Physical activity and exercise Archive

A 2025 study suggests that squeezing a week's worth of exercise (150 minutes) into just one or two days - a "weekend warrior" pattern - is linked to the same heart benefits as daily exercise.

A small 2025 study found that older adults who did six months of weight training improved their ability to recall recent events and information. They also had had less brain shrinkage in regions affected by Alzheimer's disease, compared with people who did not do the training.

Laughter yoga blends traditional yoga movements with laughter therapy to offer a playful approach to stress management. The group sessions consist of physical exercises and stretches, relaxation and breathing techniques, and forced smiling and vigorous laughter.

A regular yoga practice may help people shed pounds while also improving their heart health. A form of low- to moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, yoga also stretches and strengthens muscles. A 2025 review article suggests that yoga can decrease body mass index, waist circumference, and body fat percentage while also improving blood pressure and cholesterol values.

Older men can get "flat" or weak buttocks from spending too much time sitting, which can weaken gluteal muscles and create tight hip flexors. This weakness can place excess demand on other parts of the body, which can lead to pain in the lower back, hips, and knees and increase risk for lower-body injuries. The best way to strengthen a weak backside is to break up prolonged periods of sitting with regular movement and perform exercises that build up gluteal muscles, such as deadlifts, bridges, and step-ups.

National guidelines recommend at least two sessions of muscle-strengthening resistance training each week. Resistance training, also known as strength training, consists of upper- and lower-body exercises using free weights, weight machines, resistance bands, or one's own body weight. Resistance training offers an array of benefits, including increased muscle strength, improved heart health, stronger bones, better mobility, and greater brain function.

The purported health benefits of cold plunges include less stress, better sleep, and enhanced immunity, but the evidence is thin. While the practice may ease muscle soreness after intense exercise, it may have detrimental effects on gains in muscle power and strength. Because the shock of cold water on the skin can raise heart rate and blood pressure, people with cardiovascular disease (especially heart rhythm abnormalities) should avoid the practice.

A 2025 review of 10 randomized controlled trials (involving about 300 people) found that those who took part in two or three one-hour water aerobics classes weekly for at least 10 weeks lost up to 6 pounds and trimmed their waists by about an inch.

When blood pressure remains high despite treatment, making certain lifestyle changes can help. Examples include reducing dietary sodium and increasing dietary potassium, losing weight, limiting alcohol intake to no more than one drink per day, exercising (doing aerobics and strength training), using tools that improve medication adherence (such as an automatic pill dispenser, a medication diary, a smartphone alarm, or a reminder app), quitting smoking, getting more sleep, managing stress, and reducing caffeine intake.

Dancing is a popular leisure activity. Evidence suggests dance boasts all the same benefits as other forms of consistent aerobic exercise: lowering blood pressure, building muscle and bone, increasing aerobic capacity, reducing anxiety, and improving depression symptoms. Dance can also counter loneliness and isolation and be easier to stick with than exercise that's more repetitive. People who want to try dance can frame it as a hobby instead of exercise, take a group class, and modify dance movements to accommodate pain or limited mobility.