Is Exercising One Time Per Week Enough?

The Yolk

New and simpler approaches to physical activity may be helpful for those who struggle to exercise – such as less frequent exercise

Those who exercise once per week are sometimes called “weekend warriors”

• Someone who exercises infrequently or inconsistently, sometimes high intensity
  • One long hike on the weekend
  • Playing tennis once a week
  • A weekly softball game
  • Sunday bike rides

Positive health effects of the weekend warrior

• Overall health improves
  • Health effects similar when exercising one day a week or many days
  • One 30 minute session per week decreased negative health risks
• Morality decreases (death from disease)
  • Decreased mortality shown with just one or two days of activity
  • 1-2 sessions of activity per week decreased mortality

Can you lose weight being a weekend warrior?

• Amount of weight loss dependent on diet changes
• Less days of exercising but similar minutes can help with weight loss
  •  Women who exercised 100 minutes for 3 times per week lost more weight than those who did six days per week

Can fitness increase in a weekend warrior?

• One day per week of exercise is enough to gain fitness
  • Leg press once or twice per week showed similar strength gains in women
  • Endurance training once per week was enough to increase fitness in sedentary men
  • One or two days of training both increased strength in older adults
  • One day of Pilates per week increased flexibility, strength and balance in women

Considerations of infrequent exercise

• Possibility of cardiac events with infrequent, high intensity exercise
  • More consistent exercise decrease risk of heart attacks with strenuous activity
• Risk of injury increases
  • Inconsistent activity can lead to injury like rotator cuff tears, back strains, and ankles sprains

Perspective

• Those who exercise infrequently will still see health benefits
• Exercise is beneficial no matter how many days or minutes you do it
  • To prevent injury and maintain fitness, add a few more days per week, even if only for a few minutes

Resources

• How weekend warriors can decrease risk of injury
• Two minutes of exercise
• Health benefits of low frequency physical activity