Weekend warriors: do one or two active days still count?

Busy weeks are the most common reason people give for not exercising. Shift work, long commutes, study and family all make the classic advice of 30 minutes on most days hard to follow. A 2025 study in the Journal of the American Heart Association has good news for anyone who can only train at the weekend.

What the researchers did

Instead of relying on questionnaires, the researchers used wrist-worn activity trackers. They studied 89,488 adults from the UK Biobank and 6,198 adults from a US national health survey, then followed them for about six to seven years. People who reached at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity a week were sorted into two groups: those who did most of it on one or two days ("weekend warriors") and those who spread it across the week.

What they found

• Both patterns were linked to lower risk of death from any cause, from cardiovascular disease and from cancer, compared with being inactive.
• The weekend-warrior pattern and the spread-out pattern showed similar benefits.
• More total weekly activity was linked to bigger benefits, whichever way it was scheduled.

What it means for you

• Total weekly activity is the main thing. If weekday sessions aren't realistic, plan bigger weekend sessions: a long hike, a gym session, a bike ride, a game of football.
• Build up first. Going from nothing to two very hard days is a common way to get sore or injured. Increase the length and intensity of weekend sessions over several weeks.
• Add small extras when you can. Short walks and stairs during the week still add to your total.

Source

Ren R, Wang W, Liu Q, et al. Dual cohort insights into accelerometer-derived weekend warrior physical activity and its impact on mortality. Journal of the American Heart Association, 2025. Read the study