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How long do I have to exercise every day to do something good for my blood pressure?
Every step, every floor and every minute of movement and sport counts and has an impact. As doctors, we have long believed that only endurance exercise lasting at least 30 minutes achieves effects. Today we know that there is no threshold.
Even short sports sessions and exercise in everyday life have a big and positive effect – especially on blood pressure. But of course it is also clear that it will not be enough to just go for a few minutes’ walk on the weekend to see big effects.
The WHO (World Health Organization) has defined good recommendations as a rule of thumb: We recommend that everyone be physically active for at least 150-300 minutes of moderate intensity or 75-150 minutes of high intensity every week – very important at least!
Dr. Melanie Hümmelgen is a specialist in internal medicine and cardiologist as well as medical director and chief cardiologist at the Mühlenberg Clinic. She combines extensive experience in high-tech medicine at university heart centers with the holistic approach of modern medicine. This makes her a sought-after expert. She became known on television, particularly on NDR through “The Movement Docs” and “Visite”.
Which sports are best for lowering blood pressure?
The basis for injury-free and effective training is always sufficient exercise in everyday life. It doesn’t have to be 10,000 steps a day – every step counts.
Endurance sports are particularly suitable for having a positive effect on blood pressure. Untrained people in particular find a good introduction from walking to walking – whether with poles as Nordic walking or without poles. