New research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association shows that getting your weekly exercise in just one or two days – often called being a “weekend warrior” – can offer the same health benefits as spreading activity across the week.
If the activity is moderate to vigorous and adds up to at least 150 minutes per week, it can help lower the risk of death from heart disease, cancer, and other causes.
The study was led by Dr. Zhi-Hao Li and a team from Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China.
They wanted to find out whether the pattern of physical activity throughout the week matters for long-term health. The results are encouraging for people with busy schedules who find it hard to exercise every day.
The World Health Organization and the American Heart Association both recommend adults get 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week, or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise.
To examine the impact of exercise patterns, researchers looked at data from over 93,000 adults in the UK Biobank study. Participants wore wrist accelerometers that tracked their movement over seven days between 2013 and 2015. These devices provided accurate records of physical activity levels.
The study grouped participants into three categories: weekend warriors (who did most of their weekly activity in one or two days), active regulars (who exercised across the week), and inactive (who didn’t meet the weekly activity goal).
The findings showed that both weekend warriors and active regulars had significantly lower risks of death from all causes, heart disease, and cancer compared to inactive people.
Specifically, weekend warriors had a 32% lower risk of death from any cause, a 31% lower risk from cardiovascular disease, and a 21% lower risk from cancer. Active regulars had a 26% lower risk of death from any cause, 24% lower from heart disease, and 13% lower from cancer.
Interestingly, the researchers found no big difference between weekend warriors and active regulars. This shows that how exercise is spread out over the week may matter less than the total amount of exercise you get.
Keith Diaz, an expert from Columbia University who wasn’t involved in the study, said this is good news for people who only have time to be active on weekends.
However, he cautioned that packing all 150 minutes into a day or two might increase the risk of injuries, especially muscle or joint problems. To avoid this, he recommends warm-ups and slowly building up exercise levels over time.
The study had some limits. Most participants were white and living in the UK, so the results might not apply to all populations. Also, physical activity was only measured once, not over a long time. Future studies should include more diverse groups and consider other factors like genetics and environment.
Still, this research sends a hopeful message: any exercise, even in just a couple of days, is better than none – and can make a real difference in living longer and staying healthier.
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The study is published in Journal of the American Heart Association.
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