Dr. Mandelbaum says regular exercise reduces health risks
Article Link: ‘Weekend warrior’: Can exercising twice a week boost health span?
Current United States health guidelines recommend adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise every week, and at least 2 days of strength training.
However, many people face barriers to working out throughout the week, including time restraints, limited access to exercise equipment, and lack of motivation.
Now a new study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association says people who are only able to work out on the weekends — known as the “weekend warrior” approach — are still receiving similar health benefits than if they had spread out their workouts throughout the week.
These health benefits include a lowered risk of death from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all causes, compared to those who do not complete the suggested 150 minutes of physical activity every week.
What is the best workout schedule for the week?
While some may be happy to know that getting all of their weekly exercise on the weekend provides health benefits, getting at least 150 minutes of physical activity in one weekend can be a lot for some people.
How can a person figure out what’s the best time for them to work out during the week, whether that be throughout the week or just on the weekends?
Bert Mandelbaum, MD, a sports medicine specialist and orthopedic surgeon and co-director of the Regenerative Orthobiologic Center at Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics in Los Angeles, advised readers to remember that while just exercising two days a week offers a positive effect in this study, exercising for just 2 days a week may not be all a person needs.
“It may be that if you’re 60 pounds overweight and your hemoglobin A1C is 10, that may not be enough for you,” Mandelbaum explained to MNT. “When we exercise and we do a study like this, it shows a positive effect — great. But is it going to be a positive enough effect on you? And I think it has to be customized and it must be specific to the population, to someone that’s 25, is someone 45, or are they 85.”
“I think the conclusions are good, in the lineage of exercising, improving longevity, lifespan, play span, is great,” he continued. “But I raise the question, do not look at this [thinking] that it is the right dose for you. It’s so important that people exercise more than two days a week. It’s like saying if you brush your teeth once a day, that the cavities probably are better, but if you brush it three times a day, the cavities are much improved.”
“We’re athletes — that’s the bottom line,” Mandelbaum added. “When you go back to Darwinian survival of the fittest, we exercise like we’re positively reinforced to hunt. It’s in our DNA, it’s our heritage. So I think that’s one of the things that we [have] to be careful here [is] that someone who wants to be the minimalist takes a conclusion all I gotta do is two days a week — maybe not.”
