BP Impact = 10
Transformational Impact = 10+
Is it Safe to Exercise with High Blood Pressure?
While it’s true that exercise will cause your blood pressure to rise for a short time, most people with high blood pressure should be able to increase their physical activity levels quite safely.
I’ve state before and will repeat, I am not a doctor and am not offering medical advice; rather this is my story of my blood pressure journey. Having said that, the consensus is that exercise IS a good choice for blood pressure and overall health. But if you’re just starting an exercise program, or your blood pressure is really high, then guidance from your doctor would be wise.
Regular exercise makes your heart stronger, and a stronger heart can pump blood through the body with less effort.
The blood pressure lowering effects of exercise can be just as effective as some blood pressure medications.
The first and most important step to take towards fitness and exercise is to do just that….. take the step……start.
Is Working Out Good for High Blood Pressure?
In my case, a resounding YES.
Common sense told me that attaining a level of physical fitness would be a catalyst to lowering my blood pressure.
Once I started seeing my blood pressure come down, in sync with all the other life style changes I was making (including a fitness routine), I began to start trusting my body again and was able to relax into the hope that was beginning to emerge in place of the worry.
I didn’t have any aspirations to run a marathon or pull trees out of the ground. I didn’t want to make getting fit feel like drudgery. I knew that if I made this something that I dreaded, that I would soon quit and give up. So, I just started out slow, and over time, I added more physical activity into my daily routine.
Steady as She Goes – Being Consistent in your Fitness Plan:
In order for exercise to work consistently, it has to be done consistently. I approached adopting a fitness routine as something that I wanted to weave in to the daily fabric of my existence. Getting my blood pressure back into the normal range wasn’t going to be a “one and done” accomplishment. I knew from my younger and healthier life experiences that being fit would also do a lot to help me manage stress and anxiety, as well as instill a sense of well-being within me.
In those opening days and weeks of my fitness journey, I was patient with myself…. I really didn’t have any other choice….. I was terribly out of shape.
I was too overweight to even think about running/jogging. I knew that my knees and back would not hold up for long. So, I started with a low impact elliptical that a friend had given to me.
I was so out of shape, that the best I could do in the beginning was 7 minutes, with no resistance. That’s was……..a start….. and at that time, just starting….. was monumental.
I patiently set my goal at finishing the week doing 7 minutes a day, and the next week I would kick it up to 9 minutes, and so on. Within a few weeks I was able to increase my sessions by more than 2 minute increments and soon I was up to 30 minutes a day and adding resistance to the elliptical.
Within a few months, I’d gained enough cardiovascular fitness and lost enough weight to try running again….. something that I hadn’t done in at least a decade.
I’ve always loved the “runner’s high” that comes from a good jog/run. I am slow….. If you’ve ever seen that meme that says, “I run slower that Internet Explorer on 90’s dial up….. but I run”. That fits me.
Cardio and Resistance Training to Control High Blood Pressure:
Cardio and Interval Training:
During the winter months, most of my cardio workouts were on the treadmill. While it is nice to be in a controlled climate with the music or podcast of your choice playing through your headphones, running on the treadmill can also get dreadfully boring. There is no weather or wind to make things interesting, no changing angle of the sun, friendly dogs to say good morning to, no nature to greet you……..it’s just the same constant whirr from the motor with no changing landscape.
The monotony of it would sometimes make me feel sluggish or tired, or like I didn’t have the energy to really commit to a good workout……..
When this would happen, to mix it up a bit, I would incorporate some interval training into my run. I’d kick up the speed to what “felt” like my maximum comfort level and try to hang in there for 60 seconds. On good days, I’d shoot for 2 minutes. And then I’d go back to my original speed, which, after going for that fast burst, now felt ez pz. It would also get a good sweat going for me and then things just felt more interesting and I found it to be energizing.
While I didn’t realize this when I was doing it, interval training is highly touted as having many more health benefits than steady-state cardio. For me personally, I cannot sustain the intensity of doing interval training at every workout, so I alternate back and forth between the intervals and the steady state. Gone are the days when I could just “push through” any discomfort or pain without consequence. If I try doing that these days, I end up injured. It took a couple of set backs for me to finally get that. So, on the days AFTER a nice interval workout that find me dog tired, I don’t push myself on that. I just kindly give myself a break for the day by walking instead of running.
