When to train

[RobM]

I have been working nights and have been having a hard time finding a routine I can stick with. I work 10 hour days, 2:30pm to 1am. I find it hard to find and make the time before I go work. So I was wondering what the pros and cons of training at 1am and then going to bed would be.

Thanks,

Rob

[Packard]

In Las Vegas this is a pretty normal training time. I doubt that many gyms are open at that hour elsewhere.

I always suggest that people train before going home from work. Pack your gym bag before you leave the house. If there is a gym open 24 hours in your area I would suggest that here too.

[cassiegose]

The only con I can see of training after work would be if you're exhausted after working a 10 hour day you might not be able to get in the best workout. I work 8-5 and wake up at 4:30am to get in workout before work. This works really well for me as it ensures that I never miss a workout (sometimes if you plan to do it after work stuff can come up that gets in the way or you can talk yourself out of it if youre overly tired from working all day). Training before work helps me to wake up and ensures that I get in a GREAT workout because body is fresh. There have been times when I trained at night after work and I found that i was more likely to cut corners at night because i was anxious to get done so i could get home. When I train in the morning I give myself PLENTY of time to get in a great workout and because I live 15 minutes away from home, work, and the gym I know that it won't do me any good to cut corners in workout and finish early because I really have no where to go but work.

With that said... it really is a matter of what works best for you. As long as you're consistent and you're putting 100% into your workouts then it doesn't matter what time you hit the gym.

[RobM]

I prefer to work out before going to work. But because of the location of the gym and traffic at going in the middle of the day when working nights I have to leave home around noon to leave myself plenty of time to get a good workout, shower, and not be rushed. Add that to the fact that when I get home from work, a little wind down time and I get to sleep around 2:30 or 3. If I get up at 9, that's if I can force myself to, that only leaves about 3 hours for food preparation and daily chores and duties. I will train at some time during the day just trying to find a routine that works for me. One of concerns is post workout meal. I have always thought it was not optimal to have carbs right before bedtime, but I thought they were essintial to post workout meals. So more input on these matters would be awesome!

Thanks,

Rob

[cassiegose]

I prefer to work out before going to work. But because of the location of the gym and traffic at going in the middle of the day when working nights I have to leave home around noon to leave myself plenty of time to get a good workout, shower, and not be rushed. Add that to the fact that when I get home from work, a little wind down time and I get to sleep around 2:30 or 3. If I get up at 9, that's if I can force myself to, that only leaves about 3 hours for food preparation and daily chores and duties. I will train at some time during the day just trying to find a routine that works for me. One of concerns is post workout meal. I have always thought it was not optimal to have carbs right before bedtime, but I thought they were essintial to post workout meals. So more input on these matters would be awesome!

Thanks,

Rob

Hmmm... How many days per week do you work? I'm assuming you're on 4 tens?

One thing you could do is invest in a weight set and bench for your home. For a couple hundred $$ (or less if you shopped craigslist or other ads) you could most likey get some dumbells, a barbell, and a weight bench. For $30-50 you could get a pull up bar that hangs in the doorway. This would be enough to get you by with home workouts a couple days per week. With basic equipment you could do squat variations, lunge variations, deadlift variations, pullups/chin ups, rows, bench press variations, pushup variations, bench dips, and military press. I'm not sure what days you worked but you could do 2 at home workouts before going to work then on your days off just hit the gym to take advantage of their equipment.

For meals... utilize your days off for meal preparation. I work monday through friday so Sunday is shopping and cooking day. On sunday i make sure I have ALL the food to get me through week then sunday evening i prepare enough food to get me through friday. This often means cooking up 5-6 chicken breasts, 5-6 pieces of lean steak, or simply cooking up a big thing of lean red meat (elk and venison). If you're concerned about the food going bad by the end of the week you can simply leave half in the fridge and put the other half in the freezer after cooking it and take it out as you need it and pop it in the microwave. Other food options that i tend to rely on are lunch meat, low fat cheese, greek yogurt, ff cottage cheese, fruit and veggies (celery, peppers, mushrooms, lettuce, spinach, asparagus, green beans). This stuff all tends to last in your fridge for a while (with the exception of some veggies) and takes little time to prepare. Another great option for you would be sandwiches! A lunch meat, chicken breast, or tuna sandwich on whole grain bread is a great meal. You could even add things like hummus and veggies for extra fiber, vitamins, and nutritients.

For your post workout meal... have a protein shake right after hitting the weights then go for something like cereal, a sandwich, oatmeal, sweet potatoes... You need carbs after working out replenish glycogen stores and help with muscle recovery.

Make sense?