Regular physical activity makes you look and feel better. More than that, it keeps your body healthy, and a healthy body can fend off disease much better than an unhealthy body. If you need to lose weight, many experts feel that exercise is better for you than dieting, because it's sustainable over the long term and provides lasting benefits.

Anaerobic Exercise
Anaerobic exercise, also called strength training, utilizes resistance to strengthen muscles and build bone mass. Popular forms of anerobic exercise include weight-lifting (with free weights or on machines) and exercise using elastic bands. Anaerobic exercise also adds to flexibility and helps balance. Ideally, you should do both aerobic and anaerobic exercise every day.

Working into Fitness
Optimally, people should exercise vigorously a minimum of 30 minutes a day, 3-5 times a week. But if you haven't been physically active, it's best to start slowly with a moderate activity like walking. You can start with as little as a 10-minute walk every day, and build up to half an hour. As you become more fit, you can start to do more energetic exercise, like swimming and jogging.

There are other ways to build exercise into your daily routine, as well. For instance:

• Do a squat instead of bending over every time you pick something up.

• When driving or riding in a train or bus, whenever you stop at a traffic light tighten and release your thighs and butt muscles as many times as you can.

• Whenever you're standing in line, lift one foot half an inch off the ground. Switch feet every few minutes.

Doing simple exercises like these throughout your day will improve your flexibility, increase your strength, improve muscle tone, and increase blood flow.

More on this topic

Understanding Wellness (VIDEO)
What Is Wellness?
Quit Smoking
Smoking & Your Arteries
Eat Healthy
Foods to Avoid
Foods to Enjoy
Fiber Helps Lower Cholesterol
Good Fats: Omegas 3 & 6
The Daily Nutrition You Need
Portion Control
Daily Exercise
Aerobic Exercise
Speed Up Your Metabolism
Benefits of Exercise
Lose Weight
Measuring Fat

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