Weekend-only workouts benefit heart health: study

NEW YORK - According to a new study, you may only need to do your heavy lifting or treadmill run on the weekend to protect your heart health.

What did the study find?

Researchers at JAMA followed movements in 100,000 people and found weekend warriors who pack all their workouts into the two days saw similar reductions in risk of heart attacks, heart failure or even stroke compared to those who work out all week.

"I think we can see that there is a trend toward cardiovascular benefit and arrhythmia benefit with increasing amounts of exercise," cardiologist Dr. Shailene Rao, from NYU Langone, said. "So, I think we have to take this study for what it is – a best effort to understand the natural efforts that people are making."

According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, adults need 150 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity a week. 

Overall, doctors said as long as each time you work for 30 minutes, you did good for your heart.