{"id":416875,"date":"2026-04-25T12:58:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T12:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/416875\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T12:58:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T12:58:25","slug":"experts-reveal-the-best-exercise-to-lower-blood-pressure-that-isnt-running-or-lifting-weights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/416875\/","title":{"rendered":"Experts Reveal The Best Exercise To Lower Blood Pressure That Isn’t Running Or Lifting Weights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Regular exercise can help to manage blood pressure<\/a>, because it makes our hearts stronger.<\/p>\n

But according to a huge 2023 study<\/a>, which looked at 270 trials from 1990-2023, \u201cisometric\u201d exercises might be the most effective at the job, with \u201cwall sits\u201d the best performer among these.<\/p>\n

Researchers found that isometric exercise was more likely, on average, to lower blood pressure than aerobic exercise training, dynamic resistance training, combined training, and high-intensity interval training<\/a>, though all forms were still immensely helpful. <\/p>\n

What is isometric exercise? <\/p>\n

It involves keeping your body<\/a> still while you tense specific muscles for a set period of time. You don\u2019t move your joints during the movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsometric exercise\u201d is sometimes called<\/a> \u201cstatic\u201d exercise.<\/p>\n

It is the opposite of \u201cdynamic,\u201d or \u201cisotonic<\/a>\u201d exercise, which involves little load and consistent pressure on various muscles. For example, running and swimming.<\/p>\n

Most forms of exercise involve a combination of isometric and isotonic exercise, though some are 100% one or the other. <\/p>\n

What are some examples of isometric exercises?<\/p>\n

Wall sitsPlanks Glute bridges Side planks V-holds Calf raises Hollow holds Copenhagen planks.<\/p>\n

In the 2023 study<\/a> we mentioned earlier, published in the BMJ, wall sits (placing your back against a wall with your thighs parallel to the ground) were the most effective of the isometric exercises for lowering blood pressure.<\/p>\n

Does that mean I should only do isometric exercises? <\/p>\n

The best approach to exercise seems to be a mixture of weight training and aerobic training. This has been linked to<\/a> increased longevity compared to sticking to one or the other. <\/p>\n

Speaking to the British Heart Foundation<\/a>, senior cardiac nurse, Joanne Whitmore, said: \u201cExercise is good for your heart health and health in general. It can reduce the risk of heart and circulatory diseases by up to a third.<\/p>\n

\u201cAerobic exercise in particular can help the heart and circulatory system work better through lowering blood pressure. Current guidelines also encourage muscle-strengthening exercises, like yoga or Pilates.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s encouraging to see other forms of exercise explored in this research as we know that those who take on exercise they enjoy, tend to carry on for longer, which is key in maintaining lower blood pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, there are other lifestyle choices that can benefit your blood pressure. These include keeping to a healthy weight, eating a balanced diet, cutting down on salt, not drinking too much alcohol and taking any prescribed medication\u201d. <\/p>\n

Speak to your doctor if you have a heart condition and want to take up new exercise, she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Regular exercise can help to manage blood pressure, because it makes our hearts stronger. But according to a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[777,499,103,61,60],"class_list":{"0":"post-416875","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-evergreen","9":"tag-fitness","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/416876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}