Participants spent 147.6 minutes exercising, which is approximately the 'entire recommendation for a week' in each session spread over a two-day period of Saturday and Sunday. (Photo: Freepik)
It has been established that exercise is crucial for the overall well-being of the body, along with healthy eating and a good sleep routine. It is advisable that one exercises every day, as movement can take care of a variety of problems ranging from bone and muscle pain to mood disorders and appetite issues. It can also help you deal with chronic diseases like diabetes and thyroid, and many cardiovascular disorders. But, given the hectic lives people have -- with demanding jobs and tight daily deadlines that require them to work for long hours -- it is often not possible to squeeze in an exercise routine every day. So, what can be done about it? Should one stop exercising completely? The answer is no. You simply have to find a day when the workload is easier, like a weekend, to do some stretching, yoga, running, jogging, walking, etc.
According to a new study, becoming a 'weekend warrior' is as good as exercising daily and meeting your fitness goals, if you are able to cover up for all the time lost doing other things in the weekdays.
According to a CNN report, the World Health Organization (WHO) and United States exercise guidelines for adults state that it is good to get 'at least 150 minutes each week of moderate physical activity', '75 minutes a week of vigorous physical activity' or a combination of both, along with some strength and flexibility training.
Corresponding author Lihua Zhang, a healthcare scientist at the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing was quoted as telling CNN: "The weekend warrior pattern is worth promoting in individuals who cannot meet the recommended frequency in current guidelines."
"Our results indicated there was no difference between the weekend warrior pattern and regularly active pattern in abdominal and general adiposity (fat)."
The only catch was, because study participants had to make up for all the time lost during the weekdays, it was found in the study that the average weekend warrior workout was of a 'higher intensity and longer duration' than weekday workouts.
Per the report, participants spent 147.6 minutes exercising, which is approximately the 'entire recommendation for a week' in each session spread over a two-day period of Saturday and Sunday.
The study was published earlier this week in the journal 'Obesity'. It analysed body fat on more than 9,600 people -- part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) -- between the ages of 20 and 59 years, using a 'dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry', or DXA scan, to measure overall levels of fat and belly fat.
"To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the associations between physical activity patterns and DXA-measured adipose (fat) tissue mass," Zhang told CNN.
Exercising has many benefits with some recent research proving that it can increase the life expectancy of an individual who is regular with it, provided they do not have other vices like alcohol dependency, smoking habits and poor lifestyle choices.
