With the pressures of social media, it's easy to feel like you need to be exercising at least four or five times a week to get fit. But the reality is, any amount of exercise, no matter how small or infrequent, is good for you. And setting yourself realistic goals is key to maintaining consistency in your workout routine, which is what will help you make progress over time. "If you can exercise, that's a good thing, no matter what it is or how many days it is," says Laura Anderson, personal trainer and founder of Edinburgh-based gym Cave Fit.
And new research confirms that exercising just two times per week is enough to significantly improve your health. The study was looking specifically at people with type two diabetes who identified as 'weekend warriors', which meant they only exercised on Saturdays and Sundays. Researchers found that doing so lowers your risk of all-cause mortality by 21%, and lowers your risk of dying from cardiovascular-related illnesses by 33%. Researchers noted that other studies have found similar findings around people who follow a "weekend warrior" schedule amongst the general population.
Is exercising twice a week really enough?
Researchers found that being a "weekend warrior" lowered all-cause mortality to a similar extent as people who exercise regularly. However, what's crucial is that the people in the study who were only exercising twice per week were still doing 150 minutes of exercise per week in total. This is the amount of exercise most health bodies recommend, including the CDC.
