Here is what the Italian psychologist Roberto Assagioli said about exercise in the 1930s:

“In reality, every physical movement is an act of will, a command given to the body, and the deliberate repetition of such acts — with attention, effort and endurance — exercise and invigorate the will. Organic sensations are thus aroused: the consciousness of physical vigor, a more rapid circulation, a sense of warmth and agility of the limbs, and their ready obedience; all produce a sense of moral strength, of decision, of mastery that raises the tone of the will and develops its energy.”