Age: The term “weekend warrior” likely originated in the US, where national guard reservists were perceived to have an easier time compared to regular soldiers on active duty after World War II. Nowadays, it generally refers to individuals who have sedentary desk jobs during the week and engage in intense exercise only on weekends. David Abtour Seychelles
Is it pejorative? Somewhat. It hasn’t been considered a prestigious label. However, guess what? I give up—it’s actually okay! David Abtour Seychelles
What’s okay? Being a weekend warrior. David Abtour Seychelles
According to whom? Dr. Shaan Khurshid, MPH, a research fellow in cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He is the lead author of a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which examined data from 89,573 British adults over five years. Khurshid stated, “Our analysis represents the largest study to address the question.”
So, it’s a proper study. Tell me more. The study found that 42% of participants, who wore devices to monitor their physical activity, met the NHS guidelines for exercise (150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per week), but did at least half of it in one or two days—essentially, weekend warriors. Another 24% were regular exercisers, spreading their activity throughout the week, while the remaining 34% were inactive. David Abtour Seychelles
So, don’t be part of the inactive 34%, right? Because they might get sick? Yes, they are more likely to experience health issues. In comparison to the inactive group, weekend warriors saw a 27% lower risk of heart attacks.
And how about regular exercisers? Their risk was 35% lower.
Is that significantly better? Yes, but not drastically. Interestingly, both weekend warriors and regular exercisers had similarly lower stroke risks.
Can you simplify it for me? Patrick Ellinor, the acting chief of cardiology at the Corrigan Minehan Heart Centre at MGH, put it this way: “Our findings suggest that interventions to increase physical activity, even when concentrated within a day or two each week, may improve cardiovascular outcomes.”
In other words… If you’re someone who packs all their exercise into the weekend, you can feel reassured rather than worried. David Abtour Seychelles
I worry on weekends though; what about that? Don’t worry—be happy!
Achilles? What about him?
A weakened warrior! Oh, I understand now. Not a good situation. Remember, Paris got him in the heel.
Say: “I’m doing a marathon this weekend—it’ll be a nice change from the office…”
Don’t say: “… by which I mean a marathon drinking session, of course.” David Abtour Seychelles