Resistance Training:
Over the course of a couple of years, and after I lost quite a bit of weight, I realized that with the weight, I’d also lost a lot of muscle; or perhaps I’d lost my muscle long ago and the weight loss made it more obvious. At any rate, I decided to incorporate resistance training into my workout routine in hopes of getting some muscle mass and tone back. By the time I’d started the resistance training my blood pressure readings were in the normal range and had been for quite some time. After doing resistance training for a few months, they were even better.
There’s a lot to be said about the positive impact that weight lifting, or resistance training can have not only on blood pressure but on an overall feeling of health, strength, and well being. While weight lifting DOES cause a temporary increase in blood pressure …… and if you lift really heavy weights, that temporary increase can be quite high…….the long terms benefits of lifting weights outweighs the risks of a temporary spike in blood pressure in most cases. For me personally, it made my already improved readings even better. And, getting some lean meat back on my bones felt pretty good too………
There are great benefits to both the cardio and resistance training aspects of being fit. If I had to choose between cardio workouts or resistance training, I’d choose the resistance training as the path to lowering my blood pressure.
Chrysalis:
Bottom Line: Exercise made a big impact on my blood pressure. Getting fit didn’t happen overnight, and it didn’t need to. The “just enjoy the journey” adage we hear all the time resonated deep within me during the fitness aspect of my transformation.
While getting fit definitely improved my blood pressure, it did so much more than that. My college years found me very involved in athletics, and I developed habits that helped me remain fit and active through my mid thirties. So, NOT being fit was the exception for me, not the rule. But, once I lost my fitness….. well, it’s not like there was an ATM somewhere that I could go to and make a withdrawal on the fitness of my past…… I was in the same boat as any other out of shape person.
Being fit changes everything. It changes the way I see life and the world. It gives seeds of hope a place to emerge and thrive. It brings effortlessness into places in my life that were once overwhelming. It just works.
Just Start Moving:
If you can’t muster the motivation or are physically limited to the point that you can’t jog or bike or lift weights, even just walking is great exercise. Walking is less traumatic on your joints that running, and there is an awesome meditative quality to walking. Walking my dogs and just flowing with the rhythm of walking and breathing easy always puts me in a good space.
It Doesn’t HAVE to be Exercise:
Any kind of activity that gets your heart and breathing rate up is considered aerobic activity and it doesn’t have to technically be “exercise”…… mowing the lawn, yard work, or walking the dogs are great examples of aerobic activity that one wouldn’t necessarily think of as exercise for exercise’s sake. 30 minutes a day five days a week should do the trick. Or, if you do an activity that’s more intense, like weight lifting for example, 75 minutes a week is a good goal.
How Exercise Lowers Blood Pressure – The Physiology:
According to an article from Physical Activity and Health Guidelines: Recommendations for Various Ages, Fitness Levels, and Conditions from 57 Authoritative Sources, just one session of aerobic exercise creates a sustained hypotensive response that lasts up to 24 hours.
Although we “hear” that physical exercise lowers blood pressure all the time, these days, people want to know the “how” of it. This is my understanding of how it works:
>Epinephrine and norepinephrine are 2 hormones that are vasoconstrictors; meaning they decrease the diameter of the smaller arteries (arterioles).
>Aerobic exercise can decrease the amount of norepinephrine in the blood, which then limits the vasoconstriction of the arterioles, which translates to less resistance on the walls of the veins and arteries.
>In addition, aerobic activity creates a slight reduction in sympathetic neural activity. In other words, it helps relieve stress and helps us transition from the “fight or flight” state to the “rest and digest” state.
While I run sloooooowwwww, I know what they’re talking about when the term “runner’s high” is used. Physiologically, it is explained as the release of endorphins into the blood, resulting in a feeling of euphroria, reduced anxiety, and mood elevation. It is a definite stress reducer for me.
Transformative Aspects of Fitness and Exercise:
While we can talk about the benefits of exercise and activity for overall health (including blood pressure) the pay off goes way beyond just the physiology. I’ve experienced a much better attitude about all aspects of life, even the hard stuff.
