Even exercising for just one or two days a week can seriously improve your health, a new study suggests
16:27, 03 Apr 2025
Exercise
The study has revealed some good news for busy-bodies who don't have time to exercise every day(Image: Getty Images)
It's not easy to find time to exercise every day amid the chaos of daily life. Work, university, child care, and household chores can easily get in the way of your gym routine.
But a new study has discovered that you don't have to exercise every day to lead a healthy lifestyle. In fact, exercising only one to two days a week may provide similar health benefits to smaller doses of physical activity every day.
Article continues below
As long as the exercise is moderate to vigorous and totals 150 minutes a week, in line with recommended guidelines for weekly physical activity, you can get away with being a 'weekend warrior' when it comes to exercise.
The new research was published yesterday, April 2, in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The study's corresponding author was Zhi-Hao Li, Ph.D., an epidemiologist in the School of Public Health at Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China.
Li said: "You don't need to exercise every day to stay healthy. As long as you get 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week- whether packed into one to two days or spread out- you can significantly reduce your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, cancer or other causes.
"This message is encouraging news for busy people who struggle to fit in daily workouts but can manage a concentrated burst of activity on weekends or over a couple of days."
Weekend warriors
Those who exercise for only one or two days a week are known as a 'weekend warriors'(Image: Getty Images)
The World Health Organisation recommends that adults engage in 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week, or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity.
Scientists examined health and physical activity data for more than 93,000 people in a large biomedical database in the UK, in order to discover how different physical activity patterns may affect the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as other causes of death.
They reviewed physical activity data collected from wrist accelerometers that measured each participant's levels of movement.
The study categorised the data into three groups, including "active weekend warriors", who did most of their exercise in one or two days, "active regulars", who spread their activity throughout the week, and "inactive" participants who did not complete the recommended minimum of 150 minutes of weekly physical activity.
The weekend warrior and active regular groups had a significantly lower risk of death from all causes, as well as cardiovascular disease and cancer, if they completed 150 minutes of physical activity a week.
For weekend warriors, the risk of death from all causes was 32 per cent lower, the risk of death from cardiovascular disease was 31 per cent lower, and the risk of death from cancer was 21 per cent lower.
The risk of death from all causes in the more active group was 26 per cent lower, the risk of death from cardiovascular disease was 24 per cent lower, and the risk of death from cancer was 13 per cent lower.
No significant differences in the risk of death surfaced between the weekend warriors and the active regulars. The scientists said they did not expect weekend warriors' condensed physical activity to reduce the risk of death from disease.
Article continues below
"This reinforces the idea that meeting the 150-minutes of physical activity per week guideline is key to longevity, regardless of the activity pattern," Li said.
"Any activity- whether structured exercise such as jogging or daily tasks such as gardening- can be included if the intensity is moderate to vigorous."
Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!
Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.
You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.
All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in!
If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like.
To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.