Weekend Warrior Exercise in Sedentary Female University Students

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Weekend Warrior Exercise: Participants will complete an 8-week weekend-concentrated exercise program on two consecutive days per week. On each exercise day, participants will perform 30 minutes of resistance exercise and 45 minutes of moderate-intensity jogging, resulting in 75 minutes per day and 150 minutes per week. Resistance exercises will target the lower limbs, core, and major muscle groups and may include squats, lunges, glute bridges, calf raises, and planks. Jogging intensity will be maintained at approximately 60% to 75% of maximal heart rate or a rating of perceived exertion of 12 to 14. Each session will include warm-up and cool-down activities.

Regularly Distributed Exercise: Participants will complete 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week for 8 weeks, distributed across three days. Each session will include 20 minutes of resistance exercise targeting the lower limbs, core, and major muscle groups, followed by 30 minutes of jogging. The exercise content, intensity-control principles, and safety requirements will be comparable to those of the weekend warrior group.

Study summary

This single-center, single-blind, three-arm randomized controlled trial aims to compare the effects of weekend-concentrated exercise, regularly distributed exercise, and usual lifestyle on aerobic capacity and skeletal muscle strength in sedentary female university students. Sixty participants aged 18 to 25 years will be randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to a weekend warrior group, a regular exercise group, or a control group.

The intervention will last 8 weeks. Both exercise groups will complete 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week, combining resistance exercise and jogging, but the exercise sessions will be distributed differently across the week. The control group will maintain its usual lifestyle without receiving the prescribed exercise intervention.

The primary outcomes are peak oxygen uptake and isokinetic peak torque. Secondary outcomes include body composition, maximal heart rate, maximal power and time to exhaustion, 12-minute run performance, isokinetic mean torque, physical activity, sleep quality, exercise self-efficacy, emotional status, cognitive function, adherence, feasibility, and exercise-related adverse events.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Change in Peak Oxygen Uptake (VO2peak) — Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
  Peak oxygen uptake will be assessed during a graded cardiopulmonary exercise test. VO2peak will be recorded in milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body mass per minute (mL/kg/min). The change from baseline to the end of the 8-week intervention will be compared among the three study groups.
• Change in Isokinetic Peak Torque — Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
  Skeletal muscle peak torque will be assessed using an isokinetic dynamometer and recorded in Newton-meters (N·m). The change from baseline to the end of the 8-week intervention will be compared among the three study groups.

Trial sites (1)

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