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Training · 13 Oct 2026 · 6 min read

Training Around 12-Hour Shifts

Where the session goes, how long it is, and what to do when you've got nothing left.

A twelve-hour shift eats the whole day. Add travel, a handover that overruns and the drive home, and you've got maybe two useful hours. The mistake is trying to fit a normal training week into them. Here's how I fit a shift-worker's week instead.

Where the session goes

  • Day shift: straight after, before you sit down. Once you're on the sofa it's over.
  • Night shift: late afternoon before you leave, short and controlled.
  • Rest day: the big one. Heavy lower body, full push or pull, the session you actually look forward to.
  • Changeover day: a walk. Don't try to be a hero on four hours' sleep.

How long it is

Thirty to forty-five minutes on a shift day. Sixty to seventy-five on a rest day. Twelve minutes when that's all there is. The 12-minute station EMOM exists because some days twelve minutes is the honest answer, and twelve minutes done beats sixty minutes planned.

What to do when you've got nothing left

Scale, don't skip. The question is never 'do I train today?' It's 'what's the smallest version of training I can do today?' Sometimes the answer is the full session. Sometimes it's a walk round the block in uniform. Both keep the habit alive, and the habit is the thing that gets results.

A simple weekly target

  • Three sessions a week is the target.
  • Four is a bonus.
  • Two is still a win.
  • Zero is the only number that counts as a bad week, and even then next week starts fresh.

Work harder. Live better.

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