More mixed reviews of Exercises criticized the EP for focusing too much on sounding nice rather than having many moments that excite the listener. Ray Finlayson, a fan of CFCF's past works, gave Exercises a mixed review for Beats per Minute. He described the EP as a set of "pleasant music" with "a few quite intriguing and solid moments." However, a major criticism in his review was that to some listeners, the EP could "become background music all too easily." He summarized, "While Silver’s work will always have a degree of ambience to it, Exercises can completely disappear from your consciousness if you don’t pay enough attention, especially during the last few tracks. And while in no way do I want CFCF to be forgotten, Exercises makes it very easy for Silver’s work to fade out of view." Stephen Judge of Blurt magazine, while calling the EP "nice," felt that it "often fades so completely into the background, or one’s consciousness," which "could mean it’s being marketed in the wrong genre." He called the EP "too much like the short drizzle" with very few "brief rainbows" or surprises.
