Graveyard shift and training

[RJ Powell**]

For the past year i have been working full-time afternoon shifts (4pm-12am) in the office, honestly it is a good shift, only a couple people are around, my boss will never work those hours so there is no one checking up on me. Lots of goofing off.

The drawback to this shift is that i am only able to make it to the gym once or twice a week in the afternoon, mostly once on my friday night day-offs. Most of the time i am training alone in the morning/noon.

I am now temporarily switching to a different shift which is 12am-8am, which allows me to train in the afternoon/night, provided i sleep in the morning.

Has anyone ever worked these hours? And if so, do you have any tips on not just surviving the shift, but actually feeling real good and thriving?

I am very open minded and will try alot of different tips.

 

[Mdoi23]

I currently train muay thai and work the graveyard shift. My hours are 10pm to 7am. so I usually get to sleep around noon or whenever I finish school. I try to get about 7 hours of sleep before I train. at around 6 or 7. This has been working pretty well for me for the past several months.

 

[RJ Powell**]

How long did it take for you to adapt? Do you feel pretty OK?

 

[GodLovesUgly]

i worked the graveyard throwing freight in a grocery store for like 2 years and i dont care what anyone says, you never get used to it. your always kinda off, i remember it was ruff as far as trying to charm the young ladies, you basically have to choose between sleep and pulling out the charm sauce. as far as training i trained at a place that had alot of 30 something professionals that would come in for a workout at like 6 or 7 am before they went to work. so it worked out for me.

 

[Mdoi23]

i worked the graveyard throwing freight in a grocery store for like 2 years and i dont care what anyone says, you never get used to it. your always kinda off, i remember it was ruff as far as trying to charm the young ladies, you basically have to choose between sleep and pulling out the charm sauce. as far as training i trained at a place that had alot of 30 something professionals that would come in for a workout at like 6 or 7 am before they went to work. so it worked out for me.

yep this is exactly what i do right now. Well to answer the ts it takes some time getting used to however in the summer when there is no school it is ten times easier. I always try to force myself to do is get 7 or 8 sleep before I train no matter what. If i don't I just can't seem to focus or have the energy.

 

[RJ Powell**]

OK i got the full work schedule.

Tuesday-Friday Morning: 12am-8am

Saturday Morning:4am-12pm

Sunday off

Monday off

Think i can manage?

Here is more detail:
-My job consists of what i am doing right now, as well as watching certain database programs and entering "crucial" data occasionally. No physical activity whatsoever

-My training is from 6-8 in the evening last time i checked.

-I have no real Morning responsibilities, no kids to take to school, i don't even like waking up in the morning. I would prefer to stay up till 4-5 am and sleep in, which is what i am doing these days working evenings..

 

[Mdoi23]

yeah dude you should be able to manage no problem as long as your job isn't to strenuous. and as long as you can get like 7-8 hours before training. The main problem for me is that my job wears me down like crazy. But as long you don't wear yourself out physically at work it should be okay. by the way do you train to be a pro or amatuer or something?

 

[haji]

I have been working nights the last few years and its sucks. Looking for a day job now. Some weeks its ok and I get to train, other weeks I can't sleep right and miss out. There have been some studies that showed that working nights long term is really bad for you, increases the risk of cancer, etc. skip it.

If its only short term its ok but day jobs are way better for your training, health and social life.

 

[GCSD Fighter]

I work the weirdest hours. My team work 24/7 shifts. I usually do 12hr shifts 2/3days, 2/3nights, then 5 days off. I end up only working half the days of the year. If it wasn't only 20min drive away from home, I wouldn't do it. Leaves plenty of time to train. However, cons are:

Energy Levels: Sometimes you are just exhausted from all body clock changing

****bolism: Unless you really watch what you eat, esp times of meals and carb consumption, it's real easy to put on weight without trying.

The gym is inbetween my house and work, I miss the odd class but usually make before/after work. I have a gym at home, and sometimes take kettlebells/med balls/whatever I need to workout in the underground car park at work when the building is empty.

 

[GCSD Fighter]

I work the weirdest hours. My team work 24/7 shifts. I usually do 12hr shifts 2/3days, 2/3nights, then 5 days off. I end up only working half the days of the year. If it wasn't only 20min drive away from home, I wouldn't do it. Leaves plenty of time to train. However, cons are:

Energy Levels: Sometimes you are just exhausted from all body clock changing

****bolism: Unless you really watch what you eat, esp times of meals and carb consumption, it's real easy to put on weight without trying.

The gym is inbetween my house and work, I miss the odd class but usually make before/after work. I have a gym at home, and sometimes take kettlebells/med balls/whatever I need to workout in the underground car park at work when the building is empty.

 

[Jewlz823]

I work the midnight shift too :-( its rough on you for the first month or so, i suggest you invest in dark curtians or blinds for your windows, i usually come home and just jump straight in bed at 7 and usually sleep till about 1 or 2, once your body adjusts to this its not bad on you at all, plus, if you have time to goof off on the late day shift that means you can cat nap on the mids ;-) haha, all you need is for your body to reset your internal clock and your golden, takes a few weeks tho

 

[Tristan Riley]

I've done 11-7 for the last 6 months and it wasn't too hard. You do accomplish less in the day I find and if you have shit will power like me you won't go to bed when you get home and destroy your sleep patterns. Maintaining a schedule is really important.

Different people will be able to deal with it better than others. As a child I always stayed up really late, was the the last kid up at sleep overs, always took forever to get to sleep etc. so staying up late is no big deal for me.

Now I'm going to school 5 days a week and still working Thurs, Fri, Sat nights. Friday class is pretty brutal and I won't be doing that next semester but it works decent. I also have been training harder than ever so that wasn't affected.

That rambled but whatever. It's 6 in the morning here.

 

[Tristan Riley]

i suggest you invest in dark curtians or blinds for your windows,

That's funny because I'm so damn lazy and cheap I have regular curtains on my window, then a blanket draped over that and then a bed sheet draped over that. the curtain rod collapses if I touch it but it gets the job done.

 

[SLaKKJaW]

One suggestion I can make is go straight to bed after your shift.

Don't dick around and wait til later cuz the world only gets lighter and louder as the day goes on. And your body's internal clock can only be set with routine. That's the easiest routine to work with.

As far as your diet, you can't be lax on it. If you're sleeping enough, you'll pack on the pounds. If you're not, you won't gain much weight if any, but you'll feel like shit.

 

[Mdoi23]

That's funny because I'm so damn lazy and cheap I have regular curtains on my window, then a blanket draped over that and then a bed sheet draped over that. the curtain rod collapses if I touch it but it gets the job done.

haha i have almost the exact same thing going except i nailed a black blanket to the wall. It works very well