- Weight training anywhere from 2 to 4 days per week can positively impact your cholesterol levels. Keep in mind that exercise intensity will affect your overall results, so choose a majority of compound (multijoint) exercises that will work multiple muscle groups concurrently for the best results. These exercises include lifts such as the bench press, squat, deadlift, lunges, step-ups, push-ups, dips, pull-ups and rows. Make these exercises the foundation of about 70 to 80 percent of your workout, with the remaining 20 to 30 percent filled with isolation exercises such as tricep extentions, quad extensions, hamstring curls, shrugs, curls and calf raises.
- Use a basic "upper-lower" split to help divide your training sessions into manageable portions. Ideally, your strength-training workout should take no longer than 40 minutes to an hour. This is a sufficient amount of time to challenge the body without causing an excess drain on your recovery capacity. A basic three-day upper-lower split would consist of workouts performed on three non-consecutive days, such as Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Alternate between using upper-body lifts and lower-body lifts each day. On Monday, you would lift using only upper-body exercises; on Wednesday, you would train the lower body; and on Friday, you would train the upper body again, beginning the next week with lower-body training. For your upper-body sessions, try the bench press for three sets of eight, pull-ups (or lat pull-downs) for three set of eight, dumbbell rows for four sets of 10, tricep extensions for four sets of 10 and sit-ups for two sets of 20 to 30. For your lower-body sessions, perform squats for three sets of eight, step-ups for three sets of eight (per leg), lunges for two sets of 10, hamstring curls for four sets of six and quad extensions for three sets of 10. Try to progress every session by performing an additional rep or two, or by adding some extra weight to the bar.
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