The Weekend Warrior
It’s Friday afternoon, and you’re wrapping up your work for the week and looking forward to your weekend plans, be they busy or simply decompressing at home after a long week. Then it hits you.
I haven’t worked out at all this week.
If you are a regular exerciser, this knowledge has probably been gnawing at you all week. For those of you just getting started though, this realization could take the wind right out of your sails and start the shame spiral that ends months later with you grumpily cancelling your gym membership.
But if you have a week where you just didn’t get in, don’t despair! Here are some reasons to embrace the weekend workout:
Start the weekend off on the right foot: Assuming you don’t regularly use your health club on Friday nights, you probably would not surprised to find that not a lot of other people do either, meaning you can get a lot of things done quickly or try a new routine without feeling like others are judging you (and if you think people are, you’re at the wrong health club). Alternatively, setting your alarm for an early Saturday morning workout is a great way to start to a weekend in which you have to get a lot of things done. Saturday dinner plans cancelled? Head to the club and get a workout in.
The “I’ll start Monday” trap: So many of us fall into the trap of letting the work week dictate our workout week. A Sunday workout is just what you need to start your week! Not only does the tip about setting an alarm for your Saturday morning workout apply to Sundays, but getting a workout on Sunday will make you feel like you have a head-start on your week. And while we appreciate a good Lazy Sunday (especially the Saturday Night Live digital short kind), the early Sunday workout can jump-start what could end up being an otherwise unproductive day.
If you go hard, you might be able to stay home: A recent study shows that people who did 75 minutes or more of high-intensity exercise or 150 minutes or more of moderate-intensity exercise broken into one or two workouts per week had the same lowered risk of heart disease as those who split up their workouts over several days. We warn against going this route if you are just starting, but it speaks to the value of quality of workout versus total time spent at the club; an intense half-hour workout with your accomplished personal trainer is better than 2 hours spent occupying a weight bench while you post your gym selfies on Instagram!
