Training for IRONMAN on Shift Work, Carbon Plate Race Shoes & Swim Training in a Small Pool | Ep 600 · Oxygenaddict Triathlon Podcast · Radar

Q&A: Shift-Work Training & Small-Pool Swimming3:36 – 12:39

3:36

Okay, then let's jump into these questions.

3:38

So first up, questions from Dan Potter.

3:42

Dan says, Hi, Coach Rob.

3:44

I just wanted to say thank you so much for the podcast.

3:46

It's your podcast that has put me on the path to wanting to complete an Ironman coming from a strength-based background.

3:52

I've learned so much from your content already.

3:55

When I hit enter on the Ironman, I'll likely give you a call.

3:58

Well, that's awesome, Dan.

3:59

Thanks very much.

3:59

I appreciate that.

4:00

And I look forward to hearing from you.

4:02

He then goes on to say, I've got two questions, neither of which I've heard you cover on the podcast I've listened to so far.

4:08

So any help would be great.

4:10

I don't work your typical nine to five Monday to Friday with weekends off.

4:14

Most of the plans I've seen cater for that type of week.

4:17

In short, I do four days on, four days off and the latter two are night shifts, meaning my first day off, I'll end up sleeping for half the day.

4:26

My question is, do you recommend I follow more of an eight day micro cycle in line with my work commitments or stick to the seven day that most programs are programmed to? If you would recommend the eight-day cycle, how would you go about scheduling a recovery day? Right, so let's deal with this first.

4:45

So I've got experience of working with people like this in the past.

4:48

Typically firemen and emergency service workers tend to have similar schedules to this.

4:54

Also working with doctors and people in the medical profession where...

4:58

It might not even be a regular eight-day cycle.

5:01

It might just be completely random and night shifts get thrown in there.

5:05

And that's the first thing to address.

5:07

So I actually think the decision as to whether to follow an eight-day or a seven-day cycle is entirely down to the athlete.

5:14

The most important thing to address is the recovery from the night shifts.