The words “Exercise” and “Physical Activity” are often thought of – and used – interchangeably.
As we will see below this is not at all surprising and, TBH, for most people in real life, it probably doesn’t matter too much.
My last post (“Getting to the Heart of Activity”) talked about how the importance of “being active” was first reported (“discovered”) in a 1950s Research study, and I made some brief comments in that piece on “Exercise” and “Physical Activity” differences.
In this post I’ll clarify and expand on the how and the why of those differences
So …
To restate the title Question …
Is “Exercise” the same as “Physical Activity”?
The answer is …
It depends on who is asking – who is answering – and who cares.
- If you are a “Regular person” – it’s not really an issue and you probably won’t think about it.
- If you are a “Research Matters person” – it’s an important issue and you probably will think about it.
- Regular person thinking
In the general scheme of things – for regular (non-research) people – most of the time it won’t really matter if what you think you are doing is called “Exercise” or “Physical Activity. You are either going to do it or not do it regardless of the proper name.
The only potentially important difference – especially at the “just starting out” level – is, perhaps, in the motivational sense.
What I mean by that is our evolved (or socially imposed) reaction to the words themselves may have a different motivational impact on how likely we are to start to “Exercise” vs start to do “Physical Activity”.
For some sedentary people, the word “Exercise” – and the images it conjures up – is far more intimidating than the softer, more easily embraceable, “Physical Activity”. This is an observation based on working with hundreds of individuals and groups over the years.
I write more about this in my recent book “Park Further Away: … and 49 other NEAT ways to energize your life”
- Research Matters person thinking
For those of us in the health and fitness field, the absolute necessity for valid and reliable measurement means that there is no room for doubt!
“Physical Activity” and “Exercise” are different. ALSO – They each have specific (though overlapping) definitions.
Here are those definitions, according to The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the world’s largest sports medicine and exercise science organization.
Physical Activity:
“Any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure.”
This refers mainly to regular daily tasks that are conventionally known as “Activities of Daily Living” (ADL).
Exercise:
“A subset of physical activity that is planned, structured, and repetitive with the goal of improving or maintaining one or more components of physical fitness.”
This is a bit of a mouthful but what it really means is “Exercise” is a specific type (subset) of “Physical Activity” that is purposely focused on “getting fit/getting fitter”
So – in brief…
If you are doing something specifically to “get fitter” like lifting weights or running etc., it is, officially, “Exercise”.
If you are doing some kind of general ADL-like task such as mowing the lawn, walking the dog, etc., it is, officially, “Physical Activity”.
This means that, from a Research perspective …
All “Physical Activity” is “Exercise”, but not all “Exercise” is “Physical Activity”
Got it?
In real life of course it is not so cut and dried – we often mix and match …
For example …
“I think I’ll mow the lawn today – It’ll be good to get some exercise”
“I’m taking the dog for a walk later on – I need the exercise as much as he does”
Also, if you are just out walking to try to accumulate your 10,000 daily steps (which is, by definition, “planned, structured, and repetitive”), is it “Exercise” or “Physical Activity”, and would it matter?
So – there you have it. “Exercise” and “Physical Activity” are the same but different.
Hope that clears things up for you
NOTE: If you are interested in
- Obtaining more information on this topic
- Learning how Research could Matter to you or to your business
Or if you feel some aspect of your business or lifestyle could benefit from a Research focus
Contact Dr. Phillips directly at wphillips@syfound.com – or use our Contact Page