The surprising exercise could help you lower your blood pressure naturally, according to a new study.
A new study published today in the British Journal of Sports Medicine reveals the best exercises for lowering blood pressure.
People with high blood pressure often inquire about the most effective ways to manage their condition.
What is the most effective exercise for reducing systolic blood pressure? Can HIIT lower blood pressure effectively? Do squats and press-ups lower blood pressure? Can running lower diastolic blood pressure?
Based on recent research findings, a wide range of exercises, including aerobic or ‘cardio’, dynamic resistance training activities like squats, press-ups, and weightlifting, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) — a regimen of short, intense workouts followed by brief recovery periods — are all beneficial.
However, according to the study, engaging in static isometric exercises, such as wall sits, appears to be the most effective method for decreasing blood pressure
This type of exercise involves maintaining muscle tension without moving, which has demonstrated significant benefits for blood pressure management.
Historically, studies have confirmed the significant impact of exercise, particularly aerobic activities like walking, running, and cycling, on lowering blood pressure. However, these guidelines primarily depend on older studies that didn’t consider more recent exercise forms like HIIT and isometric exercises. Hence, these recommendations may need updating.
To get a clearer picture, the researchers sifted through various databases to find clinical trials that report on the influence of a two-week or longer exercise intervention on resting blood pressure.
These exercise interventions encompassed ‘cardio’ or aerobic exercises, dynamic resistance training, combinations of these, HIIT, and isometric exercises.
Blood pressure levels were classified into healthy resting blood pressure (below 130/85 mmHg), pre-high blood pressure (130–139/85–89 mmHg), and high blood pressure (140/90 mmHg or more). Systolic and diastolic blood pressures—the numbers indicating arterial pressure during and between heartbeats, respectively—were examined.
A total of 270 randomized controlled trials, published between 1990 and February 2023, were included in the final analysis, with a collective data sample size of 15,827 participants.
The analysis found notable decreases in resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure following all types of exercise. Still, the most significant reductions were observed after isometric exercise training.
The reduction amounts for each type of exercise were as follows: aerobic exercises resulted in 4.49/2.53 mmHg reduction, dynamic resistance training in 4.55/3.04 mmHg, combined training in 6.04/2.54 mmHg, HIIT in 4.08/2.50 mmHg, and isometric exercises led to an 8.24/4 mmHg decrease.
Based on the effectiveness in lowering systolic blood pressure, the exercises ranked as follows: isometric exercise training (98%), combined training (76%), dynamic resistance training (46%), aerobic exercises (40.5%), and HIIT (39%).
Further analysis identified wall squats (isometric) and running (aerobic) as the most potent individual exercises in reducing systolic (90.5%) and diastolic (91%) blood pressure. Overall, isometric exercises were most successful in reducing both types of blood pressure.
Although the researchers acknowledged potential variances due to participant types, statistical and methodological processes, and exercise interventions across the clinical trials, they concluded that isometric exercise training was the most effective in reducing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
“Overall, isometric exercise training is the most effective mode in reducing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure,” they conclude.
“These findings provide a comprehensive data driven framework to support the development of new exercise guideline recommendations for the prevention and treatment of arterial hypertension.”
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