The Cholesterol Lowering / Heart Improving Effects of Exercise – Part One

For those of you that would enjoy a little more physical involvement (without going to extremes) in order to lower your cholesterol, you could include some gentle stretches and toning exercises into your routine. Yoga, Tai Chi and Pilates will not only improve your cholesterol levels but also clear your mind, enhance your balance and strengthen your whole body – which to me sounds like an ideal combination of mind and body working together for maximum improvement.

A recent review of over 30 separate studies on yoga found that yoga helps reduce blood pressure, body weight, blood sugar and cholesterol levels (1). In one of the studies, people who took a four-day yoga programme and then practised at home saw their bad cholesterol levels, triglycerides and their total cholesterol levels all reduce in only 4 months.

Unfortunately, the major problem that most people have with trying to exercise is they believe that it has to be part of a regime. Because of this and having very little free time to fit a workout programme into their normal day, rather than try and make the time they very often they end up doing nothing.

However, it is possible to get exercise without expensive equipment, joining a gym or without it taking all day – and the good news is that it is just as beneficial.
For example, some of the time you spend at home doesn’t have to be pure relaxation in front of the television it is possible to fit some exercise into this time.

You could wake up (and get up!) a little earlier. Even if this is only 20 - 30 minutes you could use this time to walk around the block, use an exercise bike or treadmill or go to the local swimming pool whilst it is quiet. Most personal trainers will tell you that those people who exercise in the morning are more likely to stick with it as there is a sense of accomplishment, it's out of the way and you are now set up for the day.

All too often people that try to exercise at night will find they are too tired or find that the nights have drawn in, it’s too cold and it’s raining or they come across another excuse as to why it cannot be done. There is an old saying that says “if the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning is to eat a live frog then nothing worse can happen for this rest of the day!” and this is the same with exercise – if you get it out of the way things can only get better.

Make household chores count as part of your exercise regime. Mopping the floor, scrubbing the bath, polishing windows, sweeping or doing other household chores at a pace fast enough to get your heart pumping, although not exciting, all counts as exercise.

Outdoor work such as gardening and D.I.Y. also counts in the exercise stakes – so this would include raking up leaves and moss, hedge trimming, pruning and mowing the lawn, etc. In fact, mowing the lawn with a manual mower is a great way to burn calories and generally tone your arms, legs and back, raking and hoeing strengthen your arms and back whilst digging works your arms and legs.

There is also another benefit from household exercise – the more elbow grease you exert the better it is with regards to your heart function. You will be able to see the results of your hard work not only with your surroundings looking so much better but also with noticeable improvements in joint mobility and general flexibility.

Be more active whilst watching television. You can be sitting watching your soaps or documentaries doing some simple chair exercises or stretches, using hand weights or cycling on an exercise bike. Also you could think about “losing” the remote control or leaving it by the television (rather than on the couch) so that you are forced to get up to change the channel or adjust the volume by hand (just like we used to in the old days!).

Watch out for part two where I show you further examples of simple exercise that will improve your heart health and lower your cholesterol dramatically!

References:

1, A Review of Yoga Programs for Four Leading Risk Factors of Chronic Diseases. Yang, K. Evidence based Complementary and Alternative Medicine . eCAM 2007 4(4):487-491; doi:10.1093/ecam/nem154