When your doctor tells you that your cholesterol is a little high in your blood report, one of the most important pieces of advice you'll give is to "exercise more." You're probably thinking, "Okay, but what kind of exercise should I do? How long should I do it? How many days a week should I do it?" How does exercise actually affect cholesterol? Today, we'll find answers to all these questions. If you understand this correctly and do it correctly, you can see a big difference.
How does exercise affect our cholesterol?
Okay, let's first look at what happens inside the body when we exercise. When we exercise regularly, it affects our cholesterol and triglycerides in two main ways.
1. Reduces Triglycerides: These are another type of fat in our blood. High levels of these fats greatly increase the risk of developing coronary artery disease. Studies have shown that regular exercise can reduce triglyceride levels by 30% to 40% .
2. Increases HDL (good cholesterol) levels: HDL is the "good" type of cholesterol that is beneficial to our body. What these do is take the bad cholesterol that has accumulated in the blood vessels to the liver and remove it. This means that the higher the HDL, the better for our heart. Exercise can increase HDL levels by 5 to 8 mg/dL.
But here's the thing. Contrary to what many people think, exercise alone won't significantly lower LDL (bad cholesterol) levels. However, if you can lose a significant amount of weight through exercise, then your LDL levels will also decrease.
However, both lowering triglycerides and increasing HDL are very important for your heart health. So the question now is, what kind of exercise should we do to reach these goals?
What are the best types of exercises to do?
The good news here is that you don't have to choose a specific type of exercise to control your cholesterol. What's more important than what exercise you do is how often you do it and how consistently you do it.
Doctors used to think that only aerobic exercise, which increases breathing rate and endurance, would affect cholesterol. But now we've found that's not true. Resistance training, such as weight lifting, can also have a very positive effect on cholesterol. In particular, if you use moderate weights and do circuit training, you can see a very good improvement in triglycerides and HDL.
Medical experts most often recommend a combination of these three types of exercise to achieve maximum health results.
| Exercise type | Simply put... | Main benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Aerobics (endurance) | Anything that increases your heart rate, like brisk walking, running, jumping, swimming, or cycling. | Strengthens the heart and lungs. |
| Strength Training | Things like lifting dumbbells, using weight machines, and doing push-ups using body weight. | Builds muscle and speeds up metabolism. |
| Flexibility | Stretching exercises, yoga, etc. | Keeps muscles and joints flexible, reducing the incidence of injuries. |
So, don't think too much about whether you walk or run, swim or bike, lift dumbbells or use machines. All of these are important. It's best to alternate these types of exercise. Because health is a combination of strength, flexibility, and endurance.
Do you have to exercise until you get sick?
Many people think that in order to get good results, they have to exercise until they are exhausted and "feel the burn." That may be true for goals like getting in shape. But that doesn't necessarily mean that you need to control your cholesterol and triglycerides.
Fitness professionals use the word "FIT" to summarize the three main components of a workout.
- F (Frequency): How often?
- I (Intensity): How intensely do you do it?
- T (Time/Duration): How long will it take?
In cholesterol control, the two most important aspects of this FIT principle are F (number of sessions) and T (time). I (intensity) is not as important.
So how should you do it?
The most important advice is to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 or 6 days a week .
Simply put, it's much better to do 30 to 45 minutes of moderate exercise at a moderate pace than to do 5 to 10 minutes of intense exercise at a high heart rate, holding onto the treadmill handles. It's a myth that you have to push your heart rate to the limit to get results. The important thing is to do it.
Imagine you're on an elliptical trainer. Set the resistance to about 3 and set the timer for 45 minutes. You may not be sweating as much as the person next to you. They may be working out faster and harder. But surprisingly, the results for your cholesterol and triglyceride levels are the same as those of the person who is working hard, like climbing a mountain.
And remember, you get many other benefits beyond cholesterol control. Exercise lowers blood pressure, helps control diabetes, and reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. In fact, exercise is one of the best medicines our bodies can give us.
Take-Home Message
- The most important thing for controlling cholesterol is not the intensity of exercise, but rather its frequency and continuity .
- For best results, engage in moderate-intensity exercise for 30-45 minutes a day, 5 or 6 days a week .
- You can achieve maximum results by alternating between aerobic (fast walking), strength (weight lifting), and flexibility (stretching).
- Exercise increases HDL ("good" cholesterol) and significantly reduces triglycerides ("bad" fat).
- It is very important to talk to your doctor and seek advice before starting any exercise program, especially if you have other medical conditions (such as diabetes or high blood pressure).
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