Changes in lipid and lipoprotein levels after weight training.

Lipid and lipoprotein levels were prospectively studied in previously sedentary men (mean age, 33 years) and women (mean age, 27 years) undergoing 16 weeks of weight-training exercise. Women demonstrated a 9.5% reduction of cholesterol, 17.9% decrease in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and 28.3% lowering of triglycerides. The ratios of total cholesterol-high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and LDL cholesterol-HDL cholesterol were reduced 14.3% and 20.3%, respectively. Among men, LDL cholesterol was reduced 16.2%, while the ratios of total cholesterol-HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol-HDL cholesterol were lowered 21.6% and 28.9%, respectively. Weight-training exercise appears to result in favorable changes in lipid and lipoprotein levels in previously sedentary men and women.