There are many misconceptions with physical activity and fitness.  A major one is that in order to get the physical activity you need it must come in forms of fitness exercises.  The chart below provides more detail on how physical activity does not necessarily have to be fitness/exercise. 

Common physical activities that are not fitness/exercise activities would include everyday activities like walking, going up and down stairs, folding laundry, cleaning the house, yard work, biking, walking your dog and bathing your dog.  These are all very common everyday physical activities that we all do, but may not represent them as activity time. 

Fitness/exercise is an organized and deliberate activity that is repritive in nature in order to increase physical fitness.  Most of the time these fitness exercises have a purpose at strenghtening one or more types of fitness.  Those would include muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, and flexibility.  For more information on types of fitness click the tab titled How Does Fitness FITT! 

Basically all fitness/exercise activities are physical activities, but not all physical activities are fitness/exercise activities.  An example would be walking your dog around the neighborhood.  By definition you are being physically active, but the walking of the dog may not be intentional, repetitive, or done to increase your physical fitness.  Therefore, it is a physical activity, but not a fitness/exercise activity.