>bodily exertion for the sake of developing and maintaining physical fitness I don't think I agree with that definition of exercise. Bodily exertion for any o

>bodily exertion for the sake of developing and maintaining physical fitness I don't think I agree with that definition of exercise. Bodily exertion for any other sake (running from a wild animal, from a threatening person, towards an individual in need of help etc) is still exercise. There is not a requirement that it must be for the sake of developing fitness. >If you control for diet you absolutely can. Well, no, that's not quite true. From my examples above, distance running is a form of cardiovascular exercise which has benefits such as stimulating the release of chemicals like BDNF, which tend have positive neurological effects. There are, obviously, also significant cardiovascular benefits - increased VO2 max, lower resting heartrate, etc. On the other hand, deadlifting heavy weights results in major growth of the musculoskeletal system, bone density, and other benefits, but causes little benefit to cardiovasculr or neurological function. Cardio and strength training are two entirely different beasts in the types of empirical claims you can make about the benefits they bring.