Weekend Warrior vs. Daily Exercise: Which Is Best for Cardiovascular Health

Staying in shape is a big commitment that propels you towards a workout routine but working at least 150 minutes per week can help cut your risk of atrial fibrillation or stroke. You can split these 150 minutes equally across a week or can concentrate on the weekend, only. This means you can join the weekend Warriors team.

Overview

Are you searching for effective workout ways that may consume less time but prove best for your heart health? Although daily exercises and a workout routine are essential to maintain your overall health and also benefit your heart health, studies support that weekend warrior activities are also associated with substantial reductions in the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Researchers have found that both weekend warriors and regular exercises were linked to a lower risk of around 200 diseases. 

Studies also suggest that weekend warriors reap many of the same health benefits as people who exercise daily. Comparison between weekend warriors and regular exercises have led us to the conclusion that getting at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week is directly linked with a lower risk of heart disease and improved health. 

A team of cardiac electrophysiologists has published their research in a medical journal, according to the research, concentrated activity patterns result in similar benefits as the activity is performed regularly. It is obvious that the benefits of being a weekend warrior aren’t limited to cardiovascular diseases alone. Studies have claimed this weekend that warriors also get benefits for their brain health. More than 70,000 participants were studied in a research center to evaluate the benefits of weekend warriors on overall health and the results showed that weekend warriors also had a significantly lower risk of nervous disorders, such as depression, anxiety, dementia, or Parkinson’s disease as compared to those who exercised less than 150 minutes a week. Experts suggest that it is best to get your physical activity in however and whenever you can because it is not the pattern but it is the overall volume of physical activity that matters.

What are Weekend Warriors?

A weekend warrior is one who reaps the benefits of an entire week’s worth of exercises in just a couple of days. The exercises performed in the two days of the week can cover all 150 minutes required to do the exercise necessary for decreasing your AFIB and stroke risks. Weekend warriors were found with a 30% lower risk of heart attack while the same risk was found more than 40% lower in those who stick to their exercise routine throughout the week. 

However, it is confirmed that physical activity, no matter which pattern, has always been associated with good heart health. The Center for Heart Health and Disease Control has suggested that 150 minutes of physical activity throughout the week is good for heart health. However, the source also supported the theory that a person can cram an entire week’s worth of workout into a couple of days. 

In addition, studies also recommend that a certain level of fitness is required to reap the health benefits of being a weekend warrior to avoid injury. Researchers analyzed the differences between weekend warriors and daily exercises including inactive people and the people who spread 150 minutes of exercise over a week or two days a week. The results concluded that you don’t need to spread your physical activity over the week. This finding is near to the most probable results of what you would expect to find about weekend warriors’ benefits for heart health. Physical trainers and fitness experts have concluded from the comparison analysis that people imagine that they should spread it out, this result might help people understand, that if they have more time during the weekend, they may achieve a little more.

More Recommendations of Doctors about Heart Health and Exercise

Most doctors suggest that you should do it simply. Therefore, it is best to find a form of exercise that you like, considering different options like cycling, jogging, walking, running, swimming, or dancing. This step helps you to stick with a routine. Another good idea is to set realistic goals. For example, you can start with achievable targets and gradually increase the duration and intensity as your fitness level improves. The next step is to create a schedule for when you’ll workout and recruit your friends along with mixing up your workouts to prevent boredom. 

A physiologist says that he continued to study the perks of weekend-only exercise. The results motivated him for future studies of physical activity interventions delivered in a concentrated fashion, which may be more practical and efficient.

How are Weekend Warriors as Beneficial as Daily Exercises?

Although there are no studies to find out why this was the case. But researchers just discovered a link between the two. Doctors also say that 150 minutes exercise is beneficial no matter if it is spread over the week or restricted to a couple of days only. The thing that matters is performing moderate-intensity exercises for achieving good health levels. 

Modern research has found that efforts to improve physical activity, even if concentrated within one to two days of a week, may be beneficial for cardiovascular risks. Heart health experience at the Department of Disease Control in the US. The laboratory said that it seems that it is the total volume of physical activity, rather than the pattern, that matters a lot. The findings also indicate that you need to do two 75-minute workouts over the weekend or some variation of that to have good heart health. In other words, exercise as a whole is essential for cardiovascular health, and it may simply be the case no matter when you do it. It impacts your heart and blood vessels in a positive way. Regular physical activity strengthens your heart muscles, increases good cholesterol (HDL), decreases bad cholesterol (LDL), and lowers your blood pressure. 

Moreover, no matter when you do it, exercises can help you enhance your ability to use oxygen efficiently, maintain a healthy weight, and improve your blood circulation as well.

However, a group of researchers pointed out there are a few limitations linked to the study to be aware of. First is that if you were only tracked over a week, and you may have adjusted your behavior during that time, the second is that the accuracy of how vigorously you exercised could be tough to measure. But there are still more studies that suggest that working out on weekends is as effective as exercising all the talk. 

In addition, a study involving more than three hundred thousand people has revealed that there are very little differences in mortality risks from all causes, or from cancer or cardiovascular diseases in weekend warriors vs. those who hit the gym during the whole week.

