While both aerobic and strength-training workouts have been demonstrated to improve cardiovascular health, research suggests that a combination is ideal. Combining cardio and resistance workouts resulted in greater benefits for weight loss, fat loss, and cardiorespiratory fitness than either cardio or resistance exercises alone, according to a 2012 study published in the journal BMC Public Health.
When you were originally diagnosed with high cholesterol, your doctor may have advised exercise to you. Aside from altering your food, exercising is one of the most effective lifestyle adjustments you can make to help you lose weight naturally. “I despise running,” you may have thought. Maybe you like to run but have recently been sidelined due to an injury. Maybe you like jogging but loathe the treadmill. Running isn’t the only method to become in shape. It is undeniably an effective aerobic workout, but there are also other fantastic options that can help counterbalance the bad consequences of high cholesterol on your health. One of the fatty molecules found in human blood is cholesterol. When we have an excess of it, it can stick to the inner walls of our arteries, narrowing them and raising our risk of cardiovascular disease.
However, our risk is influenced by more than just the amount of cholesterol in our blood. Other things enter the picture. One of these is the protein responsible for transporting cholesterol throughout the body. LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) is more prone to cause issues. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol protects the body from cholesterol accumulation.
Ride your bike to work or for pleasure.
Cycling expends about the same amount of energy as running but is kinder on your joints. This is especially important as people get older. Hips and knees are especially prone to arthritis, and we must always keep an eye out for them. Cycling may be a better option than jogging if you have pain in these joints.
Go for a brisk walk.
The subject of whether walking is as helpful for cardiovascular health as running has long been discussed. Walking is typically a far superior form of exercise for maintaining joint health, especially as we age. People who walked or ran with the same amount of energy got identical benefits. One of the benefits was a lower risk of high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Swimming and water exercises
Swimming, water walking, and water activities can have the same effect on your cholesterol profile as other cardiovascular exercises while being gentler on your joints.
Go for a pleasant jog or run.
If your joints are in good condition and you enjoy jogging, you’re in luck because this is a terrific workout for decreasing cholesterol and managing weight. But don’t feel obligated to race. A few kilometres of easy jogging may be more beneficial to cholesterol reduction than a rapid sprint around the block.
Weight Lifting
Lifting weights or doing other resistance exercises, such as utilizing resistance bands or even your own body weight, can be beneficial on their own, but they are even more so when paired with cardiovascular activity.
Bottom line
If you’ve been sedentary and/or overweight, consult your doctor about building an activity regimen that progressively increases to a caloric energy expenditure of roughly 1,000 calories per week. Until your aerobic endurance develops, your workout should be low to moderate in intensity. Begin with 10- to 15-minute intervals and work your way up to 30 minutes. Increase the amount and intensity gradually over time.
