Women’s Exercise Statistics: How Active Women Really Are

Writers, coaches and curious readers ask the same questions about women and exercise: How many women actually work out? How many lift weights? Does exercise pay off differently for women?

This page pulls the best current numbers into one place, from the CDC, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the World Health Organization and peer-reviewed research. Every figure links to its original source at the bottom of the page. Data last checked November 2026.

Key Women’s Exercise Statistics at a Glance

• 42.4% of U.S. women met the federal aerobic activity guidelines in 2024, compared with 52.3% of men.¹
• Only 20.4% of U.S. women met the guidelines for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity in 2020, compared with 28.3% of men.²
• 26.9% of U.S. women met the muscle-strengthening guideline (two or more sessions a week) in 2020, compared with 35.2% of men.³
• 55.3% of U.S. women aged 18 to 44 reported doing no muscle-strengthening activity at all.⁴
• On an average day in 2025, 21.1% of women took part in sports, exercise or recreation, compared with 25.7% of men.⁵
• Worldwide, 34% of women don’t get enough physical activity, compared with 29% of men.⁶
• Regular exercise was linked to a 24% lower risk of death from any cause in women, compared with 15% in men.⁷
• Women reached their biggest survival benefit at about 140 minutes a week of moderate-to-vigorous activity. Men needed about 300 minutes.⁷
• Compared with 2,000 steps a day, 7,000 steps a day was linked to a 47% lower risk of death from any cause.⁸
• About 1 in 2 women over 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis.⁹

How Many Women Meet the Exercise Guidelines?

The U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines ask adults for at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity (or 75 minutes of vigorous activity), plus muscle-strengthening work on two or more days a week. Most women fall short of the full picture.

• In 2024, 47.2% of all U.S. adults met the aerobic guideline. Women came in at 42.4% and men at 52.3%.¹
• Meeting the aerobic guideline drops with age, from 54.0% of adults aged 18 to 34 to 38.4% of adults 65 and older.¹
• In 2020, only 24.2% of all adults met both the aerobic and the strength guidelines. That included 20.4% of women and 28.3% of men.²
• In the same year, 46.3% of adults met neither guideline.²
• Men were more likely than women to meet both guidelines in every age group.²

Strength Training Statistics for Women

Strength training is where the gap is widest. The guideline is simple: work all the major muscle groups at least twice a week. Here’s how many U.S. adults did that in 2020, by age.³

• Among U.S. women aged 18 to 44 (2022 and 2024 data combined), 55.3% did no muscle-strengthening activity at all, 13.6% did some but not enough, and 31.1% did enough.⁴
• In the same group, 25.1% met both guidelines, 21.7% met only the aerobic guideline, 6.1% met only the strength guideline and 47.2% met neither.⁴
• Strength training has grown slowly. Back in 2004, only 17.5% of U.S. women (age adjusted) strength trained at least twice a week.¹⁰

How Much Time Women Spend Exercising

The American Time Use Survey asks thousands of people to log how they spent the day before. It shows how often exercise actually makes it into a normal day.

• The figures cover people aged 15 and older and include sports, exercise and recreation.⁵
• Women spent about 5.0 hours a day on all leisure and sports activities in 2025, compared with 5.8 hours for men.¹¹
• 87% of women did household activities on an average day, compared with 75% of men, which leaves less free time for workouts.¹¹

Physical Inactivity Around the World

• About 31% of adults worldwide, roughly 1.8 billion people, didn’t get enough physical activity in 2022.⁶
• Inactivity is more common in women (34%) than in men (29%), and in some countries the gap reaches 20 percentage points.⁶
• Global inactivity rose by about 5 percentage points between 2010 and 2022 and could reach 35% by 2030 if the trend continues.⁶
• In the U.S., about 25% of adults reported no physical activity outside of work in the past month (2017–2020 data). The South had the highest rate at 27.5%.¹²

Women Get More Out of Every Workout

A 2024 study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology followed 412,413 U.S. adults for about two decades. It found that women gained more from the same amount of exercise than men did.⁷

