Want to lower your blood pressure? A new study pinpoints the best type of exercise to lower your blood pressure, and it doesn’t include running on the treadmill or pumping the iron at the gym .
Instead, the study found that static isometric exercises that work your muscles without moving, such as wall sits (also known as wall squats) and planks, are best for lowering blood pressure.
This new analysis is a systematic review of 270 studies. British Journal of Sports Medicine (bondage), Make sure many types of exercise are done Things like aerobic exercise, weight training, and high-intensity interval training can help lower blood pressure, but we’ve found that isometric exercise provides the greatest benefits.
Of all the exercises examined, the study found that wall sitting was the most effective.
Physical activity has long been known to have an effect on blood pressure, and this is because doctors often recommend heart-healthy activities such as walking, running, and cycling as the first choice for patients with high blood pressure. Reviews are important.
However, studies have shown that isometric exercise is almost twice as effective at lowering blood pressure as aerobic exercise alone.Study author Jamie O’Driscoll, a cardiovascular physiology researcher at Christ Canterbury Church College, along with his colleagues, bondage They conducted this review because they had seen first-hand the blood pressure benefits of isometric exercise and wanted to “bring together the evidence for a wider audience.”
“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,” he and co-authors review It is stated in
What is static isometric exercise?
To perform static isometric exercise, hold your body in one position until your muscles fatigue. Examples include wall sits, planks and side planks, glute bridges, and heel raises.
Isometric exercise is a good option for older adults because it’s low impact and doesn’t require special equipment, says Meredith Dobrosielski, an exercise physiologist and clinical research coordinator in the Johns Hopkins Division of Geriatrics. .
“This is an easily accessible form of exercise that can be done almost anywhere,” Dobrosielski says. “You don’t have to go to the gym. … You don’t have to spend that much time. … All you need is your body. And the benefits are huge.”
But that doesn’t mean static isometric exercises are easy.
Kelly Stewart, director of clinical and research exercise physiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, says that keeping muscles in a contracted position requires “working very hard.”
“That may be one of the reasons why it’s profitable,” he added.
