Rotating Shifts + related questions

Background – 36yrs old. Work rotating 12.5 hour shifts.  Manual labor job. Currently do Fundamentals as a warm up, F1, H1, all stretch series, and movement.  I follow coach’s 6 day recommended programming.

Questions:

1) Anyone in a similar situation, and if so, how does this affect your training / programming?  How do you make the most of your training with your sleep schedule being dysfunctional?

2) Would it be better to try to exercise:

a)around the same times despite working a day or night

b)exercise following a routine (ie: before work, after work, etc) regardless of the day / night schedule?

c)Who cares? Just get it done

3)When sleep deprived and feeling pretty fatigued overall, is it better to skip workouts to aid recovery, or would it be beneficial to still exercise and scale things back? 

4)If a workout is missed for whatever reason, do you pick up the next workout with the missed one (pushing everything back a day), or do you forget about the missed workout and continue with your normally programmed routine?

Thanks

Hi Chris,

I love these sorts of questions, though the answer is a complex one.

To start off with, be sure you've chosen a schedule that is manageable. Something that you can consistently handle week after week so you don't have to miss scheduled training. If you do miss, feel it out and do your best to make it up but realize it's not always possible. Each month, try to look back and analyze how many workouts you had to readjust and/or skip due to your work schedule or lack of sleep. If it's happening every week, try re-adjusting your schedule to better match your life.

It's going to take some practice to find the sweet spot. Ultimately your sleep and recovery should run the show, helping to promote consist adherence of whatever schedule you find to be reasonable for your life. Also keep in mind that this advice really only applies for when things like your work schedule, fatigue, or sleep deprivation get in the way. If it's an issue with motivation, get there and get it done. There's a time for both approaches.