When you think about getting healthier, you might think about losing weight, building muscle, or improving your endurance, but some important changes happen inside your body in measures like blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure. These numbers help healthcare professionals assess your health. Regular exercise can improve them, sometimes even when your bodyweight stays the same. Understanding how exercise affects these measures can help you see why staying active is valuable at every age.
Blood Sugar: Helping Your Body Use Energy
What is “blood sugar” and why does it matter? Your body relies on glucose, a type of sugar in your blood, for energy. After you eat, a hormone called insulin signals for your body to move glucose from your bloodstream into your cells, where it can be used or stored. When your body becomes less responsive to insulin, glucose has a harder time leaving the bloodstream. Over time, this can contribute to prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
Exercise helps in two ways: working muscles take up glucose for energy, and regular physical activity helps your body respond more effectively to insulin. Together, these effects help your body manage blood sugar.
One measure of long-term blood sugar management is the A1c test, which estimates your average blood sugar over roughly the previous three months. The American Diabetes Association’s 2026 Standards of Care describe evidence that structured exercise can lower A1c in people with type 2 diabetes.
Both aerobic activities, such as walking, and resistance training, such as lifting weights, can help. Combining them may provide additional benefits for blood sugar management.
Cholesterol and Triglycerides: Managing the Fats in Your Blood
Cholesterol is a substance your body needs to build cells and produce certain hormones. However, the type and amount circulating in your blood matter. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) carries cholesterol through the bloodstream. When LDL is elevated, it can contribute to plaque buildup inside artery walls and increase cardiovascular risk. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) helps transport cholesterol toward the liver for processing.
Triglycerides are another type of fat in the blood. They store energy that your body can use later.
Regular physical activity influences how your body processes these fats. Over time, exercise can improve several blood lipid measurements, although the changes are generally modest. A systematic review of 148 randomized controlled trials found average improvements in LDL, HDL, and triglycerides following exercise training. The studies included people of different ages, and individual results varied.
Blood Pressure: Making It Easier for Blood to Flow
Blood pressure measures how hard blood pushes against the walls of your arteries. In a reading of 130/80, the top number measures pressure when your heart contracts to pump blood, while the bottom measures pressure as your heart relaxes between beats. When blood pressure remains high, it places extra strain on your heart and blood vessels over time.
Regular exercise can help lower resting blood pressure partly by improving blood vessel function. Healthy blood vessels can widen and relax as needed, allowing blood to flow with less resistance. Exercise also helps your cardiovascular system deliver oxygen to working muscles more efficiently.
The American Heart Association identifies physical activity as an important part of managing elevated blood pressure and cholesterol. Aerobic activities such as brisk walking, cycling, and swimming are particularly well established for improving blood pressure. Resistance training can contribute, too. Medication and other treatments can help reduce blood pressure, but it does not automatically replace exercise.
Strength Training and Cardio: Why Both Matter
For overall health, it is generally best to include both aerobic exercise and resistance training:
Aerobic exercise – such as walking, cycling, swimming, or dancing – challenges your heart and lungs and is particularly well established for supporting cardiovascular health.
Resistance training uses weights, machines, bands, or body weight to challenge your muscles. It helps maintain and increase muscle mass, strength, and physical function, which become increasingly important for everyday activities as we age.
These forms of exercise complement each other. Rather than choosing one over the other, aim for a routine that includes both.
How Much Exercise Should You Aim For?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that adults ages 65 and older work toward the following each week:
- At least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as brisk walking. At a moderate intensity, you should be able to talk but not comfortably sing.
- Muscle-strengthening activities at least two days per week.
- Activities that improve balance as part of the week.
These are goals to work toward, not requirements to meet all at once. If you are currently inactive, start with an amount you can manage comfortably and gradually build up. A short walk or a manageable strength-training session is a worthwhile first step.
At the Rochester Athletic Club, members can use their two complimentary personal training sessions to learn exercises, identify an appropriate starting point, and build a routine that includes strength training and cardiovascular activity.
The Bigger Picture
Consistent physical activity is a practical way to support your health, maintain your abilities, and invest in your long-term well-being. You do not need to wait until you feel fit enough to begin. Start where you are, build a routine you can sustain, and give consistency time to work.
