In the News: What’s More Important in Exercise, Frequency or Duration?
One of the most frequent questions we get regarding exercise is how to fit it into a busy routine. We get it, it’s hard! From working full time to balancing family, friends, hobbies, and health, our lives seem to get busier everyday.
Experts agree that you should aim for 150 minutes of exercise each week to improve your heart health, maintain a healthy weight, and avoid disease. Generally, it is recommended that this is broken into five 30 minute workouts each week.
However, it can be difficult for many people to find time each day to commit to exercising. Many people, referred to as weekend warriors, concentrate the bulk of their exercise to the weekends when they have more time and the freedom to focus on themselves.
So, the question arose, does exercise have the same health benefits whether you do it all in one go versus breaking it up into smaller, more frequent chunks? Let’s find out.
What the Research Says
Two research studies published in 2023 and 2024 indicate that the benefits to your heart health, BMI, and amount of visceral belly fat are just as good no matter how frequently you exercise, as long as the time spent is over 150 minutes.
Heart health
The first 2003 study we will examine set out to measure how weekend warriors’ heart health compared to people who exercised more frequently. Almost 90,000 individuals were analyzed using physical activity data measured by an accelerometer.
Participants were then put into one of three categories: people who exercised less than the recommended 150 minutes, people who achieved at least 50% of their 150 minutes of exercise in one or two days, and people whose physical activity was dispersed throughout the week more evenly.
After six years, participants were revisited to find out if they had experienced cardiovascular events since their activity level was measured including heart attack, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and stroke events.
What they found was that both those who were considered weekend warriors and those who exercised more frequently had between 20%-40% lower incidence of cardiovascular events, with very little variation between the two active groups.
Put simply, researchers found that as long as you hit that 150 minutes, whether you exercised twice a week or seven times per week, your heart will benefit. This is true even when researchers adjusted to include people who concentrated 75% of their exercise to one to two days.
BMI and belly fat
Another 2024 study looked at almost 10,000 adults who self reported both their average activity level and their body mass indexes (BMI). The BMI measures the percentage of fat tissue that makes up your total body weight as opposed to muscles, and other tissues.
Researchers found that those participants who got at least 150 minutes of exercise per week had both lower BMI’s and smaller waist circumferences compared to those who got less exercise.
What’s more is that these statistics held true no matter how those 150 minutes were dispersed throughout the week. About one quarter of participants reported themselves weekend warriors and on average showed statistically smaller waist circumference and lower body fat than those who were classified as inactive.
What This Means for You
A huge struggle for many people hoping to incorporate exercise into their routine is that they feel like they have to exercise everyday to see results. It is reassuring for people who lead busy and hectic lives to know that you can still achieve a healthier heart and smaller waist if you don’t have the time to exercise everyday.
The truth is, the best exercise is the one you will do consistently. Whether that means becoming a weekend warrior or exercising more frequently for shorter durations, as long as you are reaching that 150 minute per week mark, you can feel good knowing that you are benefiting your health.
What is most important in developing an exercise routine is figuring out what you will actually do consistently. The truth is, this looks different for everyone, so try not to compare your routine to anyone else’s and do what works for you.
Consider This
Heart health and a healthy BMI are both important things to consider when it comes to exercise, but that’s not all of the benefits you get from incorporating movement into your life.
Having movement be a part of your daily routine might actually make it easier for some people to stay consistent and motivated. Routines make behaviors a part of your lifestyle, and frequent exercise might make it easier to stick with it.
Regular exercise also has many intangible benefits like better sleep, more energy, more stable mood and less frequency and severity of anxiety and depression. There is not enough evidence yet to support that these same benefits are found from a less frequent exercise routine.
The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, the best exercise is the kind you enjoy and will be consistent with. Our routines shift and change over time and it’s okay if your exercise routine changes with you.
Sometimes you might be a weekend warrior, and sometimes you might be an über consistent gym baddie who is hitting the squat rack five days per week.
Regardless of frequency or intensity, your life will surely benefit from incorporating more exercise and intentional movement into your life. Try to take some of the pressure off and know that you don’t have to do everything perfectly to do it well and see benefits from your efforts.
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