As I’ve stated earlier, my journey started out with a mere 7 minutes on an elliptical and I have slowly progressed to a 35-40 minute resistance training routine that I do every other day. In addition and I go for a 30 minute run ALMOST everyday. One days that I don’t run, I definitely walk at least once, and try to get 1 or 2 more walks in if I have time. This is NOT the training program of an elite athlete. And, for all I know, there are plenty of 50+ women out there who could run circles around me. And that’s fine. Getting fit is a bit of an “inside” job. I only compete with myself; I don’t need to compare where I’m at with anyone else. For the first time in my “working out” life, I’ve been able to leave my ego at the door. It’s no longer about being stronger or faster than my competition. It’s no longer about how I want to look; although getting thinner, stronger, and looking healthier is a nice benefit, it’s not the main goal. What is IS about, is how I feel.
This time around, this journey of fitness has been, for lack of a better word, a spiritual one. When I get up in the morning, no one is going to get me on the treadmill or lifting the weights except me. There’s no longer a team counting on me to be at my peak. When I don’t know if I’ve got the gumption that day to finish the job, and I ask for a little help, and then say “thank you” for the help when I’ve made it through, it somehow becomes so much more than just some actions that I go through in order to improve my health.
Getting and staying fit isn’t always comfortable. In fact, it’s never comfortable. There are days when I gladly jump into it, and there are days when I have to really talk myself into getting after it. One thing is for certain; I’ve yet to have a day where I regretted working out. The discomfort is actually one of the most transforming qualities of the whole deal. It teaches me to just abide…. accept…. that this is not going to be easy; but it’s not going to be excruciating either…… and it’s definitely going to be worth it.
Every workout is a bit like walking into the unknown. I don’t know if my body is going to flow through it fairly easily that day, or if it’s going to be a battle through the whole thing. But it’s the very act of entering that unknown space that creates the change and the growth and the transformation. If we can learn to just “be” with the uncertainty of what lies ahead, it reaches beyond the workout. It enables us to be more able to sit with discomfort and uncertainty in all the prisms of our lives. And it is in that very ability to abide in this that makes it dissolve.
If I’ve learned anything, it’s that it’s pointless to try to hold on to the things that give us pleasure and to avoid the things that give us pain. If we can just stay in the middle of those things, neither grasping or resisting, we can become more fluid in the ups and downs of everyday life. Trying to avoid paid only results in one thing: pain.
Ideal weight and “fit”:
Following this routine, along with a healthy diet and keeping en eye on my caloric intake, I’m either at or close to my ideal weight, I have some respectable muscle mass in my arms, legs and torso, and I am able to do a wide range of activities, both sport and play, without stopping from fatigue and/or lack of breath.
I will say that it’s been my experience that you can’t exercise your way out of “bad” nutrition choices. While I do think that exercise kicks up your metabolism, AND that the more muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolism, I have never successfully been able to “exercise my way” to weight loss; it’s always had to be conscious choices and discipline around being in a caloric deficit and good nutrition. There’s just not enough calories burned in a day’s worth of exercise session to be able to cover one or two mindlessly consumed 1500 calorie food choices,
My workout routine:
This is my workout routine as it stands today; along with some metaphors for life:
Treadmill:
Treadmill: “The often unpleasant act of doing the work necessary in order to keep moving forward in the lifelong journey of becoming the best possible version of one’s self.”
Pretty much everyone knows what a treadmill is. But have you ever had PEOPLE in your life who are treadmills? You know, the people who “hook” you; the people who really teach you a lot of lessons about the difference between reacting and responding…….. you know…… those times that your finger hovers over the send button after you’ve written a 200 word response to their idiot post on Facebook. You know….. those people……..
These are the very folks that I often just whisper a quiet “thank you” to under my breath after I’ve realized that I’ve just gone into the trance of a limbic response and have been able to pull myself back from the edge. These are the lessons that I bow to in gratitude. That’s my “life” treadmill.
My “workout” treadmill is a NordicTrack. My particular model (C700) is rated for up to 300 pounds and is a solid piece of equipment. The company is also awesome to work with. My motor got clogged with tons of cat hair, which ruined it, and they sent me a new motor 3 years after I purchased it, no questions asked. Replacing it took me about 15 minutes with no special tools required. They also do a great job of helping you troubleshoot over the phone.
I haven’t given my treadmill a name yet, but we know each other pretty well. I spend about 30 very focused minutes a day with her during the winter months when I can’t go outside. In my high school and college days, I ran 8 mph without giving it much thought or feeling like it was much effort. My jogging speed today is 5 to 5.5 mph. On days where I’m feeling strong and motivated to push it a bit, I incorporate interval speeds of 1 to 2 minutes each, but I rarely go faster than 6.5 mph.
