Lower Your Systolic Blood Pressure By 10 Points With This Simple Exercise

Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., DACBN, MS, CFMP

A recent newly published paper in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that isometric exercises may in fact be a better form of exercise at lowering blood pressure. Isometric exercises, such as wall squats and planks, involve holding your body still while tensing your muscles for set periods of time.

The study looked at 270 trials carried out around the world between 1990 and 2023. In total, this included almost 16,000 participants both with and without health conditions. The researchers compared how much people's resting blood pressure dropped after following one of five different categories of exercise program:

• Aerobic exercise, such as cycling, walking and jogging
• Resistance training, such as lifting weights
• Combined training (weights and aerobic exercise)
• High-intensity interval training (HIIT), such as sprint intervals
• Isometric exercises, such as wall squats.

While all five programs reduced blood pressure, isometric exercises were the most effective, followed by combined training, resistance training, aerobic exercise, and HIIT.

The study also compared specific exercises, showing that walking was less effective at lowering blood pressure than cycling or running. 

In fact, wall squats which involve propping yourself up against a wall with your thighs parallel to the ground, were the most effective exercise out of all those compared.

Wall squats involve positioning the feet 2ft (60cm) from a wall and sliding the back down it until the thighs are parallel to the ground.

Although it is commonly recommended to do 150 minutes of some form of cardio (walking, cycling) a week to lower blood pressure, the researchers wanted to identify if other forms of exercise could influence blood pressure.

To their surprise, it was found that isometric exercises like wall squats, planks and sustained leg extension actually held more promise in lowering blood pressure over the typical cardio.

The senior author of the report, Jamie O'Driscoll, a reader in cardiovascular physiology at Canterbury Christ Church University, stated that isometric exercises place a very different stress on the body to aerobic exercise.

He went to say that isometric exercises increase the tension in the muscles when held for two minutes, then cause a sudden rush of blood when you relax. This increases the blood flow, but you must remember to breathe."

It is my opinion that all exercise is good for your heart health and health in general. However, it is encouraging to see other forms of exercise explored in this research being good at lowering blood pressure.

It is important not to forget that other lifestyle choices that can benefit your blood pressure. These include keeping to a healthy weight, eating a balanced diet, cutting down on salt, not drinking too much alcohol and taking any prescribed medication.

** Always consult with a physician or healthcare practitioner with significant training in nutritional, integrative and/or functional medicine before starting a new exercise program.

References

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-66303982
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23879248/
https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/57/20/1317
https://www.verywellhealth.com/reduce-blood-pressure-by-doing-this-simple-exercise-7642550
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/27/health/exercises-for-blood-pressure-squats-planks-wellness/index.html
https://www.bloodpressureuk.org/news/news/planks-and-wall-sits-best-exercise-for-lowering-blood-pressure-study-says.html
https://www.bmj.com/company/newsroom/static-isometric-exercise-such-as-wall-sits-best-for-lowering-blood-pressure/