Weekend Warrior Exercise in Sedentary Female University Students

NCT07693504 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: CSK2026052
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief 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.

Conditions

Sedentary Behavior

Keywords

Weekend Warrior Exercise; Aerobic Capacity; Skeletal Muscle Strength; Female University Students; Exercise Distribution; Moderate-Intensity Exercise

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• 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 Outcomes (11)

• Change in Body Weight

  Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)

• Change in Body Mass Index

  Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)

• Change in Body Fat Percentage

  Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)

• Change in Waist-to-Hip Ratio

  Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)

• Change in Maximal Heart Rate

  Baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 8)

Study Arms (3)

Weekend Warrior Exercise Group

EXPERIMENTAL

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

Regular Exercise Group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

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

Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

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.

Interventions

Weekend Warrior Exercise BEHAVIORAL

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.

Weekend Warrior Exercise Group

Regularly Distributed Exercise BEHAVIORAL

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.

Regular Exercise Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 25 Years
• Sex: female
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• 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.

You may not qualify if:

• 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.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Chongqing Normal University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Chongqing Normal University

Chongqing, Chongqing Municipality, 401331, China

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Sedentary Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Study Officials

• Kaixiang Zhou

  Chongqing Normal University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Kaixiang Zhou

CONTACT

+86 17844597198; bsuzhoukaixiang@163.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Due to the nature of the exercise interventions, participants and exercise supervisors cannot be blinded. Outcome assessors and data analysts will be blinded to group allocation.
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Graduate Student

Model Details: Participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to the weekend warrior exercise group, regular exercise group, or control group. The two exercise groups will complete the same total weekly exercise duration but will differ in how the exercise sessions are distributed across the week.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 3, 2026
• First Posted: July 9, 2026
• Study Start: July 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2027
• Last Updated: July 13, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CN (1)