Easy way to lower cholesterol? Exercise like this

Making some changes to your lifestyle can go a long way to helping reduce cholesterol and keep you off cholesterol-lowering medications or make those medications work even better. 

You’ve likely heard that extra weight contributes to high cholesterol, so even dropping as little as 5 to 10 percent of your body weight can reduce your cholesterol levels. 

How to shed pounds and keep them off comes down to a healthy eating plan and making exercise a regular part of your life.

Trending: Planking exercise benefits

Activity, in fact, is a key driver when it comes to managing cholesterol, whether you’re carrying extra weight or not. 

One surprising and popular exercise fix is following a planking exercise routine. Popular in yoga sun salutations, planks engage your body core when you’re raised and resting on the balls of your feet and forearms, parallel to the floor. Now hold!

Are planks good for abs? Will you achieve a toned belly with planks exercises? Yes and yes!

If you stick with a planking exercise routine, you can reap all the sought-after health benefits of doing planks. Those health benefits include lowering cholesterol, thanks to challenging your body with this powerful activity.

Exercise works to lower cholesterol

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says when it comes to cholesterol, even moderate-intensity aerobic activity – exercises that raise your heart rate – for just two and a half hours each week fights high cholesterol and reduces your chances of heart disease. 

The problem is, Americans aren’t doing enough. Estimates suggest only three out of every 10 adults get enough exercise to achieve these heart-health benefits.

Even moderate physical activity can help raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the “good” cholesterol. 

Activity helps to lower your levels of triglycerides, a kind of fat carried in the bloodstream. 

People who exercise regularly typically have a lower body fat ratio (a good thing!) which is associated with lower cholesterol and triglycerides. 

You should start to see improvement in your cholesterol levels within a month of beginning a fitness program.

Your body needs exercise to function properly, so it makes sense that it has a significant effect on cholesterol levels. You want to work up to at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. But you don’t have to complete the 30 minutes all at once.

Even in 10-minute intervals several times a day, with a planking exercise routine for one of those segments, can help you start to lose weight. The main goal is to stick with it. You want to be sure that you can keep up the changes you decide to make.

Activities to try for heart health

No need to panic if you’re exercise-averse or have been sedentary for a long time. You don’t need to train for a triathlon. Here are some examples of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise to try:

• Brisk walking: Get out there and start pumping your arms while you walk.
• Bicycling: Haven’t got on a bike in years? It’s easier than you think and will bring out your inner kid. Try a path in a park or conservation area and enjoy the scenery.
• Jogging: The impact of light jogging is great to build strong bones, too. Start with a walk two minutes, run one, and so on, working up to a steady jogging pace.
• Tennis: Andre Agassi won’t be watching, so ease into the game and join a tennis club or find a willing partner and have fun.

If weight-bearing activities like jogging cause too much pressure on your joints, try swimming, water aerobics, or yoga for a great cardio workout that’s just as effective for lowering cholesterol. 

Every step counts! Housework, gardening, and taking the stairs also give you cardiovascular benefits if they’re done on a regular basis.

The point is, you need to choose activities that you can easily fit into your lifestyle. If you can’t make them happen or don’t enjoy them, you won’t make them a habit. 

Which brings us to planking exercise benefits. You can do them anywhere, without any equipment or a drill sergeant calling you out if you drop down in fatigue (although that can be motivating!). Planking is versatile and effective.

Health benefits of doing planks

You might not think a planking exercise routine will make you break a sweat or get your heart rate up, but just give it a try first.    

What do planks do for your body? They help you to build strength in your core, both your upper and lower body, so they’re an effective full-body workout. 

A planking exercise routine will also improve your flexibility by stretching muscles and improve posture if you do them regularly. You’ll achieve a toned belly, too, and help lower your cholesterol.

All you need is determination and a bit of space. For the uninitiated, here’s how to plank with the best of them:

• Get into a press-up position, as if you were going to do a push-up.
• Bend your elbows and rest your weight ono your forearms, not on your hands.
• Your body should form a straight line from shoulders to ankles.
• Engage your core by sucking your belly button into your spine.
• Hold this position for the prescribed time. Start with 10 seconds and work your way up to five minutes or more. Repeat and repeat.

Keep exercise top of mind when it comes to lowering cholesterol. When you eat fresh whole foods and get your heart rate up for a regular workout and a planking exercise routine, you’ll be well on your way to achieving your goals.