Hi Everyone,

I'm curious about how to build a routine based on a long work schedule. I work 4 days 10-12 hour days in a row and then have three days off. Do you guys have any recommendations how to maximize training for people with this type of schedule? I train at home with dumbbells and body weight.

Hey Mike.

I suppose the question is how do you want organise your routine, because there are plenty of ways to do it, and it really all about what will work best for you and your life schedule.

Your goal I see is to lose fat, so the type of training which is best for that is total body workouts. Doing rounds of a circuit is good, and you want to take little to no rest between exercises and rounds. It doesn't have to be a 2 or 3 hour session either, especially with this type of training. You can smash out a solid workout in 20-30 minutes, and shred some significant fat in the process.

HIIT cardio is again a good, quick way to help burn fat. Just 15-25 minutes of HIIT will leave you fatigued and will boost your metabolism allowing you to burn fat and calories more easily.

You could afford to maybe do a routine such as a circuit one day, HIIT the next, and repeat three times during the week (6 days training with one rest day). Or, you could maybe go for something like a circuit, cardio, circuit, cardio, circuit, cardio, then have two days off. Or, even doing the circuit and cardio on the same day if you want to - it's really up to you.

Do you generally have anytime to train on the days you work, or were you planning to fit your training in on the three days you have off?

Also, don't forget that along with your training programme, you need a healthy diet and meal plan. Do you know your macros? If not, go here to figure them out:

http://scotthermanfitness.com/mealplan.php

Post your macros here and we can help you out more!

great reply @JoeHurricane!

@mjc928 can you give us more information?

Thanks for the replys. @Scott Not sure what specific info to give but as far as exercising goes I've looked into HIIT as an option for days that I work long hours just due to time constraints and on off days, I've thought about doing a push/pull/legs. Though I'm concerned that I won't be giving my body enough recovery time since my days off are in a row.

Nutrition wise I try to get at least 6 servings of fruits and veggies with lean proteins/protein powder.

I got the eating down for the most part, I just can't seem to find a routine that I can stick to on a consistant basis.

It would be helpful if you could post your EXACT macros bro :)

I wouldn't be too concerned about doing push/pull/legs in a row, lots of people do it. Because you are working different muscles each of those days, it means you are resting that ones you worked the next day - E.g. if you do Chest/triceps for push, back/biceps for pull, and then legs, you are resting all of the muscles you worked.

Also, if you are only using your days off to train like that, then you will get rest for the other days during the week when you aren't training.

Out of curiosity, what sort of work do you do? Is it quite physical?

I have yet to sign up for the platinum membership so I do have access to the pdf but here are my meals in no particular order.

Meal 1: 2 cups of spinach, 1 cup broccoli, 1 serving of fruit (mixed berries or a banana), 1 romaine tomato, 1 half avocado. I throw all this in a blender. This is typically my breakfast since it's quick. As far as protein I eat either 3 eggs or 4-6oz of chicken.

Meal 2: This is my post workout meal. 2 cups of almond milk 1 scoop of whey protein, 1 fruit, 1 cup of greek non-fat yogurt and if I have it 1 cup of oatmeal.

Meal 3: This tends to vary. I try to cook something to eat during the week like vegetable soup with 4-6oz of chicken or a chicken curry with a few servings of veggies like Kale,carrots, broccili, cabbage, bell peppers, etc. Other proteins I substitute are fish, black beans and the occasional red meat.

When I do have snacks it's mainly almonds or a small piece of fruit if I couldn't include it in a meal.

Work wise I'm a cable installer so it's kind of physical. I do a lot of climbing and crawling through attics. I will say by the time I get home I'm pretty beat so It's kind of tough to find the motivation to workout but HIIT might be a reasonable option since its only 20-30 mins.

Thanks again,

Mike

You've got some good food choices there. I guess you will get a better guage on how good everything is once you are able to calculate your macros.

To me, it seems like lots of food but maybe not too many calories. I think you might find you will need to increase a few things, but who knows, I might be wrong :)

HIIT is hard work, but it doesn't take too long and the results will be good. Do you have time before work to fit in training? Then you won't have to spend the day thinking 'Will I really have the motivation or time to workout later?'

Once you have got those macros calculated, be sure to post them here if you want some more help :)

Otherwise, train hard man!

#HTH!

So I didn't know how to add them as just attachments but these are my meals in a nutshell. Things may vary from time to time.

There are some good foods there, but I notice a couple of red grades on the left hand side - sodium and total calories in particular.

Have you calculated your BMR?: http://scotthermanfitness.com/mealplan.php

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZjxWqwoWTg

Both of these will help you out. To lose fat, you want to be eating between 250-500 calories below your BMR. Also, preferably a lower carb/higher protein meal plan. I would suggest boosting your protein, and lowering carbs on your first meal plan - the second meal plan (with 133g carbs) would definitely be fine.

Have you tried the 'get suggestions' button? It should provide you with some other food options to improve some of your grades that aren't so good.

Hey sorry for they late response, I've been super busy at work. I looked into the BMR as well as the suggestions page since you've posted and found some very helpful ideas. Thanks again!

That's great to hear man!

Happy to help! Hopefully you can get that meal plan nailed down. If you need any other help, be sure to let us know! :)

#HTH!

Thanks for the reply. HIIT seems to be the best option for me on my work days. Luckily it hasn't been too busy so I'm not working too many 12 hr days. I'm finding it's becoming more of a mental challenge than anything else but it's welcomed ya know!