Why It’s Okay That You ‘Forgot’ To Exercise This Week

It's only the second week into 2017, guys. If you haven't managed to get yourself to the gym midweek yet, then don't get too down on yourself. For starters, so far this year, the gym has been chock-a-block with bewildered people in brand new gym gear, looking suspiciously at the kettle bells. Secondly, new research suggests that actually, just working out on weekends might be enough to tide you over. The study, which comes from Loughborough University (where they're well into their sport) and the University of Sydney, looked at 64,000 people and their exercise habits and health over the past 18 years. The findings were reassuring for those people that struggle to get active more than twice a week as they indicate that, as long as people are getting the "recommended amount of 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity from 1-2 sessions a week", risks of an early mortality drop. When compared to people who didn't exercise at all, these so-called "weekend warriors" were "significantly" less likely to suffer death from all causes – especially cardiovascular disease and cancer. So – how to get that 150 minutes of activity this weekend? You don't have to go out and run a marathon. The NHS classifies "moderate aerobic activity" (what you're aiming to do for 150 minutes) as anything that raises your heart rate, makes you breathe faster and feel warmer. Their handy guide to tell if you've achieved this is "if you can still talk, but you can't sing the words to the song". So rather than signing up for that three-hour HIIT class that left your mate unable to walk for a week, why not set off on a long, fast walk? Riding a bike counts too, as does hiking, water aerobics or doing one of these nifty aerobic videos. And remember, you can cut that 150 minutes down to just 75 if you go for "vigorous" activity. This is where the running comes in. Or swimming. Or a spin class. Or even dancing. Just preferably not in a club with booze.