One of the first things your doctor checks during regular check-ups is your blood pressure. Have you ever considered why? Blood pressure is exactly what it sounds like – the pressure of your blood pushing against your arteries. Having high blood pressure can contribute to strokes and heart attacks, which is why it’s important to know what your blood pressure is and how you can help control those numbers to keep them in a healthy range.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is measured using a sphygmomanometer (commonly known as a blood pressure cuff) that takes a reading of the Systolic and Diastolic pressure. Systolic, the top number, is the pressure against the arteries when the heart beats. Diastolic pressure, the bottom number, is the pressure against the arteries when the heart is at rest between beats. A normal range for blood pressure is less than 120/80 while anything above 130/80 can be considered high blood pressure.
Regular physical activity can make your heart stronger
The good news is you can reduce your risk of high blood pressure by up to 50% by adding exercise to your daily routine. The American Heart Association recommends 90-150 minutes of exercise per week. This should be a combination of both aerobic exercises, like walking, and strength training. The main way regular exercise helps to lower blood pressure is that it makes your heart stronger which allows it to pump blood through your body with less effort, thus reducing the amount of pressure exerted against your arteries.
Super slow strength training can help you lose weight
Another factor to keep in mind when trying to lower your blood pressure is maintain a healthy weight. When thinking about heart health, the less you weigh the less your heart has to work to pump blood through your system. Even a small weight loss can have a big impact on managing your blood pressure.
Super slow strength training is a great overall approach to exercise! This scientifically proven approach to weightlifting is unique in that it helps to increase aerobic capacity in addition to building muscle strength. As you gain lean muscle, you’re helping to kick start your metabolism which means your body is able to burn more calories when you are at rest. For example when you have more lean muscle on your body you burn more calories just sitting and watching a movie! The great thing about super slow strength training is you can start to see significant improvement in your strength with just two 20-minute training sessions per week. When combined with a nutritious and healthy diet, you are setting yourself up for weight loss success.
Blood pressure decreases right after you workout
Did you know that after you exercise your blood pressure decreases? Post-exercise hypotension, as it’s called, is a normal reaction that can last up to 24 hrs. after exercising. This is mainly due to the fact that exercise helps to increase your blood vessels flexibility. One of the main causes of cardiovascular disease is arterial stiffness, which is why this is so important. The best way to get long lasting effects from post-exercise hypotension is by doing short workout sessions, like we do at Loyalty Fitness.
We take heart health seriously at Loyalty Fitness! We want all our clients to live long and healthy lives and a big part of that is through fitness. Talk to us today to see how super slow strength training with a personal trainer can help you manage your blood pressure. We offer virtual training sessions or in-person training sessions at our Syosset, NY or Greenwich, CT locations.