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“The weekend warrior pattern is worth promoting in individuals who cannot meet the recommended frequency in current guidelines,” says study author Lihua Zhang. She says this is good news for office workers and others who sit for large amounts of time during the work day. “Those people are struggling to catch up in their exercise plan in daily life to offset the hazard of a sedentary lifestyle, but have less free time to get to the gym,” she explains, adding that fitting all the fitness in on the weekends gives them an alternative for staying fit.
KEY POINTS:
·Lots of people struggle to find time to exercise during the work week, but a new study finds they can get similar benefits with weekend-only workouts.
·The key is hitting the recommended exercise guidelines of 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity a week.
·Those who cram all that fitness into two weekend days can lose just as much weight as those who exercise daily, according to the study.