Let’s face it—our lives are crazy busy with work and family commitments, plus our occasional desire to simply sit still and do nothing or binge on Netflix. So it is easy to see how sometimes workouts are the first thing to get booted from our daily to do list. But what if you could get some exercise in, only just on the weekends, and still reap the health benefits?
The Weekend Workout Is Better Than None. Certainly it is not ideal if your cardio and strength training is regulated to Saturday and Sunday only, but don’t beat yourself up over it. If you can pack the recommended weekly dose of 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, or 150 minutes of moderate exercise into two days, a recent JAMA study said that may be ok. The study showed that those who exercised only on the weekends had a 40 percent lower risk of death due to cardiovascular disease, a 30 percent lower risk of overall death and 18 percent lower risk of death due to cancer than people who didn’t exercise at all.
You Aren’t The Only Weekend Warrior. The reality is anywhere from one to three percent of the population tries to compress a week’s worth of exercise into their two-day weekend. That is what a 2007 study published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise discovered. What’s more, many Americans aren’t engaging in the recommended regular amount of exercise each week to begin with, according to President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition. The truth is, only about one third of Americans are living up to the workout guidelines of 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week (about 20 minutes each day).
There May Be Downsides To Weekend-Only Workouts. The JAMA study only looked at mortality, not how weekend-only workouts impacted other areas of health such as blood pressure and diabetes or weight control and depression. What’s more, the level of injury risk also wasn’t focused on in the study. Many people that leave exercise only for the weekends tend to do more intense activities and more sports-related exercise that can carry a higher risk for injury. Looking for some exercises to jumpstart your workout? Check out this previous post’s suggestions.
Having a workout partner and a place to workout together is important to maintaining a consistent workout schedule. Talk to the training staff at Shapes Womens Fitness Centers to see how we can help put a plan together that will keep you on schedule.