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Weekend Warrior Exercise in Sedentary Female University Students

10 juli 2026 uppdaterad av: Ziren Zhao, Chongqing Normal University

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.

Studieöversikt

Status

Har inte rekryterat ännu

Betingelser

Intervention / Behandling

Detaljerad beskrivning

This study is designed to test whether concentrating the recommended weekly exercise volume into a weekend pattern produces comparable benefits to a regularly distributed exercise pattern in sedentary female university students. The intervention emphasizes a dose-matched comparison in which both exercise groups complete the same total weekly exercise duration, while the distribution of exercise sessions differs.

After baseline screening and assessment, participants will be assigned to one of three parallel groups using a 1:1:1 allocation ratio. The weekend warrior group will complete two consecutive exercise days per week, whereas the regularly distributed exercise group will complete three exercise days per week. Both exercise programs will last 8 weeks and include resistance exercise combined with moderate-intensity jogging.

Resistance exercise will primarily target the lower limbs, core, and major muscle groups. Exercises may include squats, lunges, glute bridges, calf raises, and planks, using body weight, elastic bands, or light equipment as appropriate. Jogging may be performed as continuous jogging or a run-walk format according to individual fitness level. Exercise intensity will be monitored using heart rate and rating of perceived exertion. 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. Each session will include warm-up, supervised exercise, and cool-down activities.

The main contrast between the two exercise interventions is the weekly distribution of exercise rather than total weekly duration. The control group will maintain usual study and lifestyle habits during the 8-week period. Study staff will monitor adherence, perceived exertion, discomfort, and exercise-related events during the intervention. Outcome assessors will be blinded to group allocation when feasible.

Studietyp

Interventionell

Inskrivning (Beräknad)

60

Fas

  • Inte tillämpbar

Kontakter och platser

Det här avsnittet innehåller kontaktuppgifter för dem som genomför studien och information om var denna studie genomförs.

Studiekontakt

Studieorter

  • Kina
    • Chongqing Municipality
      • Chongqing, Chongqing Municipality, Kina, 401331
        • Chongqing Normal University
        • Kontakt:

Deltagandekriterier

Forskare letar efter personer som passar en viss beskrivning, så kallade behörighetskriterier. Några exempel på dessa kriterier är en persons allmänna hälsotillstånd eller tidigare behandlingar.

Urvalskriterier

Åldrar som är berättigade till studier

  • Vuxen

Tar emot friska volontärer

Ja

Beskrivning

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.

Studieplan

Det här avsnittet ger detaljer om studieplanen, inklusive hur studien är utformad och vad studien mäter.

Hur är studien utformad?

Designdetaljer

  • Primärt syfte: Behandling
  • Tilldelning: Randomiserad
  • Interventionsmodell: Parallellt uppdrag
  • Maskning: Enda

Vapen och interventioner

Deltagargrupp / Arm
Intervention / Behandling
Experimentell: 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.
Beteende: 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.
Aktiv komparator: 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.
Beteende: 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.
Inget ingripande: 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.

Vad mäter studien?

Primära resultatmått

Resultatmått
Åtgärdsbeskrivning
Tidsram
Change in Peak Oxygen Uptake (VO2peak)
Tidsram: 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.
Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
Change in Isokinetic Peak Torque
Tidsram: 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.
Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)

Sekundära resultatmått

Resultatmått
Åtgärdsbeskrivning
Tidsram
Change in Body Weight
Tidsram: Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
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
Tidsram: Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
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
Tidsram: Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
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
Tidsram: Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
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
Tidsram: Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
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
Tidsram: Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
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
Tidsram: Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
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
Tidsram: Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
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
Tidsram: Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
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
Tidsram: Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)
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
Tidsram: Throughout the 8-week intervention
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

Samarbetspartners och utredare

Det är här du hittar personer och organisationer som är involverade i denna studie.

Sponsor

Chongqing Normal University

Utredare

  • Huvudutredare: Kaixiang Zhou, Chongqing Normal University

Studieavstämningsdatum

Dessa datum spårar framstegen för inlämningar av studieposter och sammanfattande resultat till ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieposter och rapporterade resultat granskas av National Library of Medicine (NLM) för att säkerställa att de uppfyller specifika kvalitetskontrollstandarder innan de publiceras på den offentliga webbplatsen.

Studera stora datum

Studiestart (Beräknad)

1 juli 2026

Primärt slutförande (Beräknad)

1 oktober 2027

Avslutad studie (Beräknad)

1 oktober 2027

Studieregistreringsdatum

Först inskickad

3 juli 2026

Först inskickad som uppfyllde QC-kriterierna

3 juli 2026

Första postat (Faktisk)

9 juli 2026

Uppdateringar av studier

Senaste uppdatering publicerad (Faktisk)

13 juli 2026

Senaste inskickade uppdateringen som uppfyllde QC-kriterierna

10 juli 2026

Senast verifierad

1 juli 2026

Mer information

Termer relaterade till denna studie

Nyckelord

Ytterligare relevanta MeSH-villkor

Andra studie-ID-nummer

  • CSK2026052

Plan för individuella deltagardata (IPD)

Planerar du att dela individuella deltagardata (IPD)?

NEJ

IPD-planbeskrivning

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.

Läkemedels- och apparatinformation, studiedokument

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Nej

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Nej

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