Weekend Warriors": Why When You Exercise Might Not Be As Important

I've personally always preferred to spread my workouts out over the course of the week, ideally 3 runs and 3 circuit sessions a week, but usually I only manage the runs, that's just life.

However in terms of health benefits it turns out that if you were to cram all your exercise into just the weekend, it's the same as spreading it out!

There are plenty of so-called 'weekend warriors' out there, simply because modern life can make it difficult to fit in workouts during the week. I know this from experience, it can be grim heading to the gym before or after work.

What the Latest Research Shows

A relatively recent study from the UK, recently featured in the media, tracked over 300,000 people with wrist accelerometers and tracked their health outcomes for eight years. The findings were that those who achieved the recommended 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week, even if it was bunched up on one or two days, were just as likely to reduce their risk of early death as those who exercised every day of the week.

Statistically, "weekend warriors" were 31% less likely to have died of cancer, 31% less likely to have died of heart disease, and 32% less likely to have died of any cause than sedentary people. Dividing workouts into a number of days did not provide extra benefit—what mattered most was the total amount of activity.

Supporting Evidence from Other Studies

These findings are in line with previous research. In 2017, a study in JAMA Internal Medicine discovered the same results: individuals who exercised vigorously on one or two days a week experienced substantial declines in all-cause mortality compared to those who exercised not at all. Researchers determined that it is the cumulative volume of exercise—not frequency—that matters most to health.

The American Heart Association and the World Health Organization advise a minimum of 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity, for example, cycling or brisk walking. They note that it can be built up in various ways to fit into individual lives as long as the total is reached.

Final thoughts...

This is good to know: my own schedule also makes it difficult to fit workouts in some days during the week, or weekend, but I can relax a bit knowing this and just do longer workouts 2 days a week if need be.

HOWEVER, I'm not sure this would apply if one is trying to exercise for performance? Then again I'm getting a bit old now to worry about that, really exercise is just for feeling good and being healthy!

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