What’s the best exercise for lowering blood pressure?

There are several ways of working out to give your heart the pump it needs. You can try aerobic exercises, High-intensity interval training (HIIT), resistance or strength training, combined training and isometric exercise.

Which exercise works best for lowering blood pressure? Study suggests isometric exercise

First, let's get into the different types of exercises. Aerobic exercise improves overall cardiovascular health and helps arteries stay flexible. It lowers both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The intensity of HIIT workouts spike heart rate and blood pressure temporarily, and tire you out quickly.

Exercises where you work against a force, such as lifting weights, using resistance bands, or doing bodyweight moves like squats and push-ups, are great as part of your strength training routine. Combined training is a workout plan that mixes aerobic activity with resistance training. Wall sit, plank, and static squats are great isometric exercises.

"For systolic blood pressure, HIIT was the least effective," said
Nutrition Made Simple! host Michael Greger, PhD, taking up a 2023 research. The most effective seemed to be isometric exercise, followed by combined training, resistance training and second to last was aerobic exercise.

Isometric exercises are the ones where you hold still. They engage a particular muscle without movement and do not add too much pressure on your joints.

However, the exercise that would be the most effective is also what you do consistently.

There are other ways of lowering blood pressure. Traditionally, you are supposed to follow a healthy lifestyle with plenty of exercise and a balanced diet, preferably one that is low in sodium.

Exercises help your body's functioning in several ways. It lowers inflammation in the body, improving the function of the lining of the blood vessels, which leads to more relaxed arteries and improves the physiological and psychological response of the body to stress. Last but not least, it improves the overall efficiency of the heart. So, stay active to keep your blood pressure in check!

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