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So, let's get started!
Answering the Basic Question: Why Should You Exercise?
Regular exercise - even low-intensity exercise like regular walking - can bring important and far-reaching health benefits. The benefits are both physical and emotional. On the physical side, scientists who study exercise have proven that exercise can:
Help control weight. We have already discussed this briefly, but there is more to exercise than just burning up calories. In addition, physical activity boosts "basal metabolic rate," the rate the body burns calories while at rest. When you finish your exercise session, your body continues to burn calories faster and more efficiently than you would have at rest for hours after you have finished exercise. Let me say this again: exercise turns up your body's "thermostat" for several hours even after you stop exercising. You're probably not going to lose all your excess weight just by taking occasional walks around the block, but even that level of exercise can help you maintain your weight and stop any further weight gain. With low-intensity exercise and a low-fat diet, you'll probably lose weight at a slow, but progressive, rate. And if you take daily, 30-45 minute brisk (a rate of 3-4 miles per hour) walks and eat a low-fat diet, you'll lose weight progressively, consistently, and - with time - achieve your goal weight.
Improve your love life. James White, Ph.D., a professor emeritus in the department of physical education at the University of California at San Diego and director of the human performance laboratory there, recruited 95 healthy but sedentary men, average age 47, into one of two exercise programs four days a week. One group engaged in low-intensity 60-minute walks. The other participated in an hour of aerobics. After nine months, both groups reported increased sexual desire and pleasure. The aerobics group registered the greatest gains, but even the low-intensity walkers reported increased sexual desire and more orgasms.
Reduce your risk of heart disease. Heart disease is the nation's
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