We know that cardio is great for maintaining healthy blood pressure but a new study has found that it’s not the be-all and end-all. You don’t have to run or swim to improve your blood pressure. In fact, you barely have to move at all. 

Researchers have looked at 270 clinical trials involving almost 16,000 people and found that blood pressure improves after doing static isometric exercises like planks, wall sits and glute bridges. And the best bit? You only have to workout for eight minutes three times a week to reap the benefits. 

The study found that although HIIT does improve blood pressure, it’s not as effective as lower-impact isometric holds, which is great news for people who can’t or have no desire to run, jump or burpee.

Published in the British Journal Of Sports Medicine, the study found that other strength moves that squats and press-ups also improved blood flow but again, not to the same extent as the humble plank. 

High blood pressure increases your risk of strokes, heart attacks and vascular dementia. It’s a common problem – according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), around a third of British adults have high blood pressure, with a further 4.2 million living with it undiagnosed. Even more worrying, the ONS estimates that the number of younger people in England with high blood pressure is rising. 

High blood pressure kills thousands of people in the UK every year but it’s almost entirely preventable. It’s usually caused by not being active, eating an unhealthy diet, drinking too much and smoking – although it’s believed that age and ethnicity can also be risk factors. Even with those taken into account, however, we can minimise other contributing elements.  

Healthy blood pressure is between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg. The first number refers to systolic pressure, which is the pressure when your heart pushes blood out. The second is diastolic, and that’s the pressure when your heart rests between beats. Anything over 140/90mmHg is ‘high’.

The clinical trials assessed in this study asked people to follow exercise programmes for two or more weeks, with researchers assessing the effects on resting blood pressure. Those programmes included cardio, resistance training, HIIT and isometric exercises. They found that while all forms of exercise improved resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure, the largest falls in both were after isometric training. 

Research lead Dr Jamie O’Driscoll says that isometric exercise squeezes the vessels in the contracted muscle, reducing blood flow. When the muscle then relaxes, there’s an exaggerated flow of blood – which doesn’t typically happen in other kinds of exercise. And that’s where the added benefit comes from.

The heart-healthy workout

According to Dr Driscoll’s research, here’s what a blood pressure reducing workout might look like.

• Eight minutes of exercise overall
• 4 x two-minute holds (think: wall-sits, planks, dead bugs, glute bridge, squat hold)
• 1-4 minute rest in between each hold
• 3 x per week 

If you can’t hold a plank for two minutes, break it down. Try two 60-second planks, followed by a two-minute wall-sit and two 60-second glute bridges. Or start with half this amount and work up to the full workout. It doesn’t take much to make a massive difference. 

Images: Getty