How Weekend Warriors Lowered AFIB Risk?

According to a study involving more than 50,000 people taken from the UK Bio-bank, concentrated and spread-out exercises were associated with lower cardiovascular risk. The study had participants wearing wrist accelerometers that can record physical activity for a week. 

Results showed that the risk of heart attack was 30% lower for weekend warriors and 40% lower for those who spread their exercise over the weekdays.

The study also concluded that the risk of heart failure was 35% lower and 34% lower for regular exercisers. Moreover, the risk of atrial fibrillation was 25% and 22% lower, and for stroke, it was 20 and 18% lower respectively. Doctors said that this is similar to taking cholesterol-lowering medication and this is huge, no doubt.

Intensity of Workouts for Weekend Warriors

You may take the term weekend warrior as a really intense one and maybe off-put if you don’t want to do extreme exercise. But the good news is that you don’t need to push yourself to the limits to achieve maximum results. 

Physical fitness doesn’t need to count every single minute of exercise. So, when you hear the term weekend warrior, you may imagine yourself doing a 15-mile run. But it doesn’t have to be a 15-mile run, you should only look at the activity across the whole day. In other words, it means you can be active in different watts and still reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Ultimate Benefits of Being a Weekend Warrior

If you’re short on time throughout the week, the weekend warrior schedule is great for you in order to reap cardiovascular benefits. Studies find that it is possible to achieve heart health when physical activity is packed into a shorter amount of time. If your daily schedule prohibits you from exercising daily, this workout plan can have similar positive effects for you.

In addition, you can derive comparable protection from cardiovascular diseases from exercise, no matter if you’re a weekend warrior or someone who spreads out your activity throughout the week. 

Doctors used to recommend spreading out exercise throughout the week but the results of many studies tell you that concentrating it on weekends when you have more free time, is also an effective recommendation, especially if this pattern is more feasible for your busy lifestyle.

Important Tips to Get Started with Weekend Warrior Workout

As a weekend warrior, you don’t need to follow a particular trend or specific type of exercise. But you just need to find the time in your busy life and schedule to engage yourself in some physical activity. 

Here are some tips to jump start your fitness goals as a weekend warrior, no matter how you get started with your physical activity.

Create an Effective Workout routine that Suits You. A famous professor of fitness psychology said that as a weekend warrior you should get out and exercise to the best of your ability in a manner that proves exciting and enjoyable for you. Physical fitness experts a; so emphasized that weekend warriors must have a routine that can work best for them. 

These statements explain that if you are experiencing a shortage of time to exercise during the whole week but have opportunities to enjoy playing games on the weekends, then lean into that. Don’t follow other people because the thing that can work for them may not be suitable for you. Thus, it is good to get out there and just do the best you can to achieve your own goals.

Listen to Your Body

Being an elite athlete is not a condition for being a weekend warrior. This doesn’t mean that you need to put more strain on your body in a shorter period. You always should focus on your own fitness level and medical history. Studies showed that there is no association between an increased risk of musculoskeletal injuries and weekend warrior workout routine. However, you should follow some caution in this regard.

Thus, listening to your body is a thing of common sense. Physical trainers and fitness experts often recommend that you should get out and try to exercise on two days of week that can match the physical activity of 150 minutes without straining your muscles. You can ramp up your activity gradually and in a manner that can suit your body and routine.

Get Friends and Family Involved

Researchers usually support the people who undertake a new routine to get friends and family involved as well. This means you need to search for methods to motivate yourself to get out and do some physical exercise. 

The most effective method is to bring in family and loved ones to get yourself to do shared activities and make it a fun and enjoyment source. Involving more family members in your workout routine will result in greater engagement and participation along with better outcomes for your efforts.

Thus it is concluded that bringing your friends or family members for a group weekend warrior workout class could be the perfect way to have fun, get exercise, and bond strongly.

Don’t Look for the  Instant Outcomes

It is a common behavior that when you start a new routine, you surely start to focus on a specific outcome, like a weight loss goal or getting lean muscles. But experts say that this kind of thinking can cause irritating problems and ultimately you stop your workout due to disappointments.

In addition, thinking about winning or losing is really associated with anxiety that most athletes usually experience. People often develop a tendency to quit, when they fail to meet their expectations. Thus, it is suggested that focusing on thinking about your physical activity positively, like considering it a fun activity or an enjoyable;e task, can help you follow a weekend warrior workout routine without anxiety. 

Limit Sedentary Lifestyle

Sitting for a long time like watching TV, working at a computer, or just relaxing can limit the calorie burning. A sedentary lifestyle can also lead to deleterious health outcomes, including cardiovascular risks and early death. Thus, even if you are doing regular exercise, you need to be mindful of how much time you spend doing sentry activity.

Conclusion

Getting your recommended 150-minute workout power week over the course of the weekend rather than spreading it out through the whole week, is referred to as a weekend warrior routine. Individuals who prefer being a weekend warrior instead of daily exercise can reap many of the same health benefits as those who follow the traditional daily exercise routine. Improved heart health is the most prominent feature of weekend warriors and daily exercise routines. These flexible alternative exercises are good for those who have a tough busy schedule and experience difficulty in finding enough time to exercise during the week.