A “weekend warrior” is that individual who does almost all of his exercising over the two-day weekend. He or she may be participating in a soccer or softball league, cycling or running club, or many other venues of physical activity over two consecutive days. While this exercise pattern does not meet the recommended physical activity guidelines of frequency throughout the week, and often exceeds the recommended duration for any one bout of exercise, studies still show there are benefits. There are a few studies evaluating this exercise pattern and so far here is what we know. The male weekend warrior pattern was associated with lower rates of premature death (death before the age of 65), compared with being sedentary (inactive); but, only among men who had no other cardiovascular risk factors.* The caution here is that men with cardiovascular risk factors probably need a more frequent exercise pattern of 4 to 5 days per week in order to reduce their risk factors for premature cardiovascular death.
Another randomized study showed that previously untrained middle-aged participants who had the "weekend warrior" pattern for volume of exercise (total time spent in activity), gained similar improvements in cardio-respiratory fitness compared with those who participated in similar activities, similar volume of exercise, and similar intensity of exercise but in a pattern meeting the physical activity recommendation of 30 minutes 5 days a week. This is good news for the "weekend warrior"!
Another pattern of exercise is called interval training. This involves varying the exercise intensity within a single bout of exercise. Interval training is characterized by varying the intensity at fixed intervals during a single exercise bout which, in turn, can increase the total volume of exercise and/or the average exercise intensity. Interval training has long been used in trained athletes to improve cardiovascular performance but studies reveal that short-term interval training of 3 months or less resulted in similar or greater improvements in cardio-respiratory fitness and in cardio-metabolic biomarkers in healthy adults as well as persons with metabolic, cardiac, or pulmonary disease.
Another interval training study of healthy but untrained men found that interval running was more effective than sustained running of similar duration (150 minutes per week) for improving cardio-respiratory fitness and blood glucose concentration. However, it was less effective in improving resting heart rate, body composition, and the ratio of total cholesterol to HDH. Further studies are needed in more diverse populations and to fully discover the best combinations of rest intervals, intensity, and exercise duration.
Conclusions
These studies continue to reinforce that being active is the key to improved health and quality of life. See our blog on Exercise Intensity for more on the importance of intensity and even the importance of avoiding long periods of being sedentary throughout any one day. Breaking up long periods of sitting or being sedentary plays an important role in building healthy bodies!
*Cardio-vascular risk factors include the following eight: hypertension, abnormal blood cholesterol, tobacco use, family history, pre-diabetes (fating glucose of 100-125 on two separate occasions), sedentary lifestyle, obesity, and age (males ages 45 and older, females ages 55 and older).
American College of Sports Medicine. (2011). Quantity and Quality of Exercise for Developing and Maintaining Cardiorespiratory, Musculoskeletal, and Neuromotor Fitness in Apparently Healthy Adults: Guidance for Prescribing Exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 43(7), 1334-1359.
