Many people believe that if they “work out,” they’re doing enough for their health. Others feel that staying busy and active throughout the day means structured exercise isn’t necessary. The truth is, exercise and physical activity are not the same thing—and both play a critical role in long-term health, function, and longevity. To truly support your body, reduce health risks, and age well, you need both gym-based exercise and movement outside the gym working together. This blog focuses on why you need both for long-term health.
What’s the Difference Between Exercise and Physical Activity?
Understanding the difference is the first step.
Exercise can be defined as:
- Planned and structured
- Purposeful and repetitive
- Designed to improve strength, fitness, or performance
Examples include:
- Strength training in the gym
- Cardio workouts
- Fitness classes
- Running or cycling sessions
Physical activity, on the other hand, can be defined as:
- Any movement that raises energy expenditure
- Unstructured and often built into daily life
Examples include:
- Walking
- Gardening
- Cleaning
- Taking the stairs
- Playing with kids or pets
- Sports and recreational activities
- Standing, carrying, and moving throughout the day
- Taking on projects around the house
Both exercise and physical activity matter—but they affect the body in different and complementary ways.
Why Exercise in the Gym Is So Important
Gym-based exercise provides benefits that daily movement alone cannot.
Structured exercise helps:
- Build and maintain muscle mass
- Increase bone density
- Improve strength, power, and balance
- Protect joints and reduce injury risk
- Support metabolic and cardiovascular health
Strength training, in particular, is essential for maintaining independence as we age. It prepares the body for the physical demands of daily life—lifting, carrying, climbing, and getting up from the floor. It mitigates the potential onset of chronic illness and injuries.
However, exercise alone is not enough if the rest of the day is spent sitting.
Why Physical Activity Outside the Gym Matters Just as Much
This is where many people get stuck.
You can exercise once per day and still be considered highly sedentary if the remaining hours are spent sitting. Research consistently shows that prolonged sedentary time is associated with poorer health outcomes—even in people who meet exercise guidelines.
Physical activity throughout the day:
- Improves blood sugar regulation
- Supports circulation and joint health
- Reduces stiffness and pain
- Improves energy and mood
- Lowers overall health risk
In other words, exercise and physical activity work best together.
What the Physical Activity Guidelines Actually Mean
Current guidelines recommend:
- 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, or
- 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week, plus
- Strength training at least 2 days per week
Here’s the key point many people miss:
👉 Physical activity includes more than workouts.
Activities that count include:
- Brisk walking
- Cycling for transportation
- Active housework
- Yard work
- Carrying loads
- Recreational activities
- Occupational movement
If it gets you moving and raises your heart rate—even slightly—it counts.
The Sedentary Lifestyle Problem
One of the most important findings in recent health research is this:
People who exercise once per day but remain sedentary the rest of the time still carry elevated health risks compared to individuals who move frequently throughout the day.
In contrast, individuals who:
- Exercise only 1–2 times per week
- But remain physically active daily
- Walk often, stand more, and move regularly
often show better long-term health outcomes than those who train hard but sit the rest of the time.
This doesn’t mean exercise isn’t important—it means movement frequency matters.
How Exercise and Physical Activity Complement Each Other
Think of it this way:
- Exercise builds capacity
- Physical activity uses that capacity
Exercise makes you stronger, more resilient, and more capable. Physical activity allows you to apply that strength throughout your life.
Together, exercise and physical activity:
- Reduce mortality risk
- Improve quality of life
- Support healthy aging
- Decrease pain and stiffness
- Improve confidence in movement
Neither replaces the other. You need both.
How to Incorporate Both Into Your Life
A balanced approach looks like this:
- Strength training 2–4 times per week
- Intentional cardio sessions as needed
- Daily walking or movement breaks
- Minimizing long periods of sitting
- Staying active on non-gym days
You don’t need to “do it all perfectly.” You just need to move often and train intentionally.
The Takeaway
Exercise and physical activity are not interchangeable—but they are inseparable when it comes to long-term health.
Longevity Nexum prepares your body.
Daily movement keeps it healthy.
If your goal is longevity, independence, and feeling good in your body for years to come, the answer isn’t choosing one over the other—it’s making room for both. If this resonates with you or someone you know, call us today to help you get on the right track to longe term health and happiness 705-796-6135
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