The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word TRAINING
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
T
R
A
I
N
I
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G
More clues leading to the result TRAINING
- Time showering, perhaps for exercises
- Time showering, say, is something the coach provides
- Making every effort, son missed out in education
- Aim in good teaching
- Instruction leaflet ultimately wet
- Lagging behind, learner turns to north for instruction
- Showering needed maybe after end of that?
- Doing exercises in minimal temperature, then showering
- Getting fit, sound as a bell, accepting bad weather
- Struggling to drop son for schooling
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "exercises" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case exercises = training.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does TRAINING mean?
TRAINING verb- To practice an ability.
- To teach and form (someone) by practice; to educate (someone).
- To improve one's fitness.
- To proceed in sequence.
- To move (a gun) laterally so that it points in a different direction.
- To encourage (a plant or branch) to grow in a particular direction or shape, usually by pruning and bending.
- To trace (a lode or any mineral appearance) to its head.
- To create a trainer for; to apply cheats to (a game).
- To draw along; to trail; to drag.
- To draw by persuasion, artifice, or the like; to attract by stratagem; to entice; to allure.
- Action of the verb to train.
- The activity of imparting and acquiring skills.
- The result of good social upbringing.
- The process by which two modems determine which protocol and speed to use; handshaking.
- (voice recognition) The recording of multiple samples of a user's voice to aid pattern recognition.