Weekend Warrior- The Good , the Bad and the Ugly.

This term refers to individuals who for various reasons are unable to exercise during the week but then spend their weekends working out intensely. It is known that you should be doing at least an hour of moderate or 30 mins of vigorous exercise per day.

It is helpful to have consistency with your exercise. However, smaller bursts of exercise on the weekend although not ideal are still of some benefit. Also worthy of note is the fact that running is a time efficient option if you wanted to do a short form of exercise during the week. It can be advantageous if done in as little as 5 to 10 mins per day.

Even though cramming all your exercise into the weekend may not be ideal it still has health benefits over not doing anything at all.

Some of the benefits of intense workouts (the good) are aerobic fitness. It is efficient taking less time for the same results. Unfortunately, weekend warriors may be putting themselves at higher risk of injury. That is why it is important especially for this group to work on their mobility and proper recovery which includes bodywork, nutrition and sleep.

The reasons for injury (the bad) are related to high loading of the tendons and muscles over a shorter period of time. It is harder to build an exercise tolerance (the ugly) if it is done sporadically. There is not enough time to build in enough practice to improve the movements that they need to participate in.

For best results in fitness it is therefore recommended that you try to incorporate periods of exercise during the week even if it is for a shorter time. Spending time working on recovery is also important. If you are unable to do your preferred sporting activity during the week, then you should be making your recovery during that time a high priority.

The bottom line is to keep moving and know that if your schedule is less than ideal that you need to make time for both short periods of exercise and definitely time for recovery. Here's to a healthier you.