Health Topic

Exercise and Physical Fitness

Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health. It can improve overall health and fitness, and reduce risk for many chronic diseases.

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Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Exercise and Physical Fitness

Exercise is anything that gets your body moving. Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health. It has many benefits, including improving your overall health and fitness, and reducing your risk for many chronic (long-term) diseases.

Every physical fitness routine is built on a few simple ideas. These include:

  • Make exercise a habit, as your body adapts to the type of activity you do most often. Regular practice will help you improve.
  • Build up your activity level slowly to help you continue to get stronger, faster, or more flexible without pushing too hard all at once.
  • Challenge yourself by lifting slightly heavier weights, adding a few more minutes to your walk, or increasing your pace.
  • Mix up your workouts to keep things interesting and help prevent injuries or burnout.
  • Show up regularly, even for short sessions, to help you continue to make progress.

There are many different types of exercise. Before you start, check with your health care provider, especially if you have trouble moving, balancing, or worry that exercise might not be safe for you.

A few main types of exercise include:

  • Aerobic exercises such as walking, running, or swimming are sometimes referred to as cardio. This is short for cardiovascular exercise. These exercises increase your breathing and heart rate. They keep your heart, lungs, and circulatory system healthy and improve your overall fitness.
  • Strength, or resistance training, exercises use weights, resistance bands, or your own body weight to build stronger muscles.
  • Balance exercises, such as tai chi or standing on one leg, improve your stability and coordination. They may make it easier for you to walk on uneven surfaces and help prevent falls.
  • Flexibility exercises, such as stretching or yoga, help your joints move more easily and improve your posture.

Most people benefit from a combination of these types of exercises. Your provider can help you choose the best type or amount of activity for you based on your fitness level and health.

Fitting regular exercise into your daily schedule may seem difficult at first. But you can start slowly and break your exercise time into chunks. Even small amounts of exercise can be helpful. You can work your way up to doing the recommended amount of exercise. How much exercise you need depends on your age and health.

To get started, you don't need fancy equipment, but having the right tools can make it easier and more fun. There are a variety of places where you can exercise and create a routine that fits your lifestyle. This includes:

  • At home. Dumbbells, kettlebells, a mat, or resistance bands are versatile and affordable options for strength training and stretching. A treadmill, a stationary bike, or a workout video are a few options for indoor cardio.
  • A fitness center, gym, or health club. These places offer equipment, classes, and sometimes personal trainers for guidance and support. Ask if you can try the center before you join, and if staff are available to show you how to use the exercise equipment.
  • Outdoors. Try riding a bike, walking your dog, or exploring local parks and trails. Dress for the weather and protect yourself from the sun. If safety is a concern, choose a well-lit neighborhood, a busy park, or even an indoor shopping mall for your walk.

Include activities that strengthen all parts of your body, especially your core, which are the muscles in your abdomen (belly), back, and hips. A strong core helps with balance and stability and can lower your risk of back injuries.

If you haven't exercised in a while, start slowly and talk to your provider if you have health concerns. If you don't feel right, or have any pain, extreme shortness of breath, or dizziness, stop exercising and seek help right away.

Even with the best intentions, it's easy to fall off track. Here are some ways to keep going:

  • Choose activities you enjoy. It's easier to make exercise a regular part of your life if you have fun doing it.
  • Exercise safely. Use the proper equipment to prevent injuries, listen to your body, and don't overdo it.
  • Give yourself goals. Your goals should be challenging, but realistic. It may be helpful to reward yourself when you reach them. The rewards could be something big, like new workout gear, or something smaller, such as a new water bottle or movie tickets.
  • Mix it up. Try a new class, playlist, Podcast, or outdoor route when things get stale.
  • Find an accountability partner. Exercise with a friend, join a group challenge, or check in with an online community.
  • Use wearable technology. A pedometer or an app like a fitness tracker on your phone or other device can help you track your progress.

It sits within Wellness and Lifestyle and Fitness and Exercise.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Exercise and Physical Fitness

640 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

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Related Issues

Statistics and Research

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Exercise, Physical Fitness. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Exercise and Physical Fitness, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.