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Cholesterol Prevention

Exercise for Cholesterol

Friday, 10 July 2009 17:30

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Regular exercise of 40-60 minutes on most days of the week will help reduce the health risks associated with high cholesterol and may also lower cholesterol levels.

Your current level of fitness, what medications you take and what other health problems you have will determine which exercise is best for you. Speak with your GP or specialist before starting an exercise and get their recommendations.

Your doctor may suggest activities like brisk walking, swimming, jogging, bike riding, and aqua aerobics which can increase HDL (good) cholesterol and reduce LDL (bad) if you stick with it. The best way to lose weight and decrease your health risks is to exercise for 20-30 minutes, twice a day. This kick-starts your metabolism by raising your heart rate morning and night and will produce the best health benefits.

One Canadian study reported that for men, walking every day for just 18.5 minutes could slash heart disease death risk by half.

It’s easy to build walking into your everyday routine. Think about walking to the railway station or bus stop to get to work, walking the dog, walking the long way to the newsagent to get the morning paper, walking during your lunch hour instead of sitting in the office. How about parking a kilometre further away from your work and walking the extra distance in the morning and afternoon? Or you could do four or five weekly workouts for 40 minutes which would be the equivalent of around 25 minutes of walking each day.

The key is to get your heart rate up during exercise to improve muscle strength. As you get fitter aim to increase your 30 minute exercise sessions to up to 60 minutes.

Once you get stronger and fitter try putting together an exercise routine which incorporates stretching, aerobic and anaerobic exercises. The main goal of your exercise program should be to reduce body fat.

Aerobic

Many doctors recommend regular aerobic (or cardiovascular) activity to increase good cholesterol and decrease bad cholesterol levels as well as decreasing body fat. This type of exercise uses large muscle groups and strengthens the heart and lungs, improving the body’s ability to use oxygen as well as working the heart to lower blood pressure, blood sugar and burn up fat.

Try walking, jogging, dancing, skipping, bike riding (indoors and outside), water aerobics, mowing the lawn, bush walking, skiing, skating fitness classes and exercise machines like cross trainers and rowers which all build up the heart and lungs and get circulation going.

Strengthening activity

Is also known as resistance training because you perform routines against resistance such as weights, exercise bands or your own body weight. Exercises are repeated muscle contractions which strengthen muscles (also called repetitions or ‘reps’). This builds muscle tissue and bone density which is important because fit muscles burn more kilojoules, even when not exercising, and this reduces body fat levels. Examples include sit-ups, lunges, rowing and weights.

Stretching

Gently lengthens muscles and prepares them for activity. Stretching also makes the body flexible and may assist in reducing the risk of injuries and muscle strains. It’s great for circulation and may reduce stress levels. Stretches are good when you are recovering from injury and will help improve muscle balance and posture.

Always remember to start a new exercise program slowly and build up intensity over time. Exercises which lift the heart rate to between 50-85 per cent and burns around 40 kilojoules per minute (which would work off a single 5 gram square of chocolate) include weight training, swimming, boxing, stair climbing, cross country skiing, fast dancing, constant tennis, step aerobics and mowing lawns.

Measuring your heart rate

Measuring your heart rate by taking your pulse during exercise, monitors the intensity of your workout. Take your pulse by pressing your fingers lightly against one of your carotid arteries found on either side of your windpipe. Start before warming up, then measure a few times throughout your workout and about three minutes after you’ve stopped. A drop of around 12 beats per minute (bpm) after you stop shows that your recovery is good.

To measure your pulse use a watch or clock with a second hand and count your pulse for 15 seconds. Multiply this by four to give you your bpm. (For example, 30 pulse beats over 15 seconds shows a pulse rate of 120 bpm.)

Last Updated on Monday, 13 July 2009 12:53