Daily Cardio on the Sammamish Trail in Redmond, Washington

There are many different ways you can start introducing more physical activity in your day to lower blood pressure naturally. It might be walking, swimming, or even other pool activities.

The key is to start moving and try for at least 30 minutes a day of continuous movement. If that’s not possible, don’t despair! Breaking it up into 2 separate segments of 15 minutes each is beneficial too!

You might be thinking: well there’s no way I’m going to drag myself to the gym and walk on a treadmill at the end of a long day. That’s totally fair.

When it comes to lowering blood pressure naturally by exercise, choose what fits into your life and is sustainable as a habit. Consistency is highly effective. Aim for 30 minutes at least 5 days a week.

I personally enjoy taking walks. The sights and sounds of getting outside is helpful for improved mental health (yay lower anxiety!). It’s also convenient for me to just lace up my shoes and step outside. Also, for those of you with back, hip or knee pain, walking is lower impact and less painful.

If you’re ever in the Seattle, Washington region and want to experience more than the typical tourist attractions, head on over to Redmond and take a nice brisk walk down the gorgeous Sammamish River Trail. I’ll include a few pictures below for your reference!

What are you doing on a daily basis to increase the level of physical activity? Please share!

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The Sammamish River Trail is 10 miles long and passes through the city of Redmond.

Lifting Weights and Blood Pressure

My cardiologist recently mentioned that I should consider adding some “strength training” to my exercise program. You might be thinking: What is strength training? How does it affect blood pressure? It is safe to strength train when I have high blood pressure? Can it help lower blood pressure naturally? So strength training means weight or resistance training. That can mean lifting free weights such as dumbbells, going to the gym to use the weight machines, or using the resistance bands (those giant rubber band like things) to challenge and strengthen the muscles.

If you have concerns, you should definitely check with your doctor before starting a strength training program. According to Mayo Clinic, you should avoid lifting weights if your blood pressure is greater than 180/110.

When lifting weights, your blood pressure will temporarily go up, however in the run long, it can help lower your overall blood pressure numbers. The increase during weight lifting depends on how heavy the weight is.

After doing some research online, I decided to start with very light weights. I have some chronic back and hip pain so I’m pretty careful about introducing new exercise. The tiny, adorable weights you see in the picture below are 2lbs each. Heehee. Aren’t they cute?! I bought them on Amazon here. In case that link changes overtime, those dumbbells are called “RBS Neoprene Hand Weights”.

I’m going to summarize what I got out of this Mayo Clinic article about weight lifting and high blood pressure:

1. Use good form when lifting weights: It makes sense. You’re adding additional weight to your body. This can result in injury if not done correctly. There are many options out there: YouTube videos can be a good casual place to start. If it’s an option to you, consider working with a trainer at the gym or a physical therapist to develop a personalized strength training program and also to have a set of professional eyes watch you learn these skills.
2. Don’t hold your breath: Doing this while weight lifting can cause your blood pressure to go up even more. Breathe smoothly and continuously as you normally would.
3. Lighter weights, higher frequency: A good way to prevent huge spikes in blood pressure is to choose lighter weights and lift them more times instead. This will still work out your muscles, but will likely prevent more injuries and also be a little easier on your heart right off the bat.

It’s fun to try something new! Have you tried adding some weights to your exercise program? How’s it going?

References:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/expert-answers/weightlifting/faq-20058451