Fazer exercício

You use fazer exercício when you want to talk about the act of exercising. It’s a verb phrase, so fazer (to do/make) is the verb, and exercício (exercise) is the noun. You can put it in any tense or conjugate fazer to fit your sentence. For example, 'Eu faço exercício todos os dias' means 'I exercise every day.' It’s super flexible!

• My friend texted me: 'Vamos fazer exercício amanhã?' (Let's exercise tomorrow?)
• I saw a post on Instagram: 'Domingo é dia de fazer exercício ao ar livre!' (Sunday is a day for exercising outdoors!)
• On a fitness app: 'Complete 30 minutes of fazer exercício today.'
• A doctor might advise: 'É importante fazer exercício regularmente.' (It's important to exercise regularly.)
• Ordering a healthy meal plan: 'Inclui um plano para fazer exercício?' (Does it include a plan for exercising?)

Use fazer exercício when you're talking about any physical activity aimed at improving your health, fitness, or appearance. This includes going to the gym, running, swimming, dancing, yoga, or even just a good long walk. If you're discussing your fitness routine or planning an active outing, this is your phrase. It's suitable for most everyday conversations about health.

Don't use fazer exercício for purely recreational or non-physical activities. For instance, playing a board game is not fazer exercício. Also, if you're talking about mental exercise, like solving a puzzle, you wouldn't use this phrase. It's strictly for physical exertion. If you're just relaxing on the couch, that's definitely not fazer exercício – unless you're doing couch exercises, which is a whole other vibe!

Learners sometimes try to use other verbs with exercício. For example, saying tomar exercício or ter exercício sounds really odd. The verb fazer is strongly linked to exercício in Portuguese. It’s a classic collocation, meaning these words just naturally go together like peanut butter and jelly. Trying to swap fazer is like trying to put ketchup on a pastel de nata – it just doesn't fit!

• ✗ Tomo exercício → ✓ Faço exercício
• ✗ Tenho exercício → ✓ Faço exercício
• ✗ Vou exercício → ✓ Vou fazer exercício

While fazer exercício is the most common, you might hear praticar esporte (to play sports) if the activity is competitive. Malhar is a very common informal verb meaning 'to work out' or 'to lift weights', often used for gym activities. Se exercitar is a more formal synonym, meaning 'to exercise oneself'. Think of malhar as the gym buddy and se exercitar as the formal speech.

Sometimes, people shorten it in very casual chats. You might hear just exercício used as a noun in a sentence like, 'Preciso de mais exercício' (I need more exercise). Or, if the context is super clear, someone might just say 'Vou malhar' (I'm going to work out), implying fazer exercício. The phrase fazer uma atividade física (to do a physical activity) is also a bit more descriptive but less common than fazer exercício.

• Q: Is fazer exercício only for the gym?

A: No, it covers any physical activity, like walking or dancing!

• Q: Can I use malhar instead?

A: Malhar is informal and often means gym workouts. Fazer exercício is more general.

• Q: What if I'm just stretching?

A: Yes, stretching can be considered fazer exercício if done for fitness.