Name: The Rise of Weekend Warriors
Age: The term “weekend warrior” originated in the US following World War II when national guard reservists were viewed as having an easier time than active-duty soldiers.
Dad’s Army? That sort of thing. However, nowadays, it typically refers to individuals who work desk jobs during the week and engage in substantial exercise only on weekends.
But is it a negative term? To some extent. It hasn’t been traditionally seen as an esteemed title. However, guess what…
I surrender. It’s actually quite alright!
What is? Being a weekend warrior.
Who says so? Dr. Shaan Khurshid, MPH (master of public health), a research fellow in cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).
And how does he know? He is the lead author of a groundbreaking study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, based on data collected from 89,573 British adults observed over a five-year period. Khurshid stated, “Our analysis represents the largest study to address this question.”
Alright, a legitimate study. Please continue. So, 42% of the participants, who utilized devices to track their physical activity, met the exercise guidelines set by the NHS (150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per week), but did at least half of it on one or two days.
In other words, they are weekend warriors? Precisely. Another 24% engaged in regular exercise dispersed throughout the week, while the remaining 34% were inactive.
Don’t be part of the 34%, right? They are more prone to illness?
Well, they have a higher likelihood. In comparison to the inactive group, the risk of heart attacks was 27% lower for weekend warriors.
And for regular exercisers? It was 35% lower.
Is that significantly better? Certainly, but not drastically. Additionally, the risk of stroke was similarly reduced for both weekend warriors and regular exercisers.
I’m not particularly skilled with numbers. Could you explain it in simpler terms? Here’s what Patrick Ellinor, the acting chief of cardiology at the Corrigan Minehan Heart Centre at MGH, has to say: “Our findings suggest that even concentrating physical activity within a day or two each week may lead to improved cardiovascular outcomes.”
Meaning… If you’re someone who packs all of their exercise into the weekend, you should feel reassured rather than concerned.
But I worry about only exercising on weekends; what about that?
And Achilles! Huh?
A weakened warrior! Oh, I see. Not good. Remember, Paris got him in the heel.
Do say: “I’m participating in a marathon this weekend – it’ll be a refreshing change from the office…”
Don’t say: “… which really means I’ll be binge-drinking the whole time.”
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
