Exercise and Fitness Archive

Muscles naturally weaken over time. But people can preserve strength and retain function with regular physical activity, including exercises to build lower-body strength. Four daily exercises are sit‑to‑stands, glute sets, heel raises, and single‑leg stands.

Regular resistance training, with either home-based or gym exercises, improves strength, muscle size, power, endurance, and daily function. New guidelines recommend resistance training with high effort that works all major muscle groups at least twice a week.

Tai chi is gentle and not strenuous, but it has been shown to have a positive effect on muscle strength, flexibility, and balance, and it can be practiced by people in nearly any state of health or physical condition.

Third spaces are physical locations outside the home and work where people meet and socialize with other individuals. Add in a fitness component—gyms, exercise classes, walking groups—and the mental and physical health benefits multiply.

Our abilities may change during the course of a lifetime. Adaptive sports are competitive or recreational activities that are modified to support people living with disabilities or limitations.

To reap the cardiovascular benefits of strength training, people should challenge themselves by gradually increasing the amount of weight they lift and the number of repetitions they do.

Harvard fitness expert Michele Stanten takes you through a simple exercise to tighten your abs, strengthen your back, and improve your balance.