January 22, 2026
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People who engage in multiple types of physical activity, ranging from cycling to weight lifting, live longer than those who stick to one form of exercise, a new study suggests.
People who like to change up their exercise routines are in good shape.
It's the variety of workouts, not just the amount and duration of exercise, that really counts when it comes to extending one's lifespan, a study published Tuesday suggests.
"If the total amount of physical activity is kept constant, you will get additional benefits from doing a mix of physical activities," Han Han, a Harvard postdoctoral research fellow, told NewScientist.
For the study, Harvard researchers analyzed data collected from 111,000 adults over a 30-year period. People reported how much time they spent each week engaging in various physical activities including walking, running, swimming, bicycling, weight lifting, resistance training, yoga and stretching. Researchers also accounted for the amount of stairs people climbed and the amount of moderate or heavy outdoor work they did.
As expected, people who exercised more often had a lower risk of premature death. It ranged between 4% and 17%, depending on the average amount of exercise over the course of the study. But surprisingly, people who participated in the widest range of exercise types had a nearly 20% lower risk of premature death than people who were equally active but did a narrower variety of workouts.
Swimming was an exception. It did not correlate with an extended lifespan – but that does not mean it isn't a worthwhile activity, just that more research is needed into its relationship with all-cause mortality, the study said.
The bottom line? Mix it up.
"When deciding how to exercise, keep in mind that there may be extra health benefits to engaging in multiple types of physical activity, rather than relying on a single type alone," Yang Hu, a study's authors a research scientist at Harvard, said in a statement.
Despite its large cohort and extended duration, the study had limitations. The data was based on people reporting their exercise choices and levels, which can lead to errors. Also, the participants mostly were white health care professionals – a lack of diversity that could skew the results, researchers said.
