Reduce Blood Pressure By Doing This Simple Exercise

There’s good news for people who don’t like lifting weights or running outside: Recent research found that you don’t need to move to improve your blood pressure.

A meta analysis published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that static isometric exercises—exercises where you engage muscles without moving—might be more effective than other workouts when it comes to lowering blood pressure.

Researchers analyzed 270 clinical trials that documented the effects of exercise lasting two or more weeks on resting blood pressure. The team, based out of Canterbury Christ Church University in Canterbury, U.K., found that isometric exercises were the most effective in improving both systolic and diastolic blood pressure over cardio, strength training, and high intensity interval training (HIIT). 

Researchers looked at three kinds of isometric exercises in particular, including squeezing a handgrip, holding a leg extension machine in place, and wall squats. The wall squats (or wall sits) were found to be the most effective isometric exercise of them all.

“We believe this may be due to the larger muscle mass used performing the wall squat compared to other methods of performing isometric exercise training,” Jamie O’Driscoll, PhD, a reader in cardiovascular physiology at Canterbury Christ Church University and co-author of the report, told Verywell Health.

It’s important to note, however, that the researchers concluded aerobic exercise, HIIT, and dynamic resistance training (such as body-weight squats and lifting weights) are still all effective at lowering blood pressure, too. The team says that isometric exercise should be used to complement other forms of movement, not replace it.

Robert Ross, PhD, a professor at the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, said the research is very encouraging for people who want to lower or control blood pressure through exercise.

“If someone’s sought to decrease blood pressure—if that was the reason for undertaking exercise—then the good news is isometric exercise, resistance exercise, and classic aerobic exercise are all associated with reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure,” Ross told Verywell.

The Benefits of Isometric Exercise 

Ross said that the exact mechanisms that underlie the benefits of isometric exercise on blood pressure are not completely understood yet. But exercise, in general, is known to help the heart be able to pump more blood with less effort and slow heart rate.

Much research has shown that exercise has positive effects on hypertension (high blood pressure) and reduces both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. What’s more, exercise can help people lose weight, and hypertension can be associated with overweight and obesity.

And, unlike needing an hour to schedule in a spin class or having your running shoes handy, isometric exercise is convenient: It’s time efficient and requires no workout equipment. O’Driscoll said that this allows people to perform exercises like planks or wall squats easily at home or at work during a break.

It also doesn’t take hours of sweating in a gym to get the benefits. Ross said research shows that three to four sets of two-minute isometric exercises with one- to two-minutes of rest in between is associated with reducing blood pressure.

“If someone doesn’t have 150 minutes one week to perform moderate- to vigorous-physical activity, then I suppose they could say, ‘Well, if I have 10 to 15 minutes to perform this isometric type of exercise…there’s benefit with respect to blood pressure,’” Ross said.

Changing Current Recommendations 

The authors of the new report suggest that it might be time to review the current exercise guidelines for the treatment of high blood pressure. Right now, much guidance suggests aerobic movement, such as running or brisk walking, as the most beneficial form of exercise for managing blood pressure.

The researchers wrote that these recommendations are largely based on data that might be out of date as it does not include newer forms of exercise, such as HIIT and isometric exercise—exercises we now know are very beneficial to blood pressure.

The American Heart Association currently says that most people should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, such as brisk walking or cycling, a week to manage blood pressure.

O’Driscoll said his team is currently developing an international collaborative project with other health organizations to discuss recommendations.

“Isometric exercise training is an emerging and promising exercise mode for reducing resting blood pressure and may have a role which is complementary to traditional modes of exercise—not as a substitute,” he said. “Given the youth of this line of evidence, large-scale randomized controlled trials and several subdomains of this literature still require further exploration.”

Any Movement Is Better Than None 

While isometric workouts are seen to be most effective on improving blood pressure, both O’Driscoll and Ross said that any form of exercise is better than none, and will have a positive impact on overall health.

This means if you love to power walk but haven’t mastered a plank, don’t fret: You’re still helping your heart.

“The findings from the study are very important since they demonstrate that all exercise modes investigated provide significant reductions in resting blood pressure, which is very encouraging,” O’Driscoll said. “The wider literature also supports the positive value of performing even a little exercise or physical activity for health. From a public health perspective, even a little is great; something is definitely better than nothing.”