The essential thing to remember with exercise for cholesterol lowering is to burn kilojoules to reduce weight and to maintain a regular level of fitness with moderately intensive exercise to tone body muscles.
Working our bodies strengthens our muscles and raises the metabolic rate (the amount of kilojoules we burn when resting) which helps even when our exercise is over.
Improvements in blood lipids with aerobic exercise training may take several weeks or months, depending on the starting levels and the weekly caloric expenditure so you may need to combine it with medication, good diet and quitting smoking. It does involve a lifestyle change, however you will be fitter and triglycerides usually drop and HDL (good) cholesterol rises with such a change.
How to start exercising
Talk to your doctor or specialist before starting exercise to make sure there aren’t any dangers or problems. They will be able to give you some good suggestions about the most suitable exercises for you.
Be realistic and set small goals each day. Try a half-hour walk during your lunch break or after dinner at least four times in the first week. Even just a little is a good start.
Find an activity you like otherwise you won't stick with it. Don’t jog if your knees hurt and don’t swim if you hate it. Start off with walking and think of other ways to exercise and mix the routine during each week or stick to the thing you like best. Try bike riding, water aerobics, walking the stairs of a tall building, dancing, a fitness class,gardening, basketball, skiing, mowing the lawn, mowing your neighbour’s lawn.
Keep an exercise diary to set goals and keep track of your progress. Write the exercise milestones you hope to achieve, like running a kilometre without stopping or swimming 10 lengths of the pool, bike riding for 30 minutes.
Use a pedometer and track how many steps you walk on an average day. Aim for 10,000 steps then make one of your exercise goals adding another 2,000.
Work up your fitness to include weight training because muscle burns more kilojoules than fat and the more muscle you build, the more efficiently you'll lose weight.
Use the right equipment-whether it's walking shoes, running shoes, knee pads or a bike with the tyres pumped up, for your skill level.
Drink water before, during and after exercise.
Warm up for five to 10 minutes before your physical workout
At the end, cool down by decreasing the intensity so your heartbeat is normal
Daily exercise routines
To start off, take it slowly until you build up your strength and fitness.
You could begin with walking 20 minutes a day, four days a week gradually increasing this over six to weight weeks. Aim to be briskly walking for one hour a day, six to seven days a week over steep and hilly areas or walk-jog on flat ground.
Work your way up to vigorous exercise- activity that stops you talking easily and leaves you a bit short of breath. You could vary the routine by walking briskly and doing an aerobics class for 50 to 60 minutes for six days a week on alternate days then swim or take an hour long bike ride on the last day.
Or add intense elements to your daily exercise routine like taking the stairs at work or in your apartment block instead of the elevator, walk to the shop for bread instead of jumping in the car, walk to a park near your work for lunch instead of sitting in the office. Just 10 minutes here and there during the day will add up on top of a regular workout.
Always warm up before you start and cool down when you've finished. And don’t forget to drink regularly. Keeping hydrated during exercise is important for good health.
To warm up, spend 5 to 10 minutes doing a low-intensity exercise such as walking. Then gently stretch for another 5 to 10 minutes. Repeat these steps after exercising to cool down.
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Cholesterol Management 
