Weekend Warrior Workouts Can Cut the Risk of Over 200 Diseases
Good news for time-pressed: being a “weekend warrior” might be just as effective as daily exercise in keeping you healthy in general, researchers say. In a September study, they found that squeezing all your weekly exercise into one or two days may be just as effective as spreading the workouts throughout the week. The two forms of exercise will reduce the chances of acquiring more than 200 diseases such as heart conditions, diabetes, and mental health disorders, according to researchers.
What is a ‘Weekend Warrior’?
The term “weekend warrior” refers to individuals who pack all their recommended exercise into one or two days rather than spreading it out. This style of exercise has been a point of debate in the fitness world can working out intensely on the weekend be as effective as consistent daily exercise?
According to this new study, the answer is yes. Both weekend warriors and steady exercisers had a similar reduction in the risk of developing a wide range of diseases.
Study Findings
The study was undertaken within the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Cardiac Arrhythmias. Data from approximately 90,000 participants in the UK Biobank was used for the study. The participants were then analyzed based on one week of activity-tracking from their wrist devices. We classified the participants into either steady exercisers or weekend warriors according to the pattern with which they reached the adequate moderate-to-vigorous activity level of 150 minutes per week, or inactive.
Compared to the inactive, weekend warriors as well as steady exercisers had drastically reduced risks of contracting 264 diseases.
In a case where instances
The risk of high blood pressure by 23% among weekend warriors, while that of steady exercisers had their risk reduced to 28%.
Both lowered the risk of diabetes by 43% and 46%, respectively. The researchers concluded that total volume was the most important feature: not frequency, but rather volume. Why Exercise Matters for Disease Prevention
Results in this study indicate that regular participation in physical activity is the most important aspect for prevention of cardiometabolic diseases, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Weekend warriors reap all the health benefits of steady exercisers by consistently engaging in exercise activities which improve heart health, manage blood sugar levels, and enhance general mental and overall well-being.
According to co-senior researcher of the study, Dr. Shaan Khurshid, “physical activity is generally good for reducing the risk of future diseases.” He said that the findings of the study indicate it does not matter how often one exercises but the amount of activity that one engages in per week.
How Much Activity?
New guideline recommendations now state at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity a week, which translates to the old adage of doing 20 to 30 minutes a day over several days. However, according to this research, an individual doesn’t necessarily have to do daily exercise; exercising only on the weekends may achieve the same results.
The Takeaway
For someone with a quite hectic lifestyle, results from this study are promising. Within a week, a person can either spread out his or her workouts as the day goes by or pack them within one or two days; but in any case, it is always of essence to ensure one hits the recommended physical activity in a moderate to vigorous activity of 150 minutes a week. Both “weekend warriors” and steady exercisers can enjoy reduced disease risk, good heart health, and overall well-being.
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