A study revealed that people who engage in vigorous exercise primarily on weekends can achieve health benefits comparable to those who exercise regularly throughout the week, according to the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers recently analyzed health and physical activity data from approximately 93,000 adult participants in the UK Biobank.
Big Gains, Even in Small Time Windows
Researchers analyzed data from nearly 93,000 adults in the UK Biobank, one of the world’s largest health databases. Participants were grouped into three categories:
- Weekend exercisers: Those who pack most of their physical activity into one or two days.
- Regular exercisers: Those who spread workouts across the week.
- Inactive individuals: Those who exercised less than the recommended 150 minutes per week.
Both the regular and weekend exercise groups saw a significantly lower risk of death from heart disease, cancer, and other causes compared to the inactive group. But here’s the surprise: weekend warriors had slightly better outcomes.
The study showed that weekend exercisers reduced their risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 31%, while regular exercisers saw a 24% reduction. For cancer, the risk dropped 21% for weekend exercisers compared to 13% for regular ones. Overall mortality fell 32% and 26%, respectively.
It’s the Minutes That Matter—Not the Schedule
The research team explained that engaging in moderate-intensity physical activity for more than 150 minutes a week—whether done in one or two days or spread throughout the week—can significantly reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and other causes.
In other words, you don’t need to exercise daily to reap the health benefits; busy individuals can still achieve good health by concentrating their workouts on weekends or just a couple of days.
Experts suggest that just as doctors determine the appropriate dosage and frequency for medications, individuals should find the right frequency, duration, and intensity of exercise that suits them.
Most importantly, they emphasized that there is no significant difference in mortality reduction between exercising on weekends and spreading workouts throughout the week, so those who regularly exercise don’t need to switch to a weekend-only routine.
They also advised that patients with underlying heart conditions should avoid suddenly engaging in high-intensity physical activity, which could lead to injuries or worsen their health. Instead, they recommend gradually increasing their activity levels to meet the recommended exercise amounts.
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