If your best time to exercise is on the weekend, you might wonder if it’s OK to slack off for the rest of the week. The answer is yes, but only if you’re packing a full week’s exercise into those two days. And that comes with its own problems.
Photo by Pete Nowicki.
The good news, from a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine earlier this year, is that people had a 30 per cent lower mortality risk if they got at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, per week, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise like running. That was true whether subjects exercised throughout the week or crammed all their workouts into one or two sessions.
But there are problems with the “weekend warrior” approach. One is that going five days between workouts is going to make it hard to consistently build up strength or skills. And then when it’s time to work out, your Saturday session might leave you too sore or tired to put in a good effort on Sunday.
So if you’re looking for a good workout schedule when you’re busy all week, consider the approach marathoners use. They do one long run on the weekend to challenge themselves, and then shorter runs throughout the week to keep up fitness. You could do the same with fitness classes, bike rides, gym sessions, or whatever exercise you find fun.
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