Many people exercise with specific performance goals in mind, like preparing for a marathon or hitting a personal best in weightlifting. However, regular exercise is also one of the best ways to improve overall health metrics, such as lowering blood glucose levels, increasing bone density, and especially managing blood pressure.
Let’s explore three simple exercises that can help lower blood pressure and improve your overall health.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, occurs when the blood in your arteries consistently pumps at very high pressure, causing your heart and blood vessels to “work overtime” with every beat.
For adults, a normal blood pressure reading is less than 120/80 mm Hg (systolic over diastolic pressure). Readings consistently above this level are a cause for concern.
Many people live increasingly sedentary lifestyles, making high blood pressure more common. Some estimates suggest that nearly half of the adult American population has high blood pressure, and only a small fraction knows they have it. Many people may go years without having their blood pressure checked outside of routine physical exams. High blood pressure often has no obvious symptoms until it causes serious health problems, earning it the nickname “The Silent Killer.”
Unchecked, high blood pressure can lead to severe conditions such as heart attack, stroke, heart failure, kidney failure, sexual dysfunction, and even vision loss.
Given these risks, incorporating three easy exercises to lower blood pressure can be considered a health insurance policy.
So, how does exercise actually lower blood pressure?
First off, your heart is a muscle, and like any muscle, the more you train it, the more resilient it becomes. Any exercise you do increases the demand for oxygen and nutrients in the muscles being worked. Your heart delivers these via the circulatory system. Regular exercise trains your heart to pump more efficiently, which reduces blood pressure by lessening the stress on your circulatory system. Even a single session of aerobic exercise can temporarily improve your blood pressure.
Secondly, regular exercise helps in fat loss, which is strongly linked to reduced blood pressure. Depending on your workout routine, you can significantly increase your metabolic rate over time, greatly aiding fat loss. Exercise also reduces stress, which can help keep blood pressure within a healthy range.
Now that we understand how exercise helps, here are three easy exercises to lower blood pressure:
Exercise doesn’t always have to be intense. A recent large-scale review found that walking at a “moderate” intensity for about 150 minutes per week can lower systolic blood pressure by around 4 mm Hg across all age groups. While the review didn’t set a strict definition for “moderate intensity,” walking briskly at approximately 4.5 miles per hour should suffice, as long as it elevates your heart rate noticeably.
Swimming is another easy exercise to lower blood pressure. It’s gentle on your joints and connective tissues compared to land-based exercises. This makes it a great option for older adults, those with injuries, or people who are overweight. A 10-week swimming program showed a reduction in resting heart rate by about 10 beats per minute and lowered systolic blood pressure by an average of 6 mm Hg among participants with high blood pressure. These benefits were observed without significant weight loss, indicating that swimming alone can directly contribute to lower blood pressure. Combining swimming with a weight-loss diet could amplify these positive effects.
Weight training isn’t just one exercise, but it can be an excellent way to lower blood pressure. A well-structured weight training routine can offer cardiovascular and mental health benefits similar to those of aerobic exercise. Additionally, it can prevent age-related muscle and bone loss, boost metabolism, and help manage diabetes symptoms. Since fat mass is strongly linked to blood pressure, gaining and maintaining muscle through resistance training can raise your metabolic rate, helping you avoid unwanted weight gain and keep high blood pressure in check.
So, when looking for easy exercises to lower blood pressure, don’t underestimate the benefits of spending time with weights!