Dad exercised and took ten (6)
I believe the answer is:
paused
'took ten' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'dad exercised' is the wordplay.
'dad' becomes 'pa' (pa can mean someone's father).
'exercised' becomes 'used' (I've seen this in another clue).
'pa'+'used'='PAUSED'
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for paused that I've seen before include "Stopped temporarily or hesitated" , "Ceased temporarily" , "Waited a moment" , "Hesitated, stopped briefly" .)