A couple of years ago Outside magazine published It’s OK to Be a Weekend Warrior, which reported on new research that suggested exercising only once or twice a week could deliver similar health benefits as more frequent workouts.
“An investigation by an international group of researchers, published in JAMA Internal Medicine this summer, found that when it comes to longevity, exercising only on the weekend is enough to compensate for a sedentary lifestyle during the rest of the week as long as you meet the recommended guidelines for level of physical activity—a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity. This confirms research conducted in the UK in 2017 that came to a similar conclusion about weekend warriors, albeit in a smaller study. The new study analyzed data from 350,978 adults in the U.S. who self-reported their physical activity on an annual basis from 1997 to 2013. Based on the frequency, intensity, and duration of their exercise, individuals were classified as physically inactive or physically active, and those in the active group were either dubbed “weekend warriors” or “regularly active.” Researchers cross-referenced the National Death Index through December 31, 2015 to track participant mortality.”
More recently this piece appeared in The Conversation, Being a ‘weekend warrior’ could be as good for brain health as exercising throughout the week, new study shows.
“The health benefits of exercise – which include reduced risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and dementia – can seem out of reach due to the pressures of work and life. But a new study published in the journal Nature Aging offers some good news for people who struggle to fit regular exercise into their weekday schedules. The findings suggest “weekend warriors” – those who get most of their exercise on the weekend – may enjoy the same brain health and mental health benefits as those who exercise regularly throughout the week.”
Yay! Good news for the weekend warriors!
And more recently I read and liked this Telegraph article about five ways your weekend good habits could make up for your weekday struggle. Yes, exercise, but also catching up on sleep and cooking at home.
Me, I’m more likely than not to be the weekday warrior. When I am in my normal groove, my everyday routine includes lots of physical activity. I walk or bike to work. I go to physio and personal training. I lift weights. And I zoom around virtual worlds in Zwift. Sometimes I even make it to yoga.
But the weekend, if we’re away, and we’re often away, can be less active. I walk at the farm when we’re there but that’s no particularly high intensity exercise and there’s sedentary time in the car getting there. Toronto, same. Weekends in the city are great for lots of walking but I don’t do much else by way of exercise.
How about you? Are you a weekend or weekday warrior, or just an all the time, exercise person?
Past posts on this theme:
Thank goodness for my telework days – if not for them I would just need to do my best on the weekend, though I don’t think I could get to 150 minutes in two days.
I’m an all the time warrior–love the image you found! Though I do not workout in such a fabulous outfit as that.
Maybe we should!