Weekend Warrior Exercise in Sedentary Female University Students

Effects of Weekend Warrior Exercise on Aerobic Capacity and Skeletal Muscle Strength in Sedentary Female University Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Sedentary Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Weekend Warrior Exercise; Behavioral: Regularly Distributed Exercise

Detailed Description

Sedentary behavior and insufficient physical activity are common among university students. Although adults are generally encouraged to accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, academic demands and limited weekday availability may make regularly distributed exercise difficult to maintain. The weekend warrior exercise pattern concentrates most of the recommended weekly exercise volume into one or two days and may therefore provide a more flexible exercise strategy.

Eligible participants will be female university students aged 18 to 25 years who report sitting for at least 6 hours per day and whose physical activity status is further assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. After health screening, written informed consent, and baseline assessments, participants will be randomly allocated in a 1:1:1 ratio to one of three parallel groups.

Participants in the weekend warrior group will exercise on two consecutive days per week. On each exercise day, they will complete 30 minutes of resistance exercise and 45 minutes of jogging, for a total of 75 minutes per day and 150 minutes per week.

Participants in the regular exercise group will exercise on three days per week. Each session will include 20 minutes of resistance exercise and 30 minutes of jogging, for a total of 50 minutes per session and 150 minutes per week.

The resistance exercise content, jogging format, intensity-control principles, and safety requirements will be comparable between the two exercise groups. Jogging intensity will generally be maintained at approximately 60% to 75% of maximal heart rate or a rating of perceived exertion of 12 to 14. Resistance exercise will target the lower limbs, core, and other major muscle groups and may include squats, lunges, glute bridges, calf raises, and planks.

Participants in the control group will maintain their usual study and lifestyle habits and will not receive the exercise intervention prescribed by the study. Their participation in any additional structured exercise will be monitored during the study.

Assessments will be conducted before and after the 8-week intervention. The primary outcomes will be peak oxygen uptake and isokinetic peak torque. Secondary outcomes will 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, and feasibility. Exercise completion, perceived exertion, discomfort, adverse reactions, and exercise-related events will be recorded throughout the intervention.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Kaixiang Zhou; Phone Number: +86 17844597198; Email: bsuzhoukaixiang@163.com

Study Locations

• China
  • Chongqing Municipality
    • Chongqing, Chongqing Municipality, China, 401331
      • Chongqing Normal University
      • Contact: Kaixiang Zhou; Phone Number: +86 17844597198; Email: bsuzhoukaixiang@163.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Female university students aged 18 to 25 years.
• Self-reported sedentary time of at least 6 hours per day, further assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ).
• No cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, metabolic, or musculoskeletal diseases.
• Relatively regular menstrual cycles.
• Able to understand the study procedures, willing to complete the intervention and assessments, and willing to provide written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any condition identified through clinical assessment or health screening that makes participation in moderate-intensity exercise or exercise-to-exhaustion testing inappropriate.
• Participation in regular exercise training, a systematic weight-loss or body-shaping program, or another exercise intervention study within the previous 3 months.
• Recent substantial body-weight fluctuations that may affect body-composition assessment.
• Cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, metabolic, or musculoskeletal diseases, or current use of medications that may affect exercise performance, heart-rate responses, or muscle function.
• Irregular menstrual cycles.
• Inability to complete the 8-week intervention, post-intervention assessments, or required study records.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Weekend Warrior Exercise Group; Participants will complete an 8-week weekend-concentrated exercise program. They will exercise on two consecutive days per week, completing 30 minutes of resistance exercise and 45 minutes of jogging on each exercise day, for a total of 75 minutes per day and 150 minutes per week.	Behavioral: 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.
Active Comparator: Regular Exercise Group; Participants will complete an 8-week regularly distributed exercise program. They will exercise on three days per week, completing 20 minutes of resistance exercise and 30 minutes of jogging during each session, for a total of 50 minutes per session and 150 minutes per week.	Behavioral: 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.
No Intervention: Control Group; Participants will maintain their usual study and lifestyle habits during the 8-week study period and will not receive the exercise intervention prescribed by the study. Their participation in additional structured exercise will be monitored.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Peak Oxygen Uptake (VO2peak)	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.	Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
Change in Isokinetic Peak Torque	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.	Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Body Weight	Body weight will be measured in kilograms (kg). The change from baseline to the end of the 8-week intervention will be compared among the three study groups.	Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
Change in Body Mass Index	Body mass index will be calculated as body weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared (kg/m²). The change from baseline to week 8 will be compared among the three study groups.	Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
Change in Body Fat Percentage	Body fat percentage will be assessed using body composition analysis and reported as a percentage (%). The change from baseline to week 8 will be compared among the three study groups.	Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
Change in Waist-to-Hip Ratio	Waist-to-hip ratio will be calculated by dividing waist circumference by hip circumference. The change from baseline to week 8 will be compared among the three study groups.	Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
Change in Maximal Heart Rate	Maximal heart rate will be recorded during the graded exercise test and reported in beats per minute (bpm). The change from baseline to week 8 will be compared among the three study groups.	Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
Change in Maximal Power at Exhaustion	The maximal power output achieved during the graded exercise test will be recorded in watts (W). The change from baseline to week 8 will be compared among the three study groups.	Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
Change in Time to Exhaustion	Time to exhaustion during the graded exercise test will be recorded in seconds. The change from baseline to week 8 will be compared among the three study groups.	Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
Change in 12-Minute Run Distance	The total distance completed during the 12-minute run test will be recorded in meters (m). The change from baseline to week 8 will be compared among the three study groups.	Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
Change in Isokinetic Mean Torque	Mean torque will be assessed using an isokinetic dynamometer and reported in Newton-meters (N·m). The change from baseline to week 8 will be compared among the three study groups.	Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
Change in Physical Activity Level Assessed by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire	Physical activity level will be assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and expressed as metabolic equivalent minutes per week (MET-min/week). Higher values indicate a greater level of physical activity.	Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
Exercise Adherence	Exercise adherence will be calculated as the number of completed prescribed exercise sessions divided by the total number of prescribed sessions, multiplied by 100, and reported as a percentage. This outcome will be assessed separately in the two exercise groups.	Throughout the 8-week intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Chongqing Normal University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Kaixiang Zhou, Chongqing Normal University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): July 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 3, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 3, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): July 9, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 9, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 3, 2026
• Last Verified: July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Aerobic Capacity; Female University Students; Weekend Warrior Exercise; Skeletal Muscle Strength; Exercise Distribution; Moderate-Intensity Exercise
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Sedentary Behavior
• Other Study ID Numbers: CSK2026052

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Individual participant data will not be shared. Study findings will be reported only in aggregate or anonymized form in academic publications, conference presentations, and research reports, in accordance with the approved protocol and informed consent.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No