The Surprisingly Simple Exercise That Could Lower Your Blood Pressure

New research suggests that exercising just once or twice a week may be enough to maintain some of the blood pressure benefits gained from regular physical activity, at least over a short period. However, people who continue exercising three times weekly may experience larger and more sustained improvements.

The findings, published in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, suggest that even a single weekly session of isometric exercise could help people preserve improvements in blood pressure when they cannot commit to a more frequent workout schedule.

Isometric exercise involves tightening muscles while holding the body in a fixed position for several minutes. Common examples include wall squats, planks, and handgrip exercises.

Earlier research has found that isometric training can lower blood pressure more effectively than other types of exercise, sometimes producing reductions comparable to or greater than those achieved with certain medications.

After the first four weeks of the research, all four exercise groups showed significant improvements compared with the control group. These included reductions in systolic blood pressure, which measures pressure when the heart contracts, and diastolic blood pressure, which measures pressure when the heart relaxes. Mean arterial pressure, a measure of average blood pressure throughout the cardiac cycle, also decreased significantly.

These initial results were consistent with earlier studies demonstrating the blood pressure benefits of isometric exercise. However, after participants switched to their assigned maintenance schedules, the groups no longer showed statistically significant differences in diastolic blood pressure.

By the end of the eight-week study, participants exercising just once or twice weekly had maintained significant reductions in systolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure compared with the control group. 

This finding suggests that maintaining some level of regular isometric exercise may be important for preserving the cardiovascular improvements gained during training.

“The study offers evidence that lower frequency isometric exercise training can help maintain short-term blood pressure reductions, providing a pragmatic option for individuals with limited time or adherence challenges.”