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But don’t be afraid to get your heart rate up once you are ready. “Unless you have severely elevated blood pressure, it’s OK go for a vigorous walk, for instance,” Barouch says. That could also mean walking faster, hiking on a trail or carrying weight.
Rather than focusing strictly on your heart rate, pay attention to how your body feels. This is especially true if you are on blood pressure medication, as some may blunt your heart’s response, throwing off your goals.
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If you are concerned about blood pressure and are new to fitness, don’t try jumping into high intensity interval training, which causes more rapid fluctuations in your heart rate and blood pressure. You also want to avoid exercises that require rapidly getting up and down from the floor, such as burpees, says Dr Melissa Tracy, a cardiologist at Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago.
“Burpees require a lot of muscles and changing positions, and you might not breathe properly through them,” she says. With consistent exercise and normalised blood pressure, however, you can make burpees a longer-term goal.
The same holds true for heavy weight lifting, during which you might inadvertently hold your breath through your effort, Tracy says. “If you’re hypertensive, you decrease the blood returning to your heart and your blood pressure can drop,” she adds. “When you release the breath, your heart rate then shoots up and your blood pressure can overshoot.”
Once your body becomes used to exercise, gradually increase the difficulty of your routine to allow for continual progress. “Over time, you can start picking up the pace, swinging your arms, adding inclines or finding other ways to increase your heart rate,” Tracy says.
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When you have finished your workout, take extra time to cool down, allowing your heart rate and blood pressure to ease back to base line.
In general, aim to exercise for at least 30 minutes, unless you find that difficult to fit into your day. “If you need to break it up into smaller increments, like 10 to 15 minutes, you can still see some improvement to your blood pressure,” Barouch says.
Once you’re accustomed to exercising for 30 minutes at a time, working up to about 60 minutes’ worth of exercise may further enhance the benefit to blood pressure. “After that, there’s no harm, but probably no additional value as far as blood pressure is concerned,” Barouch adds.
Setting goals
The Australian Heart Foundation recommends 30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity five or more days per week. That can be your goal, but while you are getting started with a fitness routine, reaching that level may not be realistic. “For some people, exercising several times a week isn’t even in play at the beginning,” Bauer says.
And while you might be tempted to cram all of your exercise into the weekend, that’s not the best way to lower your blood pressure. Instead, aim to intentionally move your body on most days. “That’s a more effective approach than being a weekend warrior,” Barouch says.
Lastly, if you have hypertension, it’s important to consult with your doctor before trying any new exercise regimens, and remember that not everyone can manage it with lifestyle changes alone.
But if you are consistent, an exercise routine can start lowering your blood pressure in as little as four weeks. Research has not definitively proven that one form is better than any other, so choose the exercise you enjoy most – you’ll be more likely to stick with it.
The New York Times
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