Training & Nutrition - Training with a physical job

This is a topic I feel has not been given much attention in the mainstream training literature: training enough to be competitive while holding a physically laborious job.

In college I was riding 16-20 hours a week and managed to upgrade to Cat 3 in two seasons; last August I graduated and signed up for a year of service with AmeriCorps, wherein my day-to-day tasks involve a heavy amount of walking, digging, lifting, and general physical work. I have been attempting to maintain a 8-10hr/week training schedule, but even this is a struggle as given the nature of the work I perform, I am often left too exhausted at the end of the day to perform any beneficial training. A weekend, such as this one, where my off-days are stormed out, I can pretty much kiss any hope of meeting my goals goodbye and resign myself to running and indoor rock climbing.

Has anyone here successfully maintained a training regimen while holding a manual labor job? How did you go about it?

Has anyone here successfully maintained a training regimen while holding a manual labor job? How did you go about it? By resting, a lot.

For years, I worked as a janitorial supervisor that involved providing a good example of "cleaning up" in front of the crews I supervised. I spent several hours or more per day mopping and sweeping floors as well as considerable movement of trash etc......

While I was doing this, I manged to train for and complete a sub 3 hour marathon as well as developing the ability to ride a sub 5 hour century.

The key to maintaining training was dedicating time to resting directly before specific exercise sessions. I would often try and lay down for a half hour before an evening run or ride. I would bike commute as often as possible. And above all, I would take the time to snack and eat the best possible foods all day long.