High cholesterol increases your risk of developing heart disease. Making changes to your lifestyle, including eating a healthy diet and participating in regular exercise, can help you lower your cholesterol levels. You should participate in both aerobic and strength training exercises to improve your cholesterol and to boost your overall heart health.
Aerobic Exercise
High levels of aerobic exercise are necessary to significantly lower your cholesterol, reports Ralph La Forge, exercise physiologist at Duke University Medical Center, in an article for the American Council on Fitness. He recommends between three and four hours of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each week. After three to four months, this amount of exercise can lower your cholesterol by 10 percent to 20 percent, as well as help with weight loss. Losing weight if you are overweight contributes to improved “good” HDL cholesterol levels and lower levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol.
Strength Training
A regular strength-training routine also contributes to lower cholesterol levels according to a study published in the June 1999 edition of the “British Journal of Sports Medicine.” This study found that 14 weeks of resistance training for three days each week decreased both total and LDL cholesterol levels in healthy, sedentary women. This amount of strength training also promoted increases in muscle strength and lower levels of body fat.
Tips
Choose exercises you enjoy to increase your chances of sticking with your workout plan. Aerobic exercise can include walking, swimming, cycling or running, and strength training exercises can include lifting weights or using resistance bands. Start with 20 to 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on most days of the week and work your way up to one hour on most days of the week as your fitness improves. Exercising at an intensity level between 4 and 7 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being your maximum effort, corresponds to a moderate intensity.
Considerations
Talk to your doctor before beginning a new exercise program if you have been sedentary or if you have a condition that limits your ability to exercise. Always begin and end your workouts with a warmup and cool-down. In addition to exercise, your diet may also affect your cholesterol levels. Choosing unsaturated fats -- found in fish, olive oil, walnuts and other sources -- instead of foods with saturated and trans fat helps improve cholesterol. If improving your lifestyle habits is not enough to control your cholesterol, your doctor may recommended medication in addition to regular exercise and better eating habits.
References
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Cholesterol: What You Can Do; 2010
- American Council on Exercise; Managing Cholesterol with Exercise; Ralph La Forge
- "British Journal of Sports Medicine"; Effect of 14 Weeks of Resistance Training on Lipid Profile and Body Fat Percentage in Premenopausal Women; Bharathi Prabhakaran; June 1999
- MayoClinic.com; Top 5 Lifestyle Changes to Reduce Cholesterol; May 2010
