Long hours

[meloncap78]

For those who regularly put 60+ hours a week in at work how do you manage your 5 day splits? It seems I only have time for work, gym and sleep 5 days a week. It’s been that way at my job since the pandemic started and there is no signs of it changing for quite some time. I’m averaging about 5-6 hours a night and I’m sure this isn’t ideal for gains. A couple of people told me to move 2 of my days to the weekend but to be honest I don’t wanna do a Gdamn thing on the weekends. My 2’ grass speaks volumes about that. Currently I go into work at 4pm and usually get out around 5-5:30. I then go home and eat my preworkout meal then let it settle for about a half then head to the gym arriving around 6:30. I’m there for about an hour and a half depending on how busy it is and usually I’m walking back in the door at home around 8:15. Then I eat my post workout while I read a bit of my coursework. In bed around 9:30 then up at 3. This is starting to seem unmanageable. My buddy told me to suck it up and quit being a bi$&@ that life is money and money means work.

[MrCarrot]

Sorry dude, I don't know the answer. I know when I started back at the gym 3 years ago, I started to do less work because I would be at the gym for an hour and a half, plus travel, showering time, etc probably equaling 10 hours or more a week. However I work for myself so can do what hours I please. My clients don't give a damn about my health, only I do, so I decided I gotta take care of it. Funnily enough, in the last 3 years I haven't earned any less money, so clearly those lost 10 hours per week weren't that productive.

If you work for someone else and have to do the 60+ hours, then I feel for you and don't know what to suggest.

[TolerantLactose]

If you have the room, consider a gym at home. The travel to and from the gym is a factor in how much time you're spending training. I don't have a home gym but I'm a 5 min walk from my gym and love it. I was only 5km from where I used to train and even that commute felt like a slog when I'm tired.

[meloncap78]

If you have the room, consider a gym at home. The travel to and from the gym is a factor in how much time you're spending training. I don't have a home gym but I'm a 5 min walk from my gym and love it. I was only 5km from where I used to train and even that commute felt like a slog when I'm tired.

I have a home gym but I’ve been using the gym down the road from me just to be out and around people. The people that work under me are a bunch of sarcastic miserable pricks who do nothing but bitch about everything and drink with all of their free time. I guess this was more of a rant than anything. With these hours the last year life is starting to feel like 80% work and 20% play. Not a healthy lifestyle but the western civ is the most work obsessed on the globe.

[Cantplankwell]

I often work 60+ and that does not include the odd call ins. I spent 5hrs this past Sunday helping a customer who was down find and order critical parts...totally unplanned. So I had to shelve my personal wants for that day.

What works for me (im not bodybuilding)...I do a full body routine 3 days a week, keep it very simple with mostly barbell work, complexes and some accessory work...It takes at the most 45 to 75 minutes at the most.. I do cardio other days wherever I can fit it in. In order to fit this in I have a home gym, I mostly workout first thing 5:30 am or so. Any other way It would be difficult to budget the time, definitely do not have time most evenings for the time being as my days almost always run late often till 6-7pm often later. I phuking hate it, 4 more years of this and thats it..(unless the money is still good ) Essentially I dont have much time for any other hobbies at all. Sat/Sunday is mostly getting the minutia of life done such as home upkeep/maintenance, groceries, catching a movie. Very poor life balance.

[snailsrus]

Move it to the weekends

I mean something has to give and that’s the most rational choice. I work 60 hours most weeks but I never take a full day off from work and make my own hours. I go to the gym 90 minutes everyday. I take care of like 4 people and go to an aa meeting and work with 3 sponsees weekly at the moment.

I don’t have “free time”

I don’t waste time doing things that have no benefit.

Extra time I use to reply to emails, even if it’s just waiting in line. Cardio I am talking to clients. I make every second count and take the little things as joy like having 30 minutes extra to sleep.

If you don’t want to work out on the weekends do a three day split and see what you can do at home too

[air2fakie]

I wouldn't do a 5-day split if you're finding it hard to manage, and only do enough to maintain if necessary to keep a decent balance of work, life, sleep. I used to work out in the middle of the night while only sleeping a few hours/night at best, but once you get out of your 30s it's just not worth doing.

[meloncap78]

Move it to the weekends

I mean something has to give and that’s the most rational choice. I work 60 hours most weeks but I never take a full day off from work and make my own hours. I go to the gym 90 minutes everyday. I take care of like 4 people and go to an aa meeting and work with 3 sponsees weekly at the moment.

I don’t have “free time”

I don’t waste time doing things that have no benefit.

Extra time I use to reply to emails, even if it’s just waiting in line. Cardio I am talking to clients. I make every second count and take the little things as joy like having 30 minutes extra to sleep.

If you don’t want to work out on the weekends do a three day split and see what you can do at home too

Haha you mimic my buddy’s lifestyle exactly. He uses every second of his life to maximize his potential. He does not believe in downtime (playing games, kicking back watching a movie, sunday drives)…anything of that nature. His belief is that you should be chasing your best self until that day you don’t wake up anymore. I argue with him all the time “dude what are you chasing? When you get to the end are you gonna finally get that goodie? Nope, you were living it all along.” It’s all in good fun though. Everyone has different views. I need my weekends for my hobbies which don’t necessarily advance me in my life in anyway but I love them nonetheless. Recovering alcoholic here myself sober since 4/3/17. It took 3 meetings a day for almost 4 months just to get through the derealization/depersonalization/anxiety portion of sobriety. Then the pink cloud, then…..oh sh$! Back to reality. Life is a million times better.

