Association of the “Weekend Warrior” Exercise Pattern With Sarcopenia in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Comparison With Regular Activity and Inactivity Patterns

Purpose : Although the “weekend warrior (WW)” physical activity (PA) pattern has known health benefits, its association with sarcopenia is unclear. This study examined whether the WW PA pattern is associated with a lower likelihood of sarcopenia compared with the inactive and regularly active (RA) PA patterns. Methods : This cross-sectional study included 28,918 participants. Individuals reporting ≥150 minutes per week of moderate PA, ≥75 minutes per week of vigorous PA, or ≥ 150 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous leisure-time PA were classified as “active.” Within the active group, those exercising 1 to 2 days per week were categorized as WWs, and those exercising on ≥3 days per week were categorized as RA. Sarcopenia was defined as a sarcopenia index >2 SD below the sex-specific reference. Results : In a logistic regression adjusted for all covariates, WWs had significantly lower odds of sarcopenia compared with both inactive (OR 0.16; 95% CI, 0.07–0.35) and RA individuals (OR 0.25; 95% CI, 0.11–0.56). RA participants also showed reduced odds compared with the inactive group (OR 0.64; 95% CI, 0.52–0.79). Regarding PA volume, the Kruskal–Wallis test indicated that RA participants participate in more moderate-intensity PA (RA 159.3 vs WW 125.3 min/wk), whereas WWs engaged in more vigorous-intensity PA (RA 32.4 vs WW 47.1 min/wk). Conclusions : The WW PA pattern was associated with a lower prevalence of sarcopenia compared with both inactive and RA individuals, suggesting that concentrated, infrequent but high-intensity activity may help reduce sarcopenia risk—particularly for those with limited time.