8 ms·

Working Out Only on Weekends Is Equal as Daily Exercise

30 points by AlejoTeran 4y ago

farnsworth 4y ago
Looking at overall mortality seems pretty limited. In my 20s I would sit at my desk all week, then go all-out on the weekend. Long bike rides, hikes, backpacking trips, etc. I had pretty good base-level fitness, but ended up with knee pain and minor injuries from strain and lack of flexibility. A near-daily gym habit has solved all of that for me. Seems like maintaining flexibility requires somewhat regular practice, and that's how you avoid injury.
- anothernewdude 4y ago
  Recovery time is king.
  - farnsworth 4y ago
    Sure. Also 5-6 days of recovery time each week made me hurt a lot.
- analog31 4y ago
  Strength helps too. One of my few regrets of my youth is neglecting my upper body strength. It's harder to get at 58 what you could've gotten at 20.
  - wyre 4y ago
    Have you thought about pursuing TRT? If you’re pursuing strength at 58 it will surely help with that.
    - sva_ 4y ago
      It won't help you building bone past ~30, sadly, I think.
      - whiddershins 4y ago
        Pretty sure resistance training is the only intervention know to reverse osteoporosis. If a prescription can allow you to lift heavier, safely, it would stand to reason bone growth would follow.
      - nostromo 4y ago
        That's not true. Here's one study among many showing increased bone density in men over 65: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5433755/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5433755/
        sva_ 4y ago
        Interesting read. I didn't know that.
    - analog31 4y ago
      I should talk to my primary care doctor. I don't really care or need to look buff or lift 300 pounds, but avoiding injury as I get older would be nice.
    - jimhefferon 4y ago
      What is TRT?
      - rco8786 4y ago
        Testosterone replacement therapy.
      - wyre 4y ago
        Testosterone Replacement Therapy. As we age our hormones decline so by taking testosterone exogenously it allows the body to have optimal testosterone levels.
- AlejoTeran 4y ago
  this make sense, I loved your point
dragontamer 4y ago
Ish. I'm a weekend exerciser. But my strength is incomparable to someone who exercises every 3 days. I can run a 7.5 minute mile for example. But the people around me who exercise more frequently can run 6.5 minute miles. I can lift maybe 100lbs, but they can lift their bodyweight. Etc. etc. Its pretty obvious to me that weekend exercise has health benefits. But not so much strength / endurance benefits (which is and should be, your primary health goal). ----------- I think people need to calibrate their health expectations. Being stronger, feeling stronger, being faster, running longer... these are good attributes and clearly defined goals. They're easy and obvious to recognize as you exercise... more so than weight-loss or abstract goals like "better health". At least, that kind of thinking works for me. Maybe not for everyone, but I recommend people give it a try. Still, weekend-warriors will only reach weekend-levels of strength and endurance. That's okay for me, but I'd never consider myself equal to those who are obviously stronger than me. In either case, reaching 100lbs lift strength or 5 pullups or aiming for a sub-8 minute mile or whatever... while less good than a good and proper exerciser is still a great goal to work towards. Yes, feel good about your goals, even if you know stronger people than you. But also be humble and recognize where you stand in the world. And who knows? Maybe you'll get hooked on self improvement. Once you lift 100lbs or run sub-8 minute mile, then maybe you will gain the inspiration to lift 120lbs or 140lbs (reaching closer and closer to bodyweight lifting)... or drop down to 7-minute mile or sub-6 minutes. I mean, I didn't, but some other people do like the feeling. It honestly is one of the better motivations, seeing your own progress. ----- In any case, that extra +1 day (from 2-exercises per week to 3-exercises per week) adds a lot to your strength/endurance overall. Its really obvious and probably one of the easier ways to reach your fitness goal, whatever it is. And there's nothing stopping you from being a "visitor" to a more frequent exercise routine if you want to "try it out" for a few months and see how it affects your body. Try 3 exercise sessions per week, or 4, and then drop back down to 2 or whatever works better long term. Consistency is really the key, but visiting higher-levels and seeing if its "worth it" to your brain / psyche is important.
- coldtea 4y ago
  >I can run a 7.5 minute mile for example. But the people around me who exercise more frequently can run 6.5 minute miles. I can lift maybe 100lbs, but they can lift their bodyweight. Etc. etc. If that extra strength/endurance doesn't translate to much better health outcomes, but only marginally better, then it's kind of moot. And we do know that there are diminishing returns after some point (and even inverse returns: pro athletes and people training too hard often have health issues because of their extreme training). >Its pretty obvious to me that weekend exercise has health benefits. But not so much strength / endurance benefits (which is and should be, your primary health goal). Sorry, but health should be the primary exercize goal, not stength/endurance.
sudden_dystopia 4y ago
Strictly for mortality, ok, it makes sense they are similar. But that’s really just because the drop off from getting any exercise to no exercise is so huge.
mattmaroon 4y ago
Why did this take a headline with correct grammar and turn it into one without?
wyre 4y ago
This headline isn’t accurate with the findings of the study. Working out 3+ days a week is not “daily” and hazard ratios of .95 and .85 are not equal. The hazard ratio for cardiovascular disease comparing those working out 3+ days and 2 days is 1.14. This wasn’t even mentioned isn’t in TFA but strikes me as significant, or at least considerable. Maybe a better headline could be “working out only on weekends nearly as good as working out more often”
- tyleo 4y ago
  Beyond health reasons, you also aren’t going to get the same aesthetic outcomes if you only work out on weekends.
chrisbrandow 4y ago
The confidence intervals are so loose on this that, on the one hand they can't state that 0.85 is actually less than 0.92, on the other hand, that means they can't make much of a claim about any benefit from exercise whatsoever.