[MG5]

For those who regularly put 60+ hours a week in at work how do you manage your 5 day splits? It seems I only have time for work, gym and sleep 5 days a week. It’s been that way at my job since the pandemic started and there is no signs of it changing for quite some time. I’m averaging about 5-6 hours a night and I’m sure this isn’t ideal for gains. A couple of people told me to move 2 of my days to the weekend but to be honest I don’t wanna do a Gdamn thing on the weekends. My 2’ grass speaks volumes about that. Currently I go into work at 4pm and usually get out around 5-5:30. I then go home and eat my preworkout meal then let it settle for about a half then head to the gym arriving around 6:30. I’m there for about an hour and a half depending on how busy it is and usually I’m walking back in the door at home around 8:15. Then I eat my post workout while I read a bit of my coursework. In bed around 9:30 then up at 3. This is starting to seem unmanageable. My buddy told me to suck it up and quit being a bi$&@ that life is money and money means work.

You have the weekends available, but you don't feel like going. You're choosing to make this more complicated and not go on the weekends. Sometimes you have to do things you don't feel like doing.

I don't you feel like going to work and working 60+ hours, do you? But you're doing it. I think you can manage a 60-90 minute workout on Saturday and Sunday.

Getting there and getting started is sometimes the hardest part. Once you get going, you'll probably end up having a great workout and feel better that you went.

[PhDPepper1111]

Everyone here already knows it: priorities.
I've always wanted to write sci-fi, but I found that after a couple of years trying to make it happen I needed my rest/recuperation time for an hour or two before bed more than writing! Yes, I could have made it happen, but I realized I needed the down time more than writing after a long day with two jobs, wife/kids, soccer and other sports etc. That's a personal decision and no one can make it for any of us....
If working out is a priority we will find a way! (says the guy who consistently was involved in sports, but didn't make strength training a priority until 10 months ago).

[BadGaskets350]

I'm in my mid 40s, managing a busy shop building exceptionally complex, expensive cabinetry in a resort city. We work 4 10hr shifts, sometimes 5 shifts (50hrs),but being the production manager in frequently more hours than that. And I have 4 kids, so I feel your stress.

At some point I decided that my kids and wife needed me to live beyond my 40s because that wasn't likely to happen, so I got back into proper diet intake and hitting the gym.

It's hard. I only do 4 day splits, 5 on the best weeks, but recently hit a wall because I've been overdoing it.

My best advice is to take a very hard look at life and cut out every expense that isn't a necessity, and use that saved income to be able to work less hours. I'm a single income household with 6 people total so it's hard. Kids need clothes and food, they don't need Netflix, cable, game subscriptions, designer bullchit. And they need their dad to live.

[gruntingnoises]

I got a set of dumbbells, and I work it in over lunch. Lunch is a protein shake and microwave steamed veggies that cook while I finish my last set.

Do you have to do it all at the gym? Any way you can save time by peeling off a few days for routines you can do at home or in the office?

[meloncap78]

Thanks for all of the input guys. It’s gotten worse and I put my notice in. I gave them a month. It has turned into consistent 14 hour nights. I am the operations manager of a food distribution warehouse and work overnights. When I first started this job 7 years ago it was consistently 5pm-1:30 sometimes earlier if we busted our butts. Over the years I worked my way up. Now we have been short staffed for over a year and the hours have grown longer. For awhile now it’s been 3:30-5:30, 6ish. When I put my notice in I stated that it was due to burnout and a lack of work life balance. The CFO requested a meeting with me so I obliged. His first question was “how much is it going to cost me to keep you onboard”. My answer was that it wasn’t about money but more about getting a life back for myself and the guys that I manage. I did mention that all of my guys have been killing it for over a year now and they along with myself are definitely worth more. He asked me to stick it out until the first of the year with the promise that it will get back to some sort of normal and agreed that work life balance is important. I think being an overnight shift makes it that much worse. He threw a few more dollars at me and I agreed. Unfortunately my management experience is specific to warehousing and every single warehouse management job I have looked at clearly states mandatory overtime. My salary is decent and I can easily survive on 40 hours but this is a situation where the hours I’m working are absolutely mandatory. I’m seeing the better end of 65 every week now. Another issue is callins constantly. I’ve almost walked a couple of times.

[GrouchyUSMC]

When my schedule gets insane (e.g. 12 hour shifts and no days off), I still keep up my schedule of 5-6 training days a week. The only difference is I reduce the time. Most days I'll workout for 60-90 minutes. During busy days, I stick to no more than 30 minutes.

Hit a main compound lift, maybe 1-2 accessory exercises, and get the hell out of there.

[PhDPepper1111]

Thanks for all of the input guys. It’s gotten worse and I put my notice in. I gave them a month. It has turned into consistent 14 hour nights. I am the operations manager of a food distribution warehouse and work overnights. When I first started this job 7 years ago it was consistently 5pm-1:30 sometimes earlier if we busted our butts. Over the years I worked my way up. Now we have been short staffed for over a year and the hours have grown longer. For awhile now it’s been 3:30-5:30, 6ish. When I put my notice in I stated that it was due to burnout and a lack of work life balance. The CFO requested a meeting with me so I obliged. His first question was “how much is it going to cost me to keep you onboard”. My answer was that it wasn’t about money but more about getting a life back for myself and the guys that I manage. I did mention that all of my guys have been killing it for over a year now and they along with myself are definitely worth more. He asked me to stick it out until the first of the year with the promise that it will get back to some sort of normal and agreed that work life balance is important. I think being an overnight shift makes it that much worse. He threw a few more dollars at me and I agreed. Unfortunately my management experience is specific to warehousing and every single warehouse management job I have looked at clearly states mandatory overtime. My salary is decent and I can easily survive on 40 hours but this is a situation where the hours I’m working are absolutely mandatory. I’m seeing the better end of 65 every week now. Another issue is callins constantly. I’ve almost walked a couple of times.

For some that is workable... for most, it's just too much. Quality of life impact and all that.
Sounds like you made a good decision for you.