Duration, speed, and weight are among the most common metrics people use to measure their workouts. But new research suggests there may be another variable worth paying attention to: variety.
The January 2026 study, published in BMJ Medicine, found that people who regularly engaged in a wider variety of physical activities had a significantly lower risk of premature death compared with those who stuck to fewer types of exercise.
Health experts aren’t necessarily surprised by these findings. As board-certified internist Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D., author of the best-selling From Fatigued to Fantastic, says, “It makes sense that doing a variety of exercises and activities is essential for long-term health, just as consuming a well-balanced diet with many different kinds of foods is.” Still, many exercisers tend to focus on one or two preferred workout modalities rather than mixing up their movement routine, which may cause them to miss out on some of the benefits variety can offer.
Ahead, a closer look at what the research says about the role of exercise variety in longevity—plus expert-backed tips for adding more variety to your own routine.
- ABOUT OUR EXPERTS: Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D., is a board-certified internist and author of the best-selling From Fatigued to Fantastic. Grayson Wickham, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., is a physical therapist and founder of digital movement platform Movement Vault. Jake Harcoff, C.S.C.S., is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and the head coach and owner of AIM Athletic.
The Study
A team of researchers at Harvard set out to answer the question: Does increasing exercise variety support longevity to a greater extent than increasing exercise quantity alone?
To examine the relationship, the researchers combined data about otherwise healthy adults from two long-term cohort studies—one that included more than 70,000 women (called the Nurses’ Health Study )and another that included more than 40,000 men (called the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study). Both studies required participants to share detailed information about their lifestyle habits and physical activity patterns every two years for roughly three decades.
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Participants answered questions about the kinds of exercise they performed, how frequently they did them, and how long each session lasted—including how many minutes per week they spent walking, running, cycling, swimming, lifting weights, and/or mowing the lawn.
Researchers used this information to estimate each person’s overall physical activity level, which they recorded in metabolic equivalent task hours (MET-hours) per week, a standard measure of energy expenditure. They also used the insights to develop a “variety score” that reflects the number of different types of physical activities a person regularly engages in over time.
The Findings
After analyzing the data, the researchers confirmed: People who are more physically active tend to have better overall health. In this study specifically, the more active participants had lower rates of high blood pressure and high cholesterol, as well as reduced risk of premature death from cancer, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory diseases.
That’s not all, though. The researchers also uncovered something less studied—that exercise variety matters, too.
In fact, the participants who engaged in the widest variety of physical activities experienced even greater longevity benefits. Compared with participants with the least variety, the high-variety exercisers had a 19 percent lower all-cause mortality, and 13 to 41 percent lower mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease, and other causes.
Notably, this relationship held when these “movement chameleons” exercised the same total amount as folks who stuck to a modality or two. In other words, among participants who logged similar amounts of physical activity, those who mixed up their workouts had a lower mortality risk.
Altogether, the findings suggest that doing a little bit of everything offers greater benefits than doing the same thing over and over again.
Why Variety Matters
Mixing up exercise supports longevity in a few ways. First, having multiple types of physical activities in your toolbox makes it easier to hit the recommended 150-plus minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week, says physical therapist Grayson Wickham, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., founder of digital movement platform Movement Vault. That’s especially helpful during weeks when weather, travel, or scheduling conflicts make certain workouts—like outdoor runs or bike rides—harder to pull off.
Second, variety can make it easier to stay active across the lifespan. “Beyond simply reducing boredom, variety helps distribute stress across different parts of the body, which can lower the risk of overuse injuries that often occur when someone performs the same activity over and over again,” says certified strength and conditioning specialist Jake Harcoff, C.S.C.S., head coach and owner of AIM Athletic.
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Perhaps most notable, however, is the fact that different types of exercise offer distinct physiological benefits. Just as different foods provide different nutrients, different workout modalities deliver different health perks, according to Teitelbaum. “Some forms of exercise—like resistance training—help build and maintain muscle mass,” he says. “This supports metabolic health, bone density, and independence as we age.”
Other activities, such as running, cycling, swimming, or brisk walking, primarily improve cardiovascular fitness and stamina, which are closely linked to heart health, he says. Meanwhile, practices like yoga, Pilates, and mobility work support balance and flexibility, which can help reduce fall risk and support healthy movement more generally later in life.
Your Move(s)
“One of the simplest and most effective ways to find exercise modalities you enjoy is to try a wide variety of activities,” says Harcoff. If you’re not sure where to start, check out your local fitness hotspots. Many community centers and big-box gyms offer a range of group fitness classes—such as step, yoga, Pilates, strength training, and dance—all included with membership, notes Wickham. For people who are brand new to exercise or looking to branch out from their usual routine, joining a gym can be an accessible way to experiment with different forms of movement, he says.
You can also reach out to your friends, Teitelbaum suggests. “Exercising with friends is one of the best ways to ensure you’ll actually do it,” he says. Ask your rock-climbing friend if they’d be willing to show you the ropes at their gym. Tag along on a walk with your postpartum friend who’s getting back into regular movement. Or ask your lap-loving friend if they have an extra pair of goggles and would be willing to share a lane with you.
If you try something and don’t like it, that’s okay! There are so many different ways to move that there’s no reason to stick with a training style that doesn’t appeal to you. “Allowing yourself to lean into the types of movement you naturally gravitate toward will make it much easier to stay consistent over time,” says Harcoff. Dreading your workouts, as it turns out, is one of the fastest ways to derail a fitness routine.
Once you find multiple types of movement you enjoy, Harcoff suggests letting your fitness and health goals guide your prioritization. “If your primary goal is building muscle or maximizing strength, for example, then you should prioritize resistance training over endurance work,” he says. Meanwhile, if your goal is to set a personal record in a race or improve your cardiovascular fitness and endurance, endurance-focused training—like running, cycling, or swimming—may take the lead in your routine.
If longevity is part of the picture (and it should be!), though, do your best to keep some variety in the mix so your body continues to benefit from different types of movement.