By the way . . . weekend warriors are doing well

TO SAY I was fit to kill my husband the other day is an understatement. He ran in the dads’ race at school sports day and managed to pull not one but two hamstrings! Of course it wasn’t his fault, he said.

I knew better. He ran in the race as if he was Usain Bolt, trying to beat all the other dads. It was the hottest day of the year, there was no warm up, no training shoes — just a middle-aged man trying to prove a point.

The same man who broke his neck playing veterans rugby for a laugh, tore his shoulder ligaments in a competitive arm wrestle in the pub and fractured his foot because he trained too hard. I’m so over it. In our trade we call this type of individual a weekend warrior. At work in the week, then thinks he’s an international sportsman and still 17 at the weekends. I regularly see (mainly male) patients after a weekend’s sporting antics, pushing themselves too hard and ending up injured. So is this just downright stupid or does it have actual health benefits?

Well if you believe Loughborough University, it’s apparently a good thing. Those who cram the recommended weekly exercise quota into one or two sessions reap the benefits.

So that’s 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise in one or two sessions a week. They surveyed more than 60,000 people and found that extreme exercisers like my husband had an overall death risk 30% lower than those who were inactive. Their risk of death from cardiovascular disease was 40% lower and cancer was 18% lower.

So if you only have time at the weekend, this research tells us that men like my husband who go in hard might hurt themselves but they will still benefit.

The key is warming up, cooling down, staying hydrated and wearing the right gear. And the most important thing? Listen to your body. If one hamstring pops then it’s probably time to pull out, not carry on until the other follows suit.

He will, of course, never listen but at least I know it’s doing him some good.