained in the last couple of years?

Sangre

Morning work-outs, food prep and a serious case of MTFU is how I manage. That and coffee!

You'll be surprised how a work-out 2/3 times a week will keep you ticking over strength-wise.

Watch your diet to avoid plumping up but keep protein moderate to high.

Blacktie.

Sangre wrote: »

Morning work-outs, food prep and a serious case of MTFU is how I manage. That and coffee!

You'll be surprised how a work-out 2/3 times a week will keep you ticking over strength-wise.

Watch your diet to avoid plumping up but keep protein moderate to high.

I'm not sure if early work outs are possible. The gym has pretty crappy opening times. I get to go one day a week at the least so that's fine and I might be able to get one more evening off a bit earlier but 2 days a weeks is the most I'll be able to manage and I'm not sure if that's possible.

Would it be possible to maintain with one day a week workout and some kind of bodyweight variations of exercises? My numbers are 157.5/97.5/190ish or about that. Squat/bench/deadlift/.

Sangre

My suggestion would be to join a gym temporarily with better opening hours then (unless of course your shift starts at 5 a.m. in which case go in evening).

I'm no stranger to hours like the above and as with anything, its all about routine. You'll be surprised what you can manage if you don't think about it.

It won't maintain at that level once a week but its a lot, lot better than nothing.

When do you plan to do BW exercises? Why can't you go to the gym then?

Blacktie.

Sangre wrote: »

My suggestion would be to join a gym temporarily with better opening hours then (unless of course your shift starts at 5 a.m. in which case go in evening).

I'm no stranger to hours like the above and as with anything, its all about routine. You'll be surprised what you can manage if you don't think about it.

It won't maintain at that level once a week but its a lot, lot better than nothing.

When do you plan to do BW exercises? Why can't you go to the gym then?

I'll look into joining a new gym but AFAIK there's no better ones around. Opening times seem standard. Needs a bit more research though.

Yeah I'd imagine once I get into a proper routine and get setup here I'll figure something out. Trying to piece together as much info as I can along the way right now.

BW exercises when I can. Either morning or evening. Gym closes at half 9 and I'll regularly only get home at half 8 or 9 and by the time I drop someone home there's just no point. At least with BW I can throw some food in the oven and get some kind of workout done and I know there's a lot of ways to make them tougher. Flicked through "you are your own gym" one time and it had some interesting variations I never considered.

Also opinions on possibly sacrificing 90 minutes sleep for a workout?

Stench Blossoms

Where in Dublin are you?

amazingemmet

Blacktie. wrote: »

Also opinions on possibly sacrificing 90 minutes sleep for a workout?

If your sleep quality is otherwise fine then a few times a week won't make a difference

Blacktie.

Recently moved to Finland with work.

Sangre

I'm sure Nokia has a gym

If using a gym is genuninely not an option in the morning. I'd strongly recommend getting a pull-up bar for your home. Some builds a lot more renter friendly than others.

Dathai

Where abouts in Finland? I've trained in Tampere and Helsinki before. There's some decent gyms in both places I could recommend on the off chance you're in either.

john_cappa

Switch to a full body routine if you are not already doing so.
Train twice a week.
If not in the mood for a gym session dont go. Wait till the next day and make the session count.
Keep an a close eye on your diet.

Blacktie.

Dathai wrote: »

Where abouts in Finland? I've trained in Tampere and Helsinki before. There's some decent gyms in both places I could recommend on the off chance you're in either.

Kotka. Not the largest of cities!

Dathai

Christ, I've been to Kouvola and it's a fair distance alright. You're fairly stuck for places to train I'm afraid. Best off just trying to eat in order to keep what you have, plus.. winter is coming (proper winter at that, considering where you are!).

kevpants

I've a new baby and a 3 year old. Time is gone to crap and I'm wrecked. I get 2 sessions a week now. Totally doable to continue to improve. How I'm doing it is Squat/Bench one day and Deadlift/Bench the other. Each session is pretty intense, making as much of the time in the gym as I can.

It's absolutely possible to keep the amount of work you get through in the gym per week up with 2 sessions.