Feel bad about exercising only on weekends? Don’t.
Too busy to keep active during the week? Are you a weekend warrior – a person who takes part in physical activity only during weekends? No need to feel guilty anymore. According to findings published in ‘JAMA Internal Medicine’, people who only exercise on the weekend benefit almost as much as those who do so more often throughout the week. Results showed that people who are physically active on weekends only or more often have lower mortality rates than the inactive.
Keep at it, weekend warriors
“This is good news considering that the weekend warrior physical activity pattern may be a more convenient option for many people to achieve the recommended levels of physical activity,” study co-author Leandro Rezende, adjunct professor of epidemiology in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Federal University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, told ‘CNN’. Researchers tracked more than 350 000 adults in the United States over a 10-year period. They compared the results of weekend warriors (people who exercise in one or two sessions) with those who exercised more regularly. “The findings of this large prospective cohort study underscore that regular physical activity has been associated with lower risks of all-cause and cause-specific mortality compared with physical inactivity,” the paper states. “Most importantly, these findings suggest that whether the recommended amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity is spread out during the week or concentrated into fewer days, there may be no significant difference in health benefits. For people with fewer opportunities for daily or regular physical activity during their work week, these findings are important.”
Just do it
The World Health Organization guidelines on physical activity recommend that adults should get at least 150 minutes of exercise a week, such as going for a walk or cycling, regardless if it’s during the week or on the weekend. An alternative is to do 75 minutes of vigorous activity, like running or swimming. So, don’t feel guilty for lounging on the sofa after a busy weekday schedule. Just remember to fit in a workout on the weekends when you have the time and energy. As for excuses, Dana Santas told ‘CNN’ that she has heard a few as a mobility, breathing and mind-body coach for professional athletes around the world: “Understandably, they don’t want to sacrifice much-needed sleep by getting up early or lose invaluable family dinner time by going to the gym right after work. Those are valid concerns as we all need sleep to function. And family dinners not only represent quality time but also increase the odds of eating healthy as opposed to grabbing fast food.” Even though the study is awesome news for people with busy schedules, the best-selling author and international speaker advised: “Bodies are designed for movement. Being sedentary all week long could increase susceptibility to injury if you go too hard in your weekend workouts.”
Keywords
exercise, physical activity, weekend warrior, weekend, workouts
