2023-07-20 22:36:00
MADRID.– “I don’t have time”, we usually say. It seems that time is one of the most scarce commodities in this performance society, which pushes us towards a very busy lifestyle. This argument fills many conversations between friends, family or work colleagues, with the feeling that they need to juggle 24 hours a day to try to reach all professional and personal commitments.
“I don’t have time” is also one of the most common reasons for not exercising and stay active. If we are honest with ourselves, surely we have ever used it. And it’s okay if this ever happens; The problem comes when this reason is used habitually and automatically, without establishing an order of priorities in our lifestyle: it is more likely that tomorrow we will have time to be sick in a hospital, with our hectic life stopped without wanting it.
the recent recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) for adults are 150 to 300 minutes per week of moderate physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous intensity, or an equivalent that combines moderate and vigorous intensity activity. These levels produce substantial beneficial effects on the health of most people They normally exercise on a regular basis (3-4 days a week). But what happens if we concentrate the recommendations of the WHO in two or less sessions a week and we become weekend warriors (weekend warriors, in English)? whatExercising only on the weekend has the same effects to do it regularly during the seven days?
There is evidence that says yes and others that say no, but we have the solution to this mess in a meta-analysis which was published very recently and which combines the results of all studies published on this topic from 2004 to 2022. In this way, The study includes a population of more than 400,000 adults (40 to 65 years of age), who underwent an average follow-up of 10 years..
No wonder weekend warriors get more benefit than inactive peopleShutterstock
It is obvious, and there is a lot of evidence, that those who exercise regularly most days of the week have more health benefits than those who are inactive. Nor is it surprising that weekend warriors have more benefit than inactive people: it is better to do something on the weekend than to do nothing. But The most important novelty of the meta-analysis is that the weekend warriors have a reduction in cardiovascular (and all-cause) mortality similar to that of those who exercise regularly.
It is also necessary to make an important note in favor of regular exercise, since it is accompanied by acute changes (reduction in blood pressure, lipids…) that predispose to more health benefits than compressed exercise on the weekend. This is a relevant argument in favor of doing more weekly exercise sessions.
This fact has important practical implications. If a person has a very busy lifestyle and finds it difficult to fit exercise into their schedule, we believe that the cardiovascular and survival benefits are similar between weekend warriors and those who exercise regularly. For this reason, in principle, we encourage you to adopt the model of physical exercise during the weekend; or another two days of your choice, because it can fit better into your daily routines.
However, that general recommendation cannot be impervious to other specific circumstances. Also keep in mind that weekend warriors are generally adults who have limited opportunities for regular exercise and are therefore often untrained for high-intensity physical activity. This combination of factors predisposes them more easily to suffer sports injuries of a musculoskeletal nature. For this reason, the weekend exercise-only model is not appropriate for those who have chronic illnesses or limited physical fitness, which may predispose them to injury.
By Nuria Garatchea
©EL PAÍS, SL
EL PAISConocé The Trust Project
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