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Does cumulating endurance training at the weekends impair training effectiveness?

Tim Meyer1, Markus Auracher, Katrin Heeg

  • 1Institute of Sports and Preventive Medicine, University of Saarland, Saarbrücken, Germany. tim.meyer@mx.uni-saarland.de

European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation : Official Journal of the European Society of Cardiology, Working Groups on Epidemiology & Prevention and Cardiac Rehabilitation and Exercise Physiology
|July 29, 2006
PubMed
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Weekend warrior training, involving intense exercise on consecutive days, yields similar endurance gains as regular training. This approach is effective for improving cardiorespiratory fitness in middle-aged adults.

Area of Science:

  • Exercise Physiology
  • Sports Science
  • Cardiorespiratory Fitness

Background:

  • Many individuals face occupational constraints limiting recreational activities to weekends.
  • This study investigates whether concentrated weekend training impacts endurance improvements.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if accumulating training load on weekends diminishes endurance gains compared to regular training.
  • To assess the effectiveness of a 'weekend warrior' training regimen.

Main Methods:

  • A 12-week longitudinal study compared three groups: 'weekend warrior', regular training, and a control group.
  • Participants (n=38, healthy untrained, 45+/-8 years) were stratified by endurance capacity and sex.
  • Training involved sessions at 90% of anaerobic threshold, monitored by heart rate, with pre- and post-training VO2max assessments.

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Main Results:

  • Both 'weekend warrior' and regular training groups showed significant improvements in VO2max compared to controls.
  • VO2max gains were similar between the 'weekend warrior' (+3.4 ml/min per kg) and regular training (+1.5 ml/min per kg) groups.
  • Heart rate during exercise decreased significantly in both training groups, with no significant difference between them.

Conclusions:

  • Accumulating training load at weekends does not impair endurance gains in middle-aged, healthy, untrained individuals.
  • Weekend warrior training is a viable strategy for improving cardiorespiratory fitness.
  • Training distribution does not appear to be a limiting factor for endurance improvements in this population.