Shift Work and Physique Optimization

Shift work and physique optimization.

Sleep is one of the most important factors when it comes to making physique changes, strength gains, athletic improvement or even just simply becoming healthier. It's the time of recovery not just physically but mentally as well. It's what gives your body its circadian rhythm that at its most broad is simply the cycle of waking up, being busy and active, winding down to start feeling tired, sleeping, and then it repeats. This cycle is used as the basis for many body processes. Hormone's ebb and flow in concentration throughout the body using this cycle as the template. To make matters worse - circadian rhythm doesn't change (very much) even if your schedule has been to work night shifts for the past two weeks. The absolute worst thing to do is to change between day shift and night shift every week. So - how can this be handled theoretically vs practically?

Please understand that a good portion of this comes from personal experience. I've lived this. My first career was working 911 in the dispatch center. There are no breaks, no holidays, no weekends that were not worked for years. Straight night shift for months? Did it. Worked the 3-11 evening shift? Did it. The absolute worst though was when I worked 7AM to 7PM for 2 day shifts, being off 24 hours to come in the next day at 7PM to work until 7AM to then be off 96 hours (4 days time) before doing it all again. There was no chance to have a circadian rhythm. I had such a hard time recovering and sleeping I required 3-5 different sleeping/wakefulness medications to function. Including an anti-nightmare prescription. So if you're a first responder or anyone with PTSD, CPTSD, constant nightmares (whether you remember they even happened or not) just remember you have options. Seek help from a professional and find someone who knows what it's like or has experience with people who have the everyday job of dealing with death, the dying, running to the danger and putting themselves physically and mentally in harm's way. I'll be happy to help with this if you reach out. It's separate from coaching. I would like you to not just stay alive but be able to genuinely smile and laugh with ease.

That may seem out of pocket for physical goals but it's all linked. Stress hurts and kills. Managing stress with circadian rhythm disruption can dampen motivation, ability to have fun and destroy relationships. Sometimes to stick to a diet you just have to muscle through, pun intended, and keep pushing. I've told myself many times that motivation is for amateurs and sometimes I've listened while others I've completely derailed. One of the most important aspects of succeeding when you're in a depleted state due to shift work is to forgive yourself. So you ended up spending a break in the cafeteria eating a rice krispy treat with Reese's Take 5 on top for a sweet and salty 500 calorie addition for that day? Well, it's done. Move on. In the grand scheme of it all it doesn't matter much if at all. Which leads to the difficulty of tracking which I feel is huge. Conclusions can only be as good as the data used to get them.

Use the law of averages for nutrition tracking. You can't use the standard eat X amount of calories with identical meal times every day plan that the average general population (gen pop) person can because you watch the clock hit midnight. Use a 24 hour clock. So you eat X amount of calories within each 24 hour period. Sleeping from 0800 hours to 1600 hours gives you the standard 16 waking hours to eat and have your calories in. It is just split with (for example) meals at 0200, 0700, 1600, and 2000 hours.

Cater training times and amounts you're capable of recovering from. This means that if you're coming off a string of night shifts and have to return to day shifts in a few days it may be best to not train the day that you get off of work on that last night shift. Relax, maybe only sleep for 3 hours before forcing yourself to wake up before noon so that you can try to get to bed at a "normal" night's time. It may look like this - Get off work at 0700 hours. Relax for an hour or two and then nap until 1200 hours. Wake up, try to move a little, get a few steps in, watch a movie and wind down to try to get to sleep around 2000-2200 hours to then wake up at 0600-0800 the next couple days before having to go in to work at 0700.

Set up your training split with more intensive and demanding workouts when you're in a more rested state as well as put in optional days for flexibility. So the day above where you get off work, nap for a few hours before trying to sleep at a normal night's bed time would be a good day to have a rest day. You have 12 hours off between night shifts? Program a 1 hour max easier day such as an arm day. You've been off 3 days and have had a few good nights sleep in? Good time for a heavy output day such as a leg day with heavy Barbell Squats or a max effort deadlift day. Do you notice that when you have 3 day shifts in a row the monotony and stress make it hard to get to the gym between the 2nd and 3rd shift? Sounds like a good optional day that could have grip, core and a lagging body part work where it's not overly demanding and if you only hit 60% of them over a few months that is still a good bit of extra volume that will benefit you.

Really the number one thing is to be flexible and ok with changing up at a moment's notice. The biggest immediate concern of training while sleep deprived is the increased risk of injury.¹ It doesn't make sense to try to push through a max effort Squat day after a 12 hour shift where you were mandated to stay an extra 4 due to short staffing causing you to have 8 hours before your next shift meaning you'll get a max of 5-6 hours of sleep already. Be flexible. It may be better to just get the sleep you can, do a few sets of leg extensions and leg curls on your next training day, and NOT alter your next leg day's workout 3 days later from what you had planned. Don't dig yourself into a worse recovery hole because you push through. The really difficult aspect is that you may not get hurt the first time you do this. Or the 15th. I recommend not taking that chance because there are indirect ways to harm your progress. Sleep deprivation will harm muscle growth, strength gain and general progress. Stan Efferding has a great quote about pushing through sleep deprivation to get in that extra workout - "By doing the [session] at the cost of sleep you're stepping over $100 bills to pick up nickels." Do not underestimate sleep. You're not recovering enough if you don't sleep. Don't add on volume or effort and decrease sleep - it will indirectly reduce all of the benefits and possibly directly cause an injury. After all - Can't squat for months if you tear your patellar tendon. It's not worth the one workout.

Physique, strength, athletic improvements can be made with shift work. It's frustrating that the way to optimize it is to actually de-optimize it through being ok with missing occasional workouts, altering diet, reducing overall volume and being ok with having to completely change the factors you can control that would be the "wrong" choice for a gen pop person. The separation of objective and emotional decision making can be awful. I know. I've done it. I'd be ecstatic to be able to help anyone in this position because if I can use my mistakes to help someone out and succeed it would mean a lot.

So if you're having any difficulties feel free to reach out. In depth consultations are available on the site or quick questions can use the contact tab or instagram to send a message.