There is a dearth of information available examining the effects of exercise training on lipoprotein levels for elderly populations. In younger populations, exercise training has been reported to both improve the lipoprotein profile and result in no change. However, since septuagenarian and sexagenarian endurance athletes have been shown to differ from younger populations in blood lipid profiles, caution needs to be used when extrapolating results from younger populations to older ones. PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of exercise training on blood lipids in a population of low functioning elderly. METHODS: Fifty-one volunteers were randomly divided into one of four groups: strength training (ST, n=14, age=77 ± 6), aerobic training (AT, n=15, age=80 ± 8), a combination of strength and aerobic training (CT, n=12, age=77 ± 6) or control (C, n=10, age=78 ± 9). The intervention lasted for 16 weeks during which controls were instructed to maintain normal levels of activity and the exercise groups completed 3 sessions of exercise per week. ST completed 2 sets of 12, bilaterally, of 14 different strength training exercises using Thera BandR resistance bands. AT walked for 35 minutes and CT walked for 20 minutes and completed 2 set of 12 of the strength training exercises. After an overnight fast, a blood sample was obtained from an antecubital vein and evacuated into a tube containing no preservative. The sample was analyzed on a CholestechR L D X analyzer. A repeated measures analysis of variance was conducted with p set at 0.05 and when significance was detected, a Tukey post-hoc was performed. RESULTS: As expected, AT and CT had significant decreases in total cholesterol (TC) (AT decreased 19%; CT decreased 09%) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) AT decreased 25%; CT decreased 12%). An unexpected finding was the 9% decrease in TC and 16% decrease in LDL for the ST group. CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrate that both aerobic and strength training exercise in functionally limited elders has a positive effect on blood lipid profiles. In addition, exercise can positively affect other risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as blood pressure, insulin resistance and obesity. The combination of the protective factors related to exercise and lipoprotein profiles is likely to significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in these elders.