Can a mostly-weekend week work?
Yes, with two conditions. WHO's 2020 guidelines advise adults to do muscle-strengthening activity for all major muscle groups on two or more days a week, and to build up 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity across the week. Saturday and Sunday sessions cover the strength part. The aerobic part is harder to fit into two days, which is why the week below adds a weekday session and daily walking.
The second condition is spacing. Two hard sessions back to back and then five days off leaves Sunday tired and the weekdays empty. Splitting the work by day and adding a small weekday session fixes both. Before you pick a gym, check that RPM in Al Manhal, or any other option, is open at the weekend hours you would use.
The weekend-weighted week
Two long sessions carry the week. The weekday session is short, and its main job is to break the gap.
| Session | When | Length | What it holds | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday main | Saturday morning | 75 to 90 minutes | Heavier strength: a squat or leg press, a press and a row, then accessories | You are freshest, so the heaviest work goes here |
| Sunday main | Sunday, at a time that suits the family | 60 to 75 minutes | Lighter strength with a hinge, a pulldown and carries, then 20 minutes of conditioning on the sled, bike or ropes | Different muscles and a different effort from Saturday |
| Weekday session | Tuesday or Wednesday | About 30 minutes | Steady cardio, or one strength exercise you want to practise | Breaks the gap and adds aerobic minutes |
| Everyday movement | Monday to Friday | Short and often | Walks after meals, stairs and calls taken on foot | WHO links activity of any bout length with better health |
| Rest | Monday, plus one more weekday | Sleep and normal life | Recovery after the weekend pair |
Loads, sets and reps depend on your experience, so take them from a coach or a written programme. If you have a medical condition or an injury, check with your doctor before you start.
Saturday and Sunday, back to back
The risk of a weekend-heavy week is that Sunday turns into a weaker copy of Saturday. Plan the two days as a pair:
- Put the heaviest lifts on Saturday, and keep Sunday's strength work at a weight you could lift a few more times.
- Train different movements. If Saturday was squats and presses, Sunday is hinges and pulls.
- Keep Sunday's conditioning moderate: you should finish able to talk in short sentences.
- Sleep properly on Saturday night. A late night shows up in Sunday's session more than any programme does.
- If Sunday feels flat after a hard Saturday, cut it down to the conditioning block and go home.
Some soreness on Monday is normal after a new or harder weekend. Soreness that lasts most of the week is a sign to reduce the load on Saturday.
The weekday top-up: small on purpose
The weekday session should be easy to say yes to. Thirty minutes on a bike or treadmill, or one strength exercise practised with light weight, is enough. It shortens the gap between Sunday and the next Saturday, and it adds aerobic minutes the weekend cannot.
- Choose the evening with the fewest commitments, usually Tuesday or Wednesday.
- If you cannot reach the gym that week, a brisk walk or a home routine does the same job.
- Do not let it grow into a third heavy session. Its job is to keep the thread, not to add fatigue before Saturday.
If you want the top-up to be a structured strength session, use the 30-minute template at a lighter weight.
Weekend hours, crowds and the Friday question
Check any gym's weekend hours against the slots you plan to use. If you count Friday as part of your weekend, remember that many gyms keep shorter Friday hours and that Friday prayers shape the middle of the day. RPM's Friday hours are shorter as well, as the table shows.
| Days | Opening hours |
|---|---|
| Saturday to Thursday | 06:00–23:00 |
| Friday | 09:00–22:00 |
Hours can change, for example during Ramadan. Confirm with the team before a late or early visit.
Weekend crowds vary by gym and by hour, and RPM does not publish busy times. An early Saturday slot suits people with family plans later in the day, and summer afternoons send more people indoors. When the gym is least busy covers how a typical week fills up, and a weekend visit at your own hour tells you the rest.
Paying for a mostly-weekend membership
Count weekends, not months. A year has 52 weekends, but if travel, family events and Eid holidays take eight of them, you are left with 44 weekends of two sessions, or 88 visits. A weekday session in most weeks adds about 35 more, for roughly 123 visits a year.
With placeholders: if a membership costs [M] a month and a single visit costs [V], the membership is the cheaper way to train when 12 × [M] ÷ 123 is less than [V]. Ask whether any tier or arrangement suits weekend-heavy use rather than assuming one exists, and ask about freezing for summer travel. For the months when you only manage weekends, compare paying per visit or joining.
How RPM suits a weekend trainer
RPM is one club, on Level 4 of AD HUB Sports Complex in Al Manhal, with free on-site parking at AD HUB and a lift to the floor. For long weekend sessions, photos of the training floor show a squat rack with colour bumper plates, plate-loaded machines and cable towers. The functional area has a turf lane with a sled, battle ropes and kettlebells for Sunday's conditioning block.
After a long session, the recovery suite has a Finnish sauna, an aroma steam room and an ice bath. Ask which tiers include it, and check with your doctor first if you have a heart condition or are pregnant, because heat and cold do not suit everyone.
Women can train in the women-only Ladies section, and men train in the Mixed section. Where it may not fit: if weekend family plans leave you only a short window, a longer drive to Al Manhal can cost more than it gives. Prices are confirmed on enquiry, and a free guided tour on a Saturday shows you the floor at weekend hours.
Sources
Questions, answered.
Is training only at weekends enough?
Two weekend sessions meet WHO's advice on muscle strengthening for adults. They rarely cover the aerobic side on their own, so add the weekday session and some daily walking.
Will I be sore all week?
In the first few weeks you may feel it on Monday, and that usually settles as your body adapts. If soreness lasts most of the week, lower the load or the number of sets on Saturday.
What if I miss a whole weekend?
Do the Saturday session midweek if you can, then pick up the normal pattern the following weekend. Do not try to make it up with extra-long sessions.
Should my weekend sessions run past 90 minutes?
Rarely. Beyond that most people are tired and the quality of the work drops. If you have more time, add a walk or some mobility work rather than more lifting.