SQUATS Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Flex your hips and drop down, keeping your torso upright. Go as low as you can, ensuring that your knees don’t cross your toes. Exhale on the way up, inhale on the way down.

I am often told by my gym members that they have been advised by their doctors to reduce consumption of foods that are high in cholesterol. My reaction to this almost always is, “Why? Cholesterol is good for you, absolutely necessary for a healthy life.”

SKIPPING The idea is to work your upper and lower body alternately. So start with skipping, then give your legs a rest with T push-ups. Follow up with squats and then reverse push-ups. For all, do as many reps as you can in 30-60 seconds.

But before I get your goat, let me explain. Cholesterol control is something of a minefield, since most people don’t realise that without adequate amounts of cholesterol you could be weak, sluggish, frail, slow and impatient. Cholesterol is one form of fat that the body produces and is used in the production of sex hormones, vitamin D and bile acids that aid in the digestion of fat. HDL is the good kind, while low density lipoproteins (LDL) may cause plaque formation in arteries, thereby reducing the amount of blood that reaches the heart.

T PUSH-UP Assume a normal push-up stance. Do one push-up and then raise one arm and turn your torso so that the belly button faces the opposite wall. Look straight up at your palm. Return and repeat with the other arm. Benefits • Increases pulse ratio • Drops body fat • Increases stamina • Full body muscle strengthening • Builds cardio-vascular endurance

It stands to logic then that the more HDL you have, the less is your risk of a heart attack. It offers protection against heart disease, sometimes in spite of other risk factors like high weight and diabetes. The right combination of exercise and diet helps you achieve that.

INVERTED ROW Lie supine (that is on your back) under a secured bar and lift your body up, ensuring that your chest travels towards the bar. Exhale on the way up, pause for a brief second at the top and come back to starting position.

High Intensity Interval Training Forget easy cardio and train short and hard for 3-4 minutes. In other words, rev up your pulse rate to 180-190 bpm (160-170, if you are above 50 years; subtract 10 beats for every additional decade of age). At this intensity, blood gushes through your arteries and plaque does not get a chance to form. Rest a minute or two to recover, and then go hard again for 3-5 sets. This kind of exercise guarantees an HDL increase over a period of six to 12 months.

Choice of exercises could be bodyweight resistance or additional resistance, even traditional cardiovascular exercises like running, swimming or cycling. Four demonstrations are here.

Diet:

Fish oil is one of the richest sources of omega-3. The more omega-3 you get, the higher is your HDL.

Low-glycemic foods. Eat more animal protein or soya, paneer, rajma and beans. Stay away from carbs that come from grains, refined sugars and processed foods, and avoid trans-fats and high fructose corn syrup.

Antioxidant-containing foods such as fruits and vegetables and whole grains reduce the free radical damage that causes arterial plaque.

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