do exercise

Meaning

To perform physical activity in order to stay healthy, strong, or fit. While 'exercise' can be used as a verb on its own, 'do exercise' is a common collocation used to describe the general act of physical training.

Examples

• You should do exercise at least three times a week.

  You should do exercise at least three times a week.

• I don't have much time to do exercise, but I try to walk every day.

  I don't have much time to do exercise, but I try to walk every day.

• Doing exercise in the morning gives me energy for the whole day.

  Doing exercise in the morning gives me energy for the whole day.

• The doctor told her she needs to do gentle exercise like swimming.

  The doctor told her she needs to do gentle exercise like swimming.

• It's hard to find the motivation to do exercise when it's raining outside.

  It's hard to find the motivation to do exercise when it's raining outside.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I need to make exercise to lose weight.

  ✓ I need to do exercise to lose weight.

  'Exercise' collocates with the verb 'do', not 'make'. This is a very common error for speakers of Romance languages.

• ✗ He does many exercises every morning.

  ✓ He does a lot of exercise every morning.

  When talking about general physical activity, 'exercise' is uncountable. 'Exercises' (plural) refers to specific individual tasks, like grammar exercises or specific stretches.

Related Expressions

Practice

• If you want to stay healthy, you need to eat well and ___ regularly.

  💡 Perform physical activity.

  Show answer

  do exercise

• I usually ___ at home using a yoga mat and some dumbbells.

  💡 Engage in physical workouts.

  Show answer

  do exercise