30 points by AlejoTeran 4y ago

Looking at overall mortality seems pretty limited. In my 20s I would sit at my desk all week, then go all-out on the weekend. Long bike rides, hikes, backpacking trips, etc. I had pretty good base-level fitness, but ended up with knee pain and minor injuries from strain and lack of flexibility. A near-daily gym habit has solved all of that for me. Seems like maintaining flexibility requires somewhat regular practice, and that's how you avoid injury.

anothernewdude 4y ago
Recovery time is king.
- farnsworth 4y ago
  Sure. Also 5-6 days of recovery time each week made me hurt a lot.
analog31 4y ago
Strength helps too. One of my few regrets of my youth is neglecting my upper body strength. It's harder to get at 58 what you could've gotten at 20.
- wyre 4y ago
  Have you thought about pursuing TRT? If you’re pursuing strength at 58 it will surely help with that.
  - sva_ 4y ago
    It won't help you building bone past ~30, sadly, I think.
    - whiddershins 4y ago
      Pretty sure resistance training is the only intervention know to reverse osteoporosis. If a prescription can allow you to lift heavier, safely, it would stand to reason bone growth would follow.
    - nostromo 4y ago
      That's not true. Here's one study among many showing increased bone density in men over 65: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5433755/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5433755/
      - sva_ 4y ago
        Interesting read. I didn't know that.
  - analog31 4y ago
    I should talk to my primary care doctor. I don't really care or need to look buff or lift 300 pounds, but avoiding injury as I get older would be nice.
  - jimhefferon 4y ago
    What is TRT?
    - rco8786 4y ago
      Testosterone replacement therapy.
    - wyre 4y ago
      Testosterone Replacement Therapy. As we age our hormones decline so by taking testosterone exogenously it allows the body to have optimal testosterone levels.
AlejoTeran 4y ago
this make sense, I loved your point

dragontamer 4y ago

Ish. I'm a weekend exerciser. But my strength is incomparable to someone who exercises every 3 days. I can run a 7.5 minute mile for example. But the people around me who exercise more frequently can run 6.5 minute miles. I can lift maybe 100lbs, but they can lift their bodyweight. Etc. etc. Its pretty obvious to me that weekend exercise has health benefits. But not so much strength / endurance benefits (which is and should be, your primary health goal). ----------- I think people need to calibrate their health expectations. Being stronger, feeling stronger, being faster, running longer... these are good attributes and clearly defined goals. They're easy and obvious to recognize as you exercise... more so than weight-loss or abstract goals like "better health". At least, that kind of thinking works for me. Maybe not for everyone, but I recommend people give it a try. Still, weekend-warriors will only reach weekend-levels of strength and endurance. That's okay for me, but I'd never consider myself equal to those who are obviously stronger than me. In either case, reaching 100lbs lift strength or 5 pullups or aiming for a sub-8 minute mile or whatever... while less good than a good and proper exerciser is still a great goal to work towards. Yes, feel good about your goals, even if you know stronger people than you. But also be humble and recognize where you stand in the world. And who knows? Maybe you'll get hooked on self improvement. Once you lift 100lbs or run sub-8 minute mile, then maybe you will gain the inspiration to lift 120lbs or 140lbs (reaching closer and closer to bodyweight lifting)... or drop down to 7-minute mile or sub-6 minutes. I mean, I didn't, but some other people do like the feeling. It honestly is one of the better motivations, seeing your own progress. ----- In any case, that extra +1 day (from 2-exercises per week to 3-exercises per week) adds a lot to your strength/endurance overall. Its really obvious and probably one of the easier ways to reach your fitness goal, whatever it is. And there's nothing stopping you from being a "visitor" to a more frequent exercise routine if you want to "try it out" for a few months and see how it affects your body. Try 3 exercise sessions per week, or 4, and then drop back down to 2 or whatever works better long term. Consistency is really the key, but visiting higher-levels and seeing if its "worth it" to your brain / psyche is important.

coldtea 4y ago
>I can run a 7.5 minute mile for example. But the people around me who exercise more frequently can run 6.5 minute miles. I can lift maybe 100lbs, but they can lift their bodyweight. Etc. etc. If that extra strength/endurance doesn't translate to much better health outcomes, but only marginally better, then it's kind of moot. And we do know that there are diminishing returns after some point (and even inverse returns: pro athletes and people training too hard often have health issues because of their extreme training). >Its pretty obvious to me that weekend exercise has health benefits. But not so much strength / endurance benefits (which is and should be, your primary health goal). Sorry, but health should be the primary exercize goal, not stength/endurance.

sudden_dystopia 4y ago

Strictly for mortality, ok, it makes sense they are similar. But that’s really just because the drop off from getting any exercise to no exercise is so huge.

mattmaroon 4y ago

Why did this take a headline with correct grammar and turn it into one without?

wyre 4y ago

This headline isn’t accurate with the findings of the study. Working out 3+ days a week is not “daily” and hazard ratios of .95 and .85 are not equal. The hazard ratio for cardiovascular disease comparing those working out 3+ days and 2 days is 1.14. This wasn’t even mentioned isn’t in TFA but strikes me as significant, or at least considerable. Maybe a better headline could be “working out only on weekends nearly as good as working out more often”

tyleo 4y ago
Beyond health reasons, you also aren’t going to get the same aesthetic outcomes if you only work out on weekends.

chrisbrandow 4y ago

The confidence intervals are so loose on this that, on the one hand they can't state that 0.85 is actually less than 0.92, on the other hand, that means they can't make much of a claim about any benefit from exercise whatsoever.