It capers about for exercise (8)
I believe the answer is:
practise
'exercise' is the definition.
(I know that exercise can be written as practise)
'it capers about' is the wordplay.
'about' indicates an anagram.
'it'+'capers'='itcapers'
'itcapers' with letters rearranged gives 'PRACTISE'.
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for practise that I've seen before include "Contrive by some means" , "Be engaged in (profession)" , "Custom" , "Observe" , "Rehearse" .)