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The Case Against the Weekend Warrior

By U.S. News & World Report

Do you remain glued to your chair for your 50-hour workweeks, but then jump to play five sets of tennis that first spring Saturday? Do you come home from the office too drained to hit the gym, but then double up on fitness classes over the weekend? If so, you may just be ” a weekend warrior,” or someone who crams his or her exercise into one time period. While weekend warriors achieve the American Heart Association’s recommendation to exercise moderately for 150 minutes each week, they do it in one bout instead of breaking it up into shorter time periods several days a week.

Is this healthy? On the one hand, getting some exercise is definitely better than not getting any, and some research suggests that being a weekend warrior can protect you against heart disease and cancer as much as being a more regular exerciser. But there are some definite drawbacks to doing too much at one time.

For one, most weekend warriors engage in vigorous activity, like running and contact sports, as opposed to more moderate types of exercise like walking or hiking. That sporadic level of intensity can boost your risk of injury. As a physical therapist who specializes in sports and orthopedic injuries, I see such effects firsthand. Many of my patients make appointments on Monday morning after hurting themselves during their weekend workouts. Believe me: You don’t want to be one of them. While injury prevention is, of course, important to avoid pain and dysfunction, it’s just as important to prevent lapses in your ability to exercise.

[See: Lesser-Known Ways to Ruin Your Joints.]

Being a weekend warrior also means experiencing all of the negative health effects that come with being sedentary all week. Think about what sitting for 40-plus hours a week does to your body. It tightens your hip flexors, shuts down activity in muscles like your glutes and encourages poor posture in your lower back and neck, especially if you look at screens all day.

Ready for more bad news? If you’re a weekend warrior in your 30s or older — as many are because young and middle adulthood is also when people tend to be the busiest with family and career life — you are not doing all you can to protect yourself against age-related changes that affect your athleticism and resiliency. As early as your 30s, your tissues lose elasticity and water content, making them more susceptible to damage. Unless you’re exercising regularly, muscle mass and strength also decreases, and the heart is less able to promote good blood flow, making vigorous exercise more difficult.

[See: 5 Strength Machines You Should Start Using ASAP.]

Now for the good news: Regular, consistent exercise can help protect you from injury and counteract many of these negative changes. While there is no magical formula for how to best increase your activity, there is data that suggests it’s typically safe to increase your activity by 10 percent per week. But what if you’re not doing straight running, cycling or swimming? How can you gauge when you are ready to play a 90-minute game of soccer? Here’s my advice:

— While you are working out, listen to your body, take breaks, stretch often and drink plenty of fluids.

— Complete an appropriate warmup; this improves blood flow to tissues and primes the heart to sustain higher levels of activity. Warming up also helps to increase the extensibility of muscles and tendons, helping them to resist damage.

— Take caution when starting a new level of activity — especially if it requires quick movements like changing direction or jumping. Want to sign up for that neighborhood twilight basketball league? Go ahead, but give yourself two to three weeks to get in shape before joining a pickup game.

[See: 7 Signs You Should Stop Exercising Immediately.]

— Work on strength and flexibility during the week. Try, for example, sitting less, doing a few brief exercises throughout the day and staying out of habitual postures. It doesn’t have to be elaborate; do a few rounds of walking lunges, air squats and stretches every other day and you will markedly reduce your injury rate.

More from U.S. News

How to Be the New Kid in Fitness Class

7 Pieces of Workout Gear to Ditch or Replace

Easy Ways to Get 10,000 Steps Per Day

The Case Against the Weekend Warrior originally appeared on usnews.com

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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