‘Weekend Warriors’ Receive Similar Health Benefits as Regular Gym-Goers, Study Says

Turns out that procrastinating your exercise until the end of the week isn't all that bad.

If you've missed a few consecutive days at the gym, don't throw in your sweat towel yet. According to a new study , weekend warriors, or those who pack their weekly recommended 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise into one or two days of the week have comparable benefits to those who have a more consistent exercise pattern. The study came from researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and revealed that both patterns can reduce the risk of over 200 diseases.

“Here, we show the potential benefits of weekend warrior activity for risk not only of cardiovascular diseases, as we’ve shown in the past, but also future diseases spanning the whole spectrum, ranging from conditions like chronic kidney disease to mood disorders and beyond," said study co-senior author Shaan Khurshid, MD, MPH, in a press release .

The study involved almost 90,000 UK participants who wore wrist accelerometers for a week, recording their total physical activity and time spent at different exercise intensities. These participants were split into three groups: weekend warrior, regular, and inactive, based on recommended weekly physical activity guidelines .

The research team used the results to search for connections between the various activity levels and 678 conditions, spanning 16 different diseases among a wide array of categories, including everything from cardiovascular and mental health to neurological conditions.

Need extra motivation to get moving ? The study found that both the regular and weekend warrior groups had substantially lower risks of 264 diseases when compared to the inactive group.

Cardiometabolic conditions had the strongest links. Hypertension (high blood pressure) and diabetes were among these conditions and had the highest percentages of reduced risks among the weekend warrior and regular groups.

"Our findings were consistent across many different definitions of weekend warrior activity, as well as other thresholds used to categorize people as active,” Khurshid said in the press release. “Because there appears to be similar benefits for weekend warrior versus regular activity, it may be the total volume of activity, rather than the pattern, that matters most."

So, regardless if you decide to do all two and a half hours of exercise on a Saturday or try exercise "snacking" and spread it out throughout the week, you will receive similar health benefits.

“Patients should be encouraged to engage in guideline-adherent physical activity using any pattern that may work best for them," Khurshid said.

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