Weekend Warriors

Geri_Berri · **Geri_Berri**

'Weekend warrior syndrome'

It's a familiar sight across the nation, and it's becoming known as the 'weekend warrior syndrome' - typically the once-a-week exerciser trying to fit a week's worth of exercise in one day. Vicki Lee Andrews, fitness centre manager at the YMCA in Hornsey, north London, says: 'Despite the fact that we run classes 12 hours a day, seven days a week, our influx of members is always up 60 per cent at the weekends. Both our gym and our aerobic classes are full to their safe capacity.' But is this necessarily good? Unfortunately to the majority of participants, it is not. There are two main reasons. Firstly, exercising once a week won't help you improve your fitness levels. Secondly, exercising in this way can lead to unnecessary injuries.

So what can the average person do to avoid this? The answer is to try to fit in small doses of other forms of exercise during the week. To create an effective health and fitness exercise programme, we need to base it upon an appreciation of how the body adapts to different training methods, and therefore, the principles that underpin this work.

There are two main principles: adaptation and reversibility. The adaptation principle is a simple, fundamental one. The human body's capabilities are not fixed. They are capable of being developed. If an exercise programme is sound and well-organised, then only unavoidable illness and injuries can interfere with the progress of an individual to a fitter (and healthier) state of being. The saying 'To improve it you have to use it' holds true for everyone.

However, the saying 'If you don't use it you'll lose it' is also true - reversibility being the other principle. All the components of physical fitness can be influenced by non-activity. The only good news is that if you have a high level of fitness to start with, your deterioration process is less rapid.

The principles of an exercise programme

All successful exercise programmes are based on the FITTA principle (frequency, intensity, time, type and adherence)

Frequency

This refers to the number of exercise sessions you do per week. As a general rule, once a week maintains fitness, twice a week maintains it with a small amount of progress, and three times per week is optimum for progression.

Intensity

For a body system to improve, it must work harder than it does normally - it has to 'overload'. Intensity refers to the level at which the various systems are overloaded. The amount of overload influences the rate at which the physiological adaptations take place. Remember, though, that the amount of overload needs to be built up gradually.

Time

This refers to the length and duration of each exercise period. As an individual gets fitter, the length of time they can spend exercising can be increased.

Type

This refers to the necessity of varying the type of exercise undertaken in order to avoid the individual becoming fit in a very limited way. Just imagine a long-distance swimmer, whose only exercise comes from swimming, being asked to run a marathon. They couldn't!

Adherence

If you don't exercise over a continuous period you lose all your benefits!

Making the most of an exercise programme

Bearing all of these principles in mind, it becomes obvious why the weekend exerciser is not making the most of their exercise programme. However, with small additions of other forms of exercise within the week, this can be remedied. The average person would probably say that they don't have the time to get to the gym during their busy working week. There are ways around this! Firstly, most gyms are now opening early mornings to take the pre-work exerciser into account. If you really can't bear the idea of working out before work, then why not try to fit it in during lunch or straight after work? Even two extra 20-minute bouts of exercise during the week will help improve your fitness levels.

Julia Young, who has a personal trainer at the weekends, says: 'I was initially having a one-hour session with my trainer every weekend. I really didn't think I could find the time during the week. However, I wasn't really improving until my trainer nagged me to start doing something else. I now cycle to work once a week and go swimming straight after work on another night. I have gone down one whole dress size and can now run further than I ever imagined.'

In fact, this type of exercising (known as 'cross-training') is one of the most effective forms of exercise. By using various types of exercise we can avoid injuries. And by not working the same muscles groups continuously you can improve your all-round fitness. Finally, this approach also helps you to avoid becoming bored with your exercise programme. As long as you approach your 'in-fill' exercise with the same level of safety that you do with your weekend programme, it won't be long before you see the benefits. Make sure you have an adequate warm-up. Cold muscles do not like being suddenly used! Spend about five minutes gradually warming up. Think about your exercise routine (however short) as a hill: the gradual journey up the hill is your warm-up, the walk across the top is the main part of the workout, and the slow descent is the cool-down. To keep your routines safe and effective it's important to make sure you warm up and cool down gradually and incorporate a swift final stretch. This final stretch will help you reduce muscle tension and fend off any injuries.

As a final note, remember the saying: 'If you don't use it you'll lose it.' And don't waste your weekend workout. Make time in the week to add to your fitness programme. Then, when you're fighting your way through your weekend gym programme, you can be smug: at least you'll be able to look at the 'weekend warriors' and know that you're doing something better than they are!

Source - http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/menshealth/feature/weekendwarriors.htm