Programming and Shift Work

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1

Hey guys,

I am currently running The Bridge 2.0 and I work in Emergency Services as a Firefighter. I work 24 hour shifts and I am wondering how to alter my programming based on the fact that I am unable to train on the job due to being posted at a very busy firehall and a lack of proper equipment.

So far I have been applying the regular schedule, and taking each shift as an off day, sometimes I can fit in GPP work during my day at the hall. Because I work 24 hour shifts I only work 7/28 days of the month so it generally only affects my scheduling 2 or 3 times inin month. The obvious problem with this is that sometimes I’m taking two days off mid week.

I have seen some discussion on similar issues where trainees have been told to workout on back to back days. I have tried doing this only once because I found my work capacity to be greatly reduced, my OHP went from 125lbs for 4 sets of 5 @ rpe 8 to 110lbs for the same rpe.

Is it that bad to miss a training day? I sometimes shorten my rest at the end of the week to just one day to attempt to “catch up” but I’m not sure if that’s the right thing to do. I also figured that the extra rest day might be necessary given that I’m generally only sleeping 2 to 4 hours at work and I’m not eating properly due to sharing meals with 8 other colleges (I generally have 3 whey shakes during work). I have been seeing plenty of progress so far training as I’ve explained, and I’m not sure if I am overthinking this.

Thanks!

2

Just lift on your days off. I also work 24 hour shifts and did the 4 times a week 12 week strength plan, without missing a workout and never had a training week go more than 7 days. You are going to work out on back to back days, I workout 4 days in a row when needed. I never had 2 days in a row off for the 12 weeks, and I survived just fine. Make getting your sessions in a priority and you will do just fine.

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3

Good luck with the Bridge.

I’m a paramedic. I work 8 day shifts with 7 nights on call so that’s basically one big 8 day shift (then 6 days off), so sleep deprivation and interrupted workouts are common. I usually train early morning for the reason that everyone else is asleep so they won’t be calling an ambulance.

I am doing 4 day templates. I don’t stress too much if I miss a workout, its inevitable. Sometime the 4 workouts for a week end up having a day off in between, but I still somehow make progress.
I do try to make up the work when opportunity presents, and on days off I might skip a rest day or not take the prescribed 2 days rest, and take only one. Its frustrating, but I think as long as you are doing the work in the overall time the template runs, you’ll be fine. And if you miss a couple in there, it isn’t the end of the world. As someone suggested to me, you could always bump up the volume here and there from workout to workout to compensate when necessary.

All the best.

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