A recent study analyzing data from the UK Biobank investigated whether the benefit diminishes depending on when you exercise. Approximately 90,000 healthy, middle-aged people were fitted with wrist bands that tracked their activities. Their activity levels were recorded for one week, with a particular focus on moderate to vigorous activities.
In the six years after the accelerometer assessment, the researchers found that people who regularly engaged in moderate to vigorous activity had fewer strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, and an irregular heart rhythm than sedentary people.
The new finding of this study was that people who did more than half of their activity on the weekend did not differ in results compared to those who spread it out over the week. Regardless of when, moderate-intensity physical activity was associated with improved heart health, regardless of time.
In the study, the authors termed “weekend warriors” those who do most of their 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per week for 1-2 days. This gives the impression of cyclists climbing mountains or middle-aged men playing grueling 90 minutes of football.
More than 37,000 people surveyed fit the definition of “weekend warrior.”
The relationship between exercise and heart health is simple: The more you exercise, the better your health will be. This study shows that doing some physical activity is better for your heart than inactivity, which is an important caveat for many people who can’t get 150 minutes of moderate activity a week.
According to the results of the study, there is no harm or difference in living a sedentary life from Monday to Friday and then making up for it by walking for an hour or more on Saturday and Sunday. If you can last 150 minutes without sweating, it doesn’t matter when you do it.
The findings of this study do not apply to more intense exercise, and if you have the opportunity to cycle to work on Tuesday or go swimming on Thursday, you should take it. Your heart will always reward you.
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