If All You Can Do is Be A Weekend Warrior, Your Heart Will Thank You

The official recommendation of achieving at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week is associated with lower risk of adverse cardiovascular events and represents an important public health priority. Many people have schedules that make it difficult to get to the gym or work out at home during the work week and may only be able to exercise on the weekends, so called "weekend warriors". 

 

Although physical activity commonly follows a “weekend warrior” pattern, in which The impact of following a "weekend warrior" pattern of exercise across a range of diseases is unknown but a new study examined the outcomes of this group. 

The researchers examined associations between physical activity patterns and incidence of 678 medical conditions in 89,573 participants (63 years of age; 56% women) of the UK Biobank prospective cohort study who wore an accelerometer for 1 week between June 2013 and December 2015. The accelerometer measured movement and made it possible to examine how much exercise was done on a daily basis, weekday versus weekends. 

The three groups identified were:

1. Inactive: Less than 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per week.
2. Weekend warriors: At least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per week, mostly over 1 or 2 days.
3. Regular activity: At least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per week, spread more evenly throughout the week.

When compared to inactive (<150 minutes moderate-to-vigorous physical activity/week), both weekend warrior and regular activity broadly associated with lower risk of over 200 diseases.

 

The strongest benefits were observed for cardiometabolic conditions such as incident hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and sleep apnea.

 

For example, weekend warrior and regular exercise were associated with 23% and 28% lower risk of high blood pressure, respectively, and a 43% and 46% lower risk of diabetes.

 

When weekend warrior and regular activity were compared directly, there were no conditions for which effects differed significantly. 

Achievement of the recommended amount of time each week exercising was associated with a lower risk for >200 diseases.

 

Associations appear similar whether physical activity follows a weekend warrior pattern or is spread more evenly throughout the week.

 

Here are a few tips to get more minutes of exercise into your week:

• Walk more during the day (parking farther away than you have to, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, etc.).
• Do a quick 5- to 10-minute workout before you start your day.
• Take short exercise breaks throughout your day—bust out a few squats while you're waiting for your coffee to brew, for instance.
• When planning family time or get-togethers with friends, plan hikes or walks, museum visits, mini golf games, or anything else that gets you moving.