Physical exercise - Dieting

Physical exercise is an important complement to dieting in securing weight loss. Aerobic exercise is also an important part of maintaining normal good health, especially the muscular strength of the heart. To be useful, aerobic exercise requires maintaining a target heart rate of above 50 percent of one's resting heart rate for 30 minutes, at least 3 times a week. The ability of a few hours a week of exercise to contribute to weight loss can be slightly overrated. A man of normal fitness will be tired after 500 meters of climbing, so he needs to exercise every day for 140 days to reach his target. However, exercise (both aerobic and anaerobic) would increase the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) for some time after the workout. This ensures more calorific loss than otherwise estimated. There are also some easy ways for people to exercise, such as walking rather than driving, climbing stairs instead of taking elevators, doing more housework with fewer power tools, or parking their cars farther and walking to school or the office.