With the sharp increase in obesity rates, Americans are looking more and more for an exercise plan that will keep health risks at bay and that will fit into busy schedules. Harvey Simon, Harvard Medical School associate professor of medicine and founding member of the Harvard Cardiovascular Health Center, has outlined such a program in his new book, The No Sweat Exercise Plan: A Simple Way to Lose Weight and Improve Your Health Without Spending Hours in the Gym.

For 30 years, Simon, founding editor of the Harvard Health Publications Men’s Health Watch newsletter, thought the only way to stay healthy was through intense aerobic exercise. Now, research proves that only certain types and amounts of exercise are needed for good health, and they are just improvements on everyday activities. His book explains these exercises and offers readers a system to track their activities and achieve their goals by using the No Sweat Exercise Pyramid and a point system.