Exercising with High Blood Pressure

Exercise Your Right to Lower Blood Pressure

-- By Jen Mueller, Certified Personal Trainer

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If you have high blood pressure, the best piece of advice anyone can give you is to listen to your body. How you feel can and should dictate the frequency and intensity of your workouts. While it is possible—and preferable—to lose weight while reducing your blood pressure, your top priority is to neutralize the threat of blood pressure before you push yourself toward more dramatic exercise goals. To do this, consistency is your best friend. Frequency (number of exercise sessions per week) is more important than intensity when you are starting out.

**All of the following exercise recommendations assume that your blood pressure is under control (whether through medication or diet) and is monitored by a doctor.

Aerobic Exercise Recommendations

If you are new to exercise or haven’t been active in awhile, start slowly and increase the time and intensity of your workout as you get stronger. A good starting point is 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity, 3 days per week. Examples include walking, swimming and biking.
If 30 minutes is too much, start with 10-20 minutes and increase from there. Eventually, the goal is to work up to 45-60 minutes, 5 days per week.
It is important to warm up before and cool down after each exercise session (5-10 minutes each).
The best activities to do are the ones you enjoy and will stick with.

Notes on Strength Training

Many people with hypertension avoid strength training because they are afraid that it will increase their blood pressure. But research shows that these fears are generally unfounded.

It’s true that if you have high blood pressure, you should avoid strenuous strength-related activities, such as trying to open a sticking window or attempting to move a stalled car. Activities of this type, including isometric strength training, may cause excessively high blood pressure responses and are potentially dangerous for many people with hypertension. Other than that, you are encouraged to follow a sensible strength training routine.

Sensible strength training is characterized by:

Lifting lighter weights for a higher number of reps. (A good weight is one that you can lift for 12-15 repetitions in good form.)
Moving continuously throughout each exercise (to avoid an isometric hold)
Breathing throughout each exercise (typically exhaling as your exert effort or lift the weight and inhaling as you return to the starting position)
NOT lifting maximum weights, performing isometric contractions, or holding your breath. (These practices result in excessive blood pressure responses and should be avoided.)

Strength training is not recommended as the only form of exercise for people with hypertension because it has not consistently been shown to help lower blood pressure. Thus, it is recommended as just one component of a well-rounded fitness program that also includes aerobic exercise (cardio) and flexibility training.

Other Exercise Considerations

Some medications (such as beta-blockers) lower both your resting heart rate and your heart rate when working out. Therefore, when exercising, your heart rate will NOT reflect how hard you are actually working. For individuals on beta-blockers (or similar medications), it is not recommended that you measure your exercise intensity using a heart rate method, such as pulse counting or wearing a heart rate monitor.

Instead, use other measures of exercise intensity such as the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) and/or Talk Test. Get the details about using these simple methods by reading our Exercise Intensity reference guide. Work at an intensity that allows you to breathe comfortably and rhythmically throughout all phases of your workout. This will ensure a safe and comfortable level of exercise.

Exercise is a great way to help lower your blood pressure in combination with a healthy diet and your doctor's treatment program. Remember to always consult your doctor before starting an exercise program and to listen to your body—especially when starting out.

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About The Author

Jen Mueller
Jen received her master's degree in health promotion and education from the University of Cincinnati. A mom and avid marathon runner, she is a certified personal trainer, certified health coach and advanced health & fitness specialist. See all of Jen's articles.

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Member Comments

JANETTE58

I'm new here and have the article and comments helpful.Thanks Everyone. I have out kof control BP and have been on meds for years. I'm. Hoping that with summer eating better, less sodium and more exercise I. Will see a drop in weight and BP. - 5/11/2013 10:30:07 AM
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JETTABURNSIDE

well don't do weighs more just walks very short. and yard work , garden work to. - 5/4/2013 12:57:02 PM
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RUTHEY01

A better question is, "Should you strength train with an aortic aneurysm??". - 12/27/2012 7:56:47 PM
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TRISHMO1

good advice - 12/27/2012 2:45:07 PM
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DOROTHY1331

Good information. - 12/27/2012 12:10:56 PM
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MANDA2828

Actually, recent studies have shown that weight training DOES help lower blood pressure. This article needs an update! - 11/2/2012 3:24:28 PM
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GRAVITONRING1

OOPS forgot to mention, 30 minutes a day on my glider machine DRIVES my BP down to the best possible range within a few minutes after exercising, and it stays there for a good amount of time... - 12/23/2010 3:24:55 AM
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GRAVITONRING1

after arguing for a year with a visiting nurse who volunteered to visit our apartment building to test residents for high blood pressure, I finally agreed to take a lisinopril with thiazide to try to control my HBP, a few months ago I bought my own monitor which wraps around the wrist, and checks out very well with my doctor's office visits as far as accuracy, I found to my surprise that a huge component to brief episodes of HBP was emotional reactions to silly stuff like a scary science fiction movie :) I started out with 12.5 mg and now use 25 mg daily, chemistry has three main aspects, temperature, pressure and concentration, my temperature is almost always naturally low, but my addiction to sodium, and lack of control of the pressure component, caused a life long problem with HBP, the prescription does have a few side effects, however the ability to control spikes in BP is worth it. - 12/23/2010 3:19:55 AM
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DONNELDA22

Very informative article. Learned a few things I didn't know.
Will keep this in my Favorites - 1/3/2010 7:57:35 AM
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LAURIE5658

This is a great article and a very important one for those that are just starting out. I started back with Spark when diagnosed high blood pressure. With aerobic exercise and a healthy diet, I was able to get my BP readings back to NORMAL. I was truly amazed! - 8/27/2009 11:35:38 AM
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DEEANNAFC

Great article! - 5/21/2009 9:01:15 AM
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CARSORT

I've been walking and doing yoga for 3 years now but am not consistent enough so I feel like I start over a lot- and so seem to never intensify-I have done some light lifting for an arm problem but this is very convicting- my son just bought a series of weights and has been using a pull up bar too- I need to be more consistent. - 2/27/2009 8:33:24 AM
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CANARYALICE

Sometimes I can tell if I overdo it as my heart rhythm speeds up too much and I can get very high blood pressure in spite of pills. A few days ago I discovered Promise Activ supershots to help control blood pressure. They were in the area by the yogurt and are full of potassium. Being on Sparkpeople has made me aware that I often do not get enough potassium (allergic to milk and bananas) so I was glad to find this tiny drink and not have to take potassium tablets.
Its really hard to lose weight when a person cannot exercise aerobically but I cannot do much anymore. Long ago I once jogged six miles so I wonder, what happened to me. Got old I guess. Anyway, thanks fort this pointer that some of us have to be careful as all I ever hear is EXERCISE, exercise.....with never any understanding that sometimes I CAN'T! . - 1/18/2009 2:54:44 PM
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KARLEEN30

your info on excercise high blood pressure was helpful I wont go near weights for awhile thanks - 1/15/2009 10:17:54 PM
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TWOMANYCATS

Thanks to my exercise regime I have gone from 3 medications for blood pressure to one. This is my marker for success, even more than the scale at times. Doing strength training and cardio is worth the rewards down the road. I feel it is taking control of your health. - 7/13/2008 3:07:30 PM
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