It’s Okay to Be a Weekend Warrior

If you work or take care of children or someone else (or both), there’s a good chance you struggle to fit exercise into your busy weekday schedule.  

That’s okay — because when you get the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity doesn’t matter as much as just getting the exercise. Your body benefits whether you squeeze that 150 minutes into the weekend or spread it out over the course of the week, according to multiple studies published over the last few years.  

For example, if you use Saturday for a long hike or bicycle ride or Sunday for pickle ball and swimming, getting the recommended amount of cardiovascular exercise helps you reduce your risk for more than 200 diseases, according to a 2024 study published in the journal Circulation. This includes heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.

Being a weekend warrior is also effective at lowering your risk for dementia and Parkinson’s disease, according to a 2023 study.

Recommended Exercise

Why do the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other government agencies recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity? The guidelines are based on thousands of studies conducted over decades that link physical activity with lower disease risk and better outcomes.  

Exercise is good for us in so many ways. It can make you feel better and function better, it can help you sleep better, and it reduce the risk of hundreds of chronic diseases. It helps our hearts and our brains. Long term, it builds bone health and keeps us mobile into our 60s, 70s and beyond. For people with chronic conditions, exercise helps with management. And it helps all of us keep our weight under control.

The guidelines aren’t actually that rigid. For adults, you should aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity. Or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity. What’s the difference?  

Moderate-intensity exercises include brisk walking, dancing, doubles tennis or biking slower than 10 mph. Vigorous activities include hiking uphill, running, swimming laps, jumping rope, aerobic dancing, singles tennis or bicycling more than 10 mph.

There is a dose response. The guidelines suggest you get more – up to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity. But any activity, even below the threshold, is good for you and has health benefits over sitting around.

Don’t Forget Resistance Training

Even if you’re squeezing all your cardiovascular activity into a weekend, don’t forget to get some resistance exercise as well. Resistance training helps you maintain or increase muscle strength by making your muscles work against force or weight. Think weightlifting, although that’s just one of many ways to get resistance training. Other examples include Pilates, yoga and calisthenics, elastic band exercises and pullups and pushups.  

Resistance training has loads of benefits including improved stamina, better stability and better physique.  

Don’t Overdo It

Of course, there are some drawbacks to being a weekend warrior (even if your weekend is on a Monday and Tuesday). If you’re not exercising regularly, ramping up the amount of time you exercise can lead to injury. Make sure you talk to your doctor about the exercise you’re doing and follow his or her advice.  

Look, squeezing in all the things you need to do to stay healthy is hard. But it’s worth it, especially if it keeps you moving and on top of your health.