"Weekend warriors" get as much benefit from exercise

[UphillSlowly]

https://www.theguardian.com/society...art-benefits-study?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

You can cram a week's worth of exercise in to two days...

 

[PaulSB]

Hardly surprising that people who do 150 minutes exercise a week are getting a benefit from it regardless of whether it's spread through the week or not. I struggle to grasp how there is benefit to 150 minutes spread across 7 days, I wouldn't be surprised if the weekend warriors are shown to get more benefit.

 

[Drago]

If you eat 150 cakes a week, do you get fatter eating 75 a day over the weekend, or spreading the 150 through the whole week?

 

[ClichéGuevara]

If you eat 150 cakes a week, do you get fatter eating 75 a day over the weekend, or spreading the 150 through the whole week?

I'd lose weight if I cut down to those levels either way.

 

[Alex321]

Hardly surprising that people who do 150 minutes exercise a week are getting a benefit from it regardless of whether it's spread through the week or not. I struggle to grasp how there is benefit to 150 minutes spread across 7 days,

Those two statements are mutually contradictory.

I understand the first, but not the second.

I wouldn't be surprised if the weekend warriors are shown to get more benefit.

I would be slightly surprised, but I doubt there is much in it.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Another way of looking at it, is that you can also get your exercise in, in smaller chunks, for the same health benefits.

Basic message is, don’t worry about how you divvy up the total minutes of exercise, just get them done, as best suits your circumstances

 

[PaulSB]

Those two statements are mutually contradictory.

I understand the first, but not the second.

My second point, which perhaps should have been a separate paragraph, is that I cannot grasp how there is any real benefit to say 5 x 30 minutes of exercise. Roughly speaking that would be 5-6 minutes warm up and warm down which gives 18-20 minutes actually exercising.

I appreciate the science shows it's beneficial, I don't argue with it, but I struggle to understand how so little makes an impact. I exercise for around 900 minutes a week and know plenty of people fitter and stronger than me.

 

[vickster]

“I exercise for around 900 minutes a week and know plenty of people fitter and stronger than me.

Did you when working full time too? Or did you have a manual job?

 

[ColinJ]

My second point, which perhaps should have been a separate paragraph, is that I cannot grasp how there is any real benefit to say 5 x 30 minutes of exercise. Roughly speaking that would be 5-6 minutes warm up and warm down which gives 18-20 minutes actually exercising.

I appreciate the science shows it's beneficial, I don't argue with it, but I struggle to understand how so little makes an impact. I exercise for around 900 minutes a week and know plenty of people fitter and stronger than me.

For 9 of the 28 weeks so far this year I have only done 3 rides, each of 30 minutes duration. 19 of the 28 weeks have involved only 3 or 4 rides and less than 5 hours cycling. I am still getting fitter as the year progresses, and not just when I do longer, harder rides.

The 30 minute rides are very beneficial. I do them in one gear - it used to be 52/19 but now it is an almost identical 42/15, approximately 72 gear inches. That means I am overgeared for any climbing that I do, and I seek out little hills in Todmorden that are a real effort in that 72" gear so I rapidly switch between hard climbing, easy spinning, and downhill freewheeling. It means that I am effectively doing intervals.

Most of those rides are the long way round to the local shops. I could walk to Aldi in 5 minutes but I do this loop instead. I carry a pannier and a heavy D-lock on the way out and the pannier is full of shopping on the way back.

I can assure you that doing the little climbs on this loop in a 72" gear with extra weight on the bike feels tough.

Shopping ride route:

I had not done very much more than those little rides before going down to Devon at the end of the winter. I had no problem going out there and doing a 70 km forum ride with significant Devon hilliness on the route. And I haven't had any problem stepping up to longer, harder routes either.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

If you eat 150 cakes a week, do you get fatter eating 75 a day over the weekend, or spreading the 150 through the whole week?

Only 150? Poor from you.

 

[Drago]

Only 150? Poor from you.

Watching my figure.

 

[UphillSlowly]

My second point, which perhaps should have been a separate paragraph, is that I cannot grasp how there is any real benefit to say 5 x 30 minutes of exercise. Roughly speaking that would be 5-6 minutes warm up and warm down which gives 18-20 minutes actually exercising.

I appreciate the science shows it's beneficial, I don't argue with it, but I struggle to understand how so little makes an impact. I exercise for around 900 minutes a week and know plenty of people fitter and stronger than me.

I have a feeling that the outcome for the exercise is not fitness per se but prevention of death or cardiovascular events (heart attacks). The reason that figure is chosen is that it is the level of exercise that decreases death from cardiovascular causes
https://www.bmj.com/content/358/bmj.j4406

 

[Alex321]

My second point, which perhaps should have been a separate paragraph, is that I cannot grasp how there is any real benefit to say 5 x 30 minutes of exercise. Roughly speaking that would be 5-6 minutes warm up and warm down which gives 18-20 minutes actually exercising.

Why assume that warm-up and warm-down are included in the 30 minutes (or even happen at all - I rarely do either when I go for a ride, and I'm sure many people don't).

I appreciate the science shows it's beneficial, I don't argue with it, but I struggle to understand how so little makes an impact. I exercise for around 900 minutes a week and know plenty of people fitter and stronger than me.

Unless you are a professional elite level athlete, there will always be people stronger and fitter than you, regardless of how much you exercise.

Though there aren't many people exercising as much as the 2 hours a day you are doing. Most of us just don't have the time for that.

 

[PaulSB]

Did you when working full time too? Or did you have a manual job?

Aspects of my work for the last 22 years were "manual" in that I was on my feet 8 - 10 hours at least 3½ days a week walking around something like 20 acres of glasshouses but I didn't do any manual tasks.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Though there aren't many people exercising as much as the 2 hours a day you are doing. Most of us just don't have the time for that.

Or even the inclination.

In any given normal week I do around 6 hours mixed exercise on top of stuff I do around the house etc.

Any more than that would quite frankly bore the pants off of me.