Conventional wisdom says that you need at least 30 minutes
of exercise five days a week to stay healthy.
For many, that means every weekday. But studies over the
past few years suggest that working out just on the weekend can offer
comparable health benefits, if you block off enough time, and the exercise is
intense enough.
اضافة اعلان
Activity is activity“Activity is activity, no matter what the calendar says,”
said Carrie Pagliano, a physical therapist based in Arlington, Virginia, and a
spokesperson for the American Physical Therapy Association.
One large study published last year in the medical journal
JAMA found that people who met recommended weekly levels of physical activity,
including weekend warriors, experienced lower rates of disease and mortality
than those who were inactive.
But before you hit the ground running (or biking or
roller-skating) this Saturday, here are five tips from exercise scientists for
embarking on a weekend-exclusive exercise routine as safely and smartly as
possible.
Resistance first, then cardioWhen crunched for time and planning your fitness priorities,
put muscle-building at the top of your list.
“Resistance training is the most important activity that
people can do,” said Bradley Schoenfeld, a professor of exercise science at
Lehman College in New York. “It’s the primary type of exercise that will stave
off the age-related loss of muscle, and that has huge ramifications” for our ability
to live independently, avoid injury and keep moving into our later years, he
said.
Schoenfeld also recommended building muscle before cardio so
that you’re not too tired to do it. Just two 15- to 20-minute sessions over a
weekend — lifting free weights, using resistance bands or doing body-weight
exercises like pushups and calisthenics — can make a big impact, he said. “Any
type of activity where you’re applying a tension against the muscles.”
Mix it upMax Castrogaleas, an exercise physiologist at the Hospital
for Special Surgery in New York City, suggests working on your upper body on
Saturday and lower body on Sunday (or vice versa).
“Mix it up,” he said, “so you’re not overstressing any one
muscle group.”
For example, consider targeting the upper body with pushups
or pullups on Saturday and the lower body with squats, lunges or glute bridges
on Sunday.
Get a full body cardio workoutOnce you’ve done resistance training, maximize your workout
time with an aerobic activity that engages all major muscle groups, suggested
Dr. Tamanna Singh, a cardiologist and co-director of the Sports Cardiology
Center at Cleveland Clinic.
If you’re a beginner or out of practice, start with short,
low-intensity aerobic sessions — for example, 15 minutes of easy cycling or
swimming, Singh said.
If you’re starting from a more conditioned fitness level,
however, shoot for moderate aerobic exercise sessions of about 60-75 minutes on
Saturday and again on Sunday.
If you are being truly vigorous (enough to make it hard to
talk), that number can be as low as 35-40 minutes.
“Biking is great, rowing is great, using an elliptical
machine is great,” Singh said. “Swimming is great for people who have any
musculoskeletal issues.”
Other experts point to kettlebells or battle ropes, which
offer both cardio and strength training.
Schoenfeld recommended high-intensity interval training, or
HIIT, particularly for people with limited time to exercise even on the
weekends.
But don’t overdo itIf you only have Saturday and Sunday to exercise, you might
be tempted to cram seven days’ worth of movement into a weekend. That can be a
recipe for injury, Schoenfeld said.
“Know your limitations,” he warned. He said people “often
try to do more than they’re capable of doing” or work out on the weekends in
the same way they did when they were working out five days a week.
If you’re not exercising throughout the week, your
cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems may not be as conditioned as they
would be if you were previously more active. “If you’re feeling something hurt,
you should probably stop,” Singh said. “Even if you’re like, ‘Well, this is the
only time I can exercise.’”
Don’t skip warmups and cooldownsIf you’re doing moderate to vigorous exercise only on the
weekends, your body may need some extra love before and after a workout to stay
healthy.
The rule is to not go in cold or finish cold, said Pagliano.
He recommends a dynamic warm-up — ideally five to 10 minutes
of light aerobic activity, like a brisk walk or an easy jog. “You’re getting a
little bit of mobility to those muscles, so they’re getting used to, ‘Hey,
we’re going to start to do something now,’” she said.
After the workout, continue moving for a few minutes to
allow your body to cool down — walking around the gym or block should do it.
And be proactive about helping your muscles recover. “Every time you work out,
you break down muscle tissue,” Castrogaleas said. But if you’re exercising
Saturday and Sunday back-to-back, your body doesn’t have as much time to heal.
Cool-downs help our cardiovascular and respiratory systems
slowly return to base levels, which can help to reduce the buildup of lactate —
a chemical waste product of exercise — in the blood, which in turn can reduce
muscle stiffness and soreness, Pagliano said.
After working out, make time to stretch and to massage or
foam-roll sore muscles. Getting a good night’s sleep before and after exercise,
staying hydrated and eating nutrient-dense foods can all contribute to
recovery, too.
Weekday movement breaks count tooIf you don’t have time for formal workouts throughout the
week, try breaking a move.
This can be a short movement break build throughout the day
to promote strength and mobility, while preparing the body for higher-intensity
weekend workouts.
“Even a teeny bit of movement through the week is going to
be better than none,” Singh said. The more you’re able to move during the week,
she said, the less likely you are to injure yourself on the weekend.
Singh suggests sprinkling a few five- or 10-minute bursts of
exercise that elevate your heart rate into your workweek, particularly if you
have a job that requires hours in front of a computer.
“You can stand up every hour on the hour and do something
creative,” said Angie Miller, a personal trainer and National Academy of Sports
Medicine master instructor. Do walking lunges across your living room, stand up
against your counter and do pushups, or walk your stairs five times. “All of
that movement counts,” she said.
You might swap your desk chair for a stability ball, which
some say helps you engage your core and postural muscles, Castrogaleas said. Or
use a standing desk and keep a resistance band around your legs for occasional
strength exercises. If you can step away from your computer, make calls while
walking around the block, he added.
If you can’t, consider an under-desk treadmill.
“Little sprinkles of exercise can give you a big bang for
your buck,” he said.
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