On days that I’m feeling tired or like a run on the treadmill is going to be drudgery, I just do a brisk walk at an incline and call it good. I find that this happens most often on days when I’m also doing resistance training (first) or on the day AFTER some good interval training. While I’m grateful to have the treadmill to use when it’s too dark or cold outside, I do welcome the changing of the seasons into warming weather and earlier daylight. It’s much easier to stay motivated when I can go for a run outside where the chirping birds, greening lawns, towering trees, and majestic views are there to embrace me with the kindest of “good morning, my friend” greetings.
When I choose to walk, I’m fine with it; I don’t judge myself for somehow “failing” because I’m not in there breaking a sweat with a run that I’ve pulled out of the reserves of determination to not “fall short”. This is a journey, it’s my journey, and it’s the very fact that it’s not perfect that makes it…..well……perfect.
Bowflex and Dumbbells:
For my resistance training, I use a combination of the Bowflex Xceed, a curl bar with weights, and dumbbells.
I’ve owned the curl bar and the dumbbells for decades. The Bowflex,……I got very lucky and SCORED on it for a great price. So, I haven’t had to make much of an investment in purchasing weights for my resistance training. The heaviest dumbbells I had were 15 lbs. and I got to the point where they weren’t giving me much of a challenge anymore, so I recently purchased a couple of 20 lb. dumbbells.
Reps and Sets:
This might be an archaic strategy, but it’s worked for me in the past, so I just stuck with it. I do several different exercises (all upper body except for one) and I do ONE set of 12 for each one.
I set the weight/resistance at a level where I can definitely do at least 8 reps, but am either really struggling, or and am unable to get beyond 12 reps. At least this is the case with the boxflex portion of my training. With the dumbbells and curl bar, I am at the point where I could definitely go beyond 12 reps, but have not at this point in time purchased any additional weights. So, I just go with what I have and do the easier part first; I think of it as a bit of a warm up.
During the set of 12, my goal is to keep whatever muscle group I’m working under a load for at least 45 seconds. So, I do somewhat slow and intentional reps, and focus on making sure to perform the movement correctly and to keep that muscle group in a sustained work state.
I purchased a back belt for support. About a year ago my back was acting up and I think that part of it was from the strain of the resistance training. I also wasn’t spending enough time stretching my hamstrings and calves, so I think those were contributing factors as well. At any rate, I got the legs stretched back out and started using the belt and I haven’t had any issues since.
My resistance training routine:
Warmup = stretch
Biceps:
>1 set of 12 with the curl bar. Total weight approximately 52 lbs. I did not start at this weight, but worked up to it as I got stronger.
>1 set of 12 preacher curls (with both arms) at the bowflex. Bowflex weight of 110 lbs.
>1 set of 12 preacher curls with each arm separately at the bowflex. Bowflex weight of 70 lbs.
>1 set of 12 hammer curls with each arm separately with the dumbells. Starting with 20 lbs, then 15 lbs, then 12 lbs, and ending with 10 lbs.
I did each arm separately and went through all the dumbells from 20 lbs to 10 lbs with no rest in between.
I do the hammer curls across my body (versus out in front). I don’t know if that’s the “proper” way to do them or not, but I feel like it really isolates my bicep muscle and gives it a good work out.
Staying focused without much rest in between sets, the bicep portion of my workout takes about 15 minutes.
Shoulders and back:
>1 set of upright rows with the curl bar. Total weight approximately 52 lbs. I also had to work up to this weight and did not start here.
>1 set of lat pull downs at the bowflex. Bowflex weight 140 lbs.
>1 set of tricep pushdowns at the bowflex. Bowflex weight 100 lbs.
>1 set of standing dumbbell shoulder press with 20 lb. weights in both arms. Immediately followed by 1 set of behind the back tricep extensions with one 20 lb. weight for both arms working together. Immediately followed by the same thing (shoulder press and tricep extension) with the 15 lb. dumbbell. This one keeps me honest. I’m already feeling the burn on the first rep with the 15 lb. weight and it takes a lot of focus and determination to get to rep #12 on both the shoulder press and the tricep extension.
