Weekend warriors phenomenon: sports only on weekends & bull; hello healthy

Exercising every Saturday or Sunday morning may have become a routine for some people. However, did you know that by only being active on weekends, you are still a person who is less physically active? Especially if during work days you tend to spend time sitting at work which tends to do ballet activities. This phenomenon is known as exercise patterns weekend warriors where someone is only active on weekends.

Why weekend warriors not considered physically active

An active lifestyle can be achieved by actively moving and doing it 3 days a week. Meanwhile, physical activity patterns weekend warriors is a pattern of physical activity that is only done on weekends and tends to be inactive on weekdays. In general, exercise times on Sundays are also done in a shorter period of time and may be less than 60 minutes.

When viewed from the length of time, the need for physical activity for adults is 150 minutes a week for moderate-intensity physical activity (such as cycling, swimming, walking, doing homework, playing sports games) with a minimum of 10 minutes of exercise sessions. WHO also recommends to strengthen muscles, meet the need for physical activity for 150 minutes per week within 2-3 days. Moderate physical activity on a regular basis will help your muscles develop better.

Am I a weekend warrior?

A person meets the criteria weekend warriors if he spends more time sitting on weekdays and only about 150 minutes of physical activity on weekends. However, if he does not meet these criteria, then he still includes a pattern of physical activity even though he has exercised on weekends.

What is the effect if you only exercise on weekends?

The typical weekend exercise is done for a short period of time and perhaps at too high an intensity. The body needs adaptation to exercise, the muscles of the body that are not ready to move at high intensity will be more at risk of experiencing various injuries, including:

1. Achilles Tendon Rupture - is damage to the tissue or tearing of the tendons of the leg, usually caused by activities that involve walking and running. Symptoms of this injury can be observed easily characterized by swelling of the tendon of the leg that is experiencing rupture aka torn. This includes serious muscle damage that may even require surgery to heal.
2. Plantar fasciitis - is an injury to the sole of the foot on the back of the foot (heel) caused by excessive pressure and is often characterized by pain. The painful effects of these injuries tend to be long and even years in duration to completely disappear.
3. Lateral epicondylitis - in the form of injury to the area around the elbow. Repeated bending of the wrist with supination or pronation causes minor damage to the elbow muscle and collagen tissue. Movement sports that use hands and sports equipment such as golf and tennis are the main causes of this injury.
4. Ankle sprain or sprained ankle - is a form of injury to the joints of the foot due to the rotating movement of the foot that is normal for movement. Excessive pressure to rotate your legs while exercising is the main cause. If this happens, usually the joint area in the instep with the tibia is swollen and painful.
5. Shin splints - is an injury caused by excessive pressure on the tibia (shin bone), the pain comes from the tendons around the bone that is subjected to pressure. This is due to an increase in the intensity of exercising on a hard surface or an uneven surface.
6. Increases the risk of heart attack - Exercise does have benefits, but an intensity that is too high can be harmful to health. Apart from injury, a greater risk is a threat to cardiovascular health in individuals with activity patterns weekend warriors . One study showed that a heart attack (cardiac arrest) when exercise is more common in less active individuals who experience increased physical activity in excess at a sports session. This is because the work of the heart will be heavier if the body is not used to doing physical activity with too high an intensity, which can lead to dysfunction and heart attacks. It can also be exacerbated by risk factors for heart disease.

To avoid injury when exercising on the weekends, you need to prepare your body by starting low or moderate intensity exercise a day or two before the weekend. Gradual increase in intensity is required to prevent injury during high-intensity exercise. Also warm up and cool down by stretching the muscles before and after exercise.

A study to determine the benefits of activity patterns weekend warriors found this activity pattern would be useful for the prevention of various chronic diseases in a person with a perfectly healthy body, but it did not have an insignificant effect on individuals with risk factors. In addition, the recommendation of physical activity to be active for at least 3 days per week aims to ensure that individuals are routinely active and can increase their intensity so that it can be useful in preventing obesity and the occurrence of metabolic syndrome. So that the activity pattern weekend warrior it will be less effective if you have weight loss goals and a healthy lifestyle.