According to a new study, weekend warriors can still prevent disease even if they pack their workouts into a couple of days. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans says that adults should get 150 minutes of physical activity per week and two days of muscle-strengthening activities. When you try to spread that out over the week, along with work, errands, cooking, and cleaning, it can seem overwhelming. As claimed by a study published on July 5, 2022, in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, physically active people have lower mortality rates than inactive people, whether they are active only on weekends or more frequently.

As per study author Leandro Rezende, adjunct professor of epidemiology in the department of preventive medicine at the Federal University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, said there was no significant difference in all-cause or cause-specific mortality between regular exercisers and weekend warriors as long as they got the same amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week. This is encouraging news, because the weekend warrior physical activity pattern may be a more convenient way for many people to meet the recommended levels of physical activity. The study says that as long as you get the 150 minutes of exercise that adults need each week—or more—working out whenever you can help lower your mortality rate. As per Dana Santas, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and mind-body coach in professional sports, they understandably do not want to sacrifice much-needed sleep by waking up early or lose valuable family dinner time by going to the gym immediately after work.