• Regular exercise was linked to a 24% lower risk of death from any cause in women and 15% in men.⁷
• The drop in risk of dying from heart attack, stroke or other heart disease was 36% for women and 14% for men.⁷
• Men hit their biggest survival benefit at about 300 minutes a week of moderate-to-vigorous activity. Women got the same benefit at about 140 minutes and kept improving up to 300.⁷
• Strength training was linked to a 19% lower risk of death in women, compared with 11% in men.¹³

Daily Steps and Health

A 2025 review in The Lancet Public Health pooled 57 studies on step counts. Compared with 2,000 steps a day, 7,000 steps a day was linked to:⁸

The researchers found the biggest gains between about 5,000 and 7,000 steps for several outcomes. Going past 10,000 added only small extra benefits.⁸ Not sure how many steps you take now? Try my free steps calculator.

Muscle and Bone Loss With Age

• From about age 30, adults lose roughly 3% to 8% of their muscle mass per decade, and the loss speeds up after 60.¹⁴
• Muscle loss tends to speed up around menopause as estrogen drops.¹⁴
• About 10 million Americans have osteoporosis, and about 80% of them are women.⁹
• About 1 in 2 women and up to 1 in 4 men over 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis.⁹
• Regular weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening exercise is one of the best ways to protect against osteoporosis and broken bones.⁹

What These Numbers Mean for You

Here’s my take as a coach: the numbers point to one big, fixable gap. Most women are moving, but very few are lifting. Fewer than 3 in 10 women meet the strength guideline, and that number falls with every decade, right when muscle and bone need it most.

The good news is in the research too. Women seem to get more out of each minute than men, so you don’t need marathon gym sessions.

Two short strength sessions a week, plus brisk walking that adds up to about 7,000 steps a day, covers the basics. For a full starting plan, see my complete fitness guide.

How to Cite These Statistics

Sources

1. Elgaddal N, Kramarow EA. Aerobic Physical Activity Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2024. NCHS Data Brief No. 555, April 2026.
2. Elgaddal N, Kramarow EA, Reuben C. Physical Activity Among Adults Aged 18 and Over: United States, 2020. NCHS Data Brief No. 443, August 2022.
3. CDC. QuickStats: Adults Who Met the Federal Guidelines for Muscle-Strengthening Physical Activity, by Age Group and Sex, 2020. MMWR, May 2022.
4. CDC. Leisure-Time Physical Activity Among Women of Reproductive Age, United States, 2022 and 2024. MMWR, 2025.
5. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. American Time Use Survey, Table 1, 2025 annual averages.
6. World Health Organization. Nearly 1.8 billion adults at risk of disease from not doing enough physical activity. June 2024 (study published in The Lancet Global Health).
7. Ji H, Gulati M, Huang TY, et al. Sex Differences in Association of Physical Activity With All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2024;83(8):783–793.
8. Ding D, et al. Daily steps and health outcomes in adults: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis. The Lancet Public Health, 2025.
9. Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation. What Women Need to Know and Osteoporosis Fast Facts.
10. CDC. Trends in Strength Training, United States, 1998–2004. MMWR, July 2006.
11. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Daily work and leisure habits of men and women. The Economics Daily, June 2026.
12. CDC. CDC Releases Updated Maps of America’s High Levels of Inactivity. January 2022.
13. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Women may realize health benefits of regular exercise more than men. February 2024 (summary of source 7).
14. Buckinx F, Aubertin-Leheudre M. Sarcopenia in Menopausal Women: Current Perspectives. International Journal of Women’s Health, 2022;14:805–819.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page summarizes published research and government data for education only. It isn’t medical advice. If you’re pregnant, have a heart, bone or joint condition, or haven’t exercised in a long time, check with your doctor before starting a new routine.

Stop exercising and get medical help right away if you have chest pain, severe shortness of breath, dizziness or fainting. This page is not a substitute for personal care from a qualified professional.