Exercise and Fitness Tips to Improve Your Health Get answers to
your questions about exercise, and tips for getting the most
from your workouts. Q. What is basal metabolic rate? Basal
metabolic rate (BMR) is the rate at which your body burns
calories just to sustain life. For most people, that's roughly
50 to 80 calories per hour, or 1,200 to 1,920 calories per day.
Exactly what your BMR is depends on genetics, your muscle mass,
and other factors. Of course, you burn more calories when you
exercise -- or just go about the activities of daily life. For
example, if you work out at the gym for 60 minutes and burn 400
calories, that comes in addition to whatever your BMR burns up.
(If you walk home from the gym instead of driving, you'll burn
even more!) At the end of the day, if your total energy
expenditure is greater than the number of calories you've