Weekend Warrior Exercise
Often when I counsel my patients on exercise recommendations from the American Heart Association, I am met with a scoff and an eye roll. It’s not because my patients don’t want to exercise - most people readily acknowledge how much better they feel, both mentally and physically, when they get into a regular exercise routine. Rather, the response comes as a skeptical ‘sure, I totally have time for that’ reflex. Trying to find 30 minutes in a day between commute, work, helping the kids with homework, transporting to various sports and after school activities, figuring out dinner, prepping for the next day, and finally getting to that load of laundry that has sat in the washer now for so long it needs to get re-washed (just me?) is daunting if not impossible.
The good news is that recent studies show that meeting the goal of 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week over 1-2 days offers similar health benefits compared to spreading that exercise out over 5-6 days! Doing this pattern of exercise that concentrates physical activity into one or two days on the weekend is known as a weekend warrior workout. An example might be an hour of cardio Saturday morning - running, biking, swimming - with a strength training session later in the day - body weight exercises, pilates, weight lifting etc. Then on Sunday, 30-60 minutes of activity like hiking or tennis, followed by a light activity such as yoga.
Rather than stress about trying to squeeze in a work out on a packed week day, thereby counteracting the stress relieving benefits of exercise, plan out a weekend warrior workout! Mix up your work outs to keep them interesting, and choose activities that you enjoy for the positive reinforcement. If you are just starting an exercise routine after a long hiatus, start light and gradually increase intensity over time. Remember that about 80% of your exercise should be done at a light or moderate intensity. If it hurts to exercise, you might be doing something wrong or just need to pull back the intensity for a bit! Remember to stretch, remember to hydrate, remember to refuel with healthy foods, and of course remember to have fun!
Now get moving this weekend!!
