Thursday, June 28, 2007

Worrying Over Weekend Warriors

For years I've read articles that advise exercising throughout the week - particularly painting the dangers of being a "weekend warrior" who slacks off 5 days and then goes gung-ho on the 2 days off.

Apparently these guys were terribly vulnerable to injury.

But I had often followed the "weekend warrior" pattern - especially when my weekdays got busy. And I didn't seem to suffer any ill-effects. I wondered what made me different.

Then someone tried to get some hard numbers, and came up short:
Given all the anecdotal reports about the weekend-warrior phenomenon, “we were surprised that the prevalence was low,” says study author Judy Kruger, an epidemiologist at the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
Even in the article they warn against "deconditioning" during the week. But has anyone done a study to prove that a normal workweek truly runs down your fitness? I'm skeptical. It's not like bed rest. It's work!

Where are the weekend warriors,
Weakened by 5 days off,
Traipsing office corridors
With grim tubercular coughs?

What if those warnings were crazy?
What if it's just not true?
What if slacking for 5 days
Isn't so bad for you?

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