>1 set of lateral dumbbell raise with 10 lbs. I do this one arm at a time and I actually lean in a bit sideways against the boxflex (or anything that will hold my weight and not get in the way). Instead of going straight out laterally, I bring the weight across my body on lift out at about 45 degrees. I’ve found this to put a lot less stress on my shoulder and utilizing the 45 degrees along with the lean allows me to really pull the dumbbell back at the start of my rep and fully stretch my deltoid and put it through the whole range of motion.
>1 set of chest fly at the bowflex. Bowflex weight 110 lbs.
>1 set of chest press at the bowflex. Bowflex weight 140 lbs.
Staying focused without much rest in between sets, the shoulder and back portion of my workout takes about 17 minutes.
I also do 1 set of 12 leg extensions on the bowflex in between the bicep and shoulder/back sets. Bowflex weight 110 lbs. I can go heavier on this, but it makes my knees kinda start crackling, so I just keep it where it’s comfortable.
I then finish up with 35 sit ups using an ablounger that my brother gave me, followed by a 60 second plank.
From there, I do a little stretching, express my gratitude at completing the day’s workout, refresh my morning cup of coffee, and then move on to one of my favorite parts of the day; meditation.
Athlean-X Training Program:
After being in the fitness routine described above for about a year, I’d come across this guy on YouTube; Jeff Cavalier. He’s a physical therapist and I believe he was a strength coach for the New York Mets. At any rate, he gives out great exercise and fitness advice for free on YouTube and I’d begun implementing many of his suggestions, especially surrounding the resistance training aspect of my fitness routine. The good news in this was that all that I’d learned a loooooong time ago in college was still basically right; things like the reason we use a heavy enough weight that is a 12 rep max is because it translates to about 45 seconds of time under tension for your muscle group; which is what is needed for muscle growth and an increase in strength.
Jeff also offers really good nutrition advise without making it complicated or cumbersome. He always describes the correct way to do an exercise so that you don’t get hurt (he’s a physical therapist after all), and he’s a big believer in giving your body recovery time. He’s all about reaching your potential naturally and healthily. In one of his videos he states: “What you do outside of the gym is just as important as what you do in it.’ He also says, “If you want to look and feel like an athlete, you have to train like an athlete.” This really resonated with me. I was at a point in my own workout routine where I knew that homeostasis was working against me. I didn’t want to be big and bulky with a ton of muscle mass. The athlete part….. yes…. this was what I wanted….to feel, and be able to move, like an athlete.
So….. one day I decided to go to his website just to see how much his programs were costing. Much to my surprise, I was able to purchase his AX-1 training program for less than $100 for lifetime access. I’m very impressed with the “tech” aspect of his program in that you can easily use it from either your smart phone or pc and it’s very fluid, not glitchy, doesn’t crash, and contains a ton of good “how to” information, including lots of videos. It’s obvious that he has put a lot of work into making his program very solid and user friendly from a tech and user perspective. I’d read reviews about his program – I was mostly looking for reviews by women and I came across a couple. The reviews were honest; and they admitted that his program was a “butt kicker”, but also that he progressed you through it in a way that set you up for success, not failure. The reviews also spoke about the variety of his workouts and how they created muscle confusion, which is what I knew I needed in order to overcome the homeostasis that was my current reality. I also appreciate how this program gives back what you put into it.
He offers many programs but AX-1 is pretty much the training camp program that (I assume) the majority of people start with. Included with the purchase of AX-1 is the 6 pack shuffle, a program that gives you a variety of core strengthening exercise. I have always HATED crunches and core exercises because they either made me nauseas, made my back spasm, or both. This shuffle program is great; it involves a variety of exercises and implements whatever exercise equipment you have (resistance bands, physio-ball, etc.).
I can tell you that I no longer dread doing core training and for the first time in my life I feel like I have some core strength. This has also done my back a big service and it rarely gives me trouble these days. To say that I actually look forward to training my core is saying a lot.
I’m not sure that I would have stuck with the AX-1 program (which is currently my active workout program) if I hadn’t built up a bit of a foundation of fitness before trying this. But if you find yourself in a scenario where you’d like a little more challenge in your program or don’t really know what to do to take your fitness to the next level, I’d highly recommend the AX-1 training camp. I’ll update here when/if I move on to AX-2 or another one of his programs. I have a ton of respect for Jeff Cavalier, and I trust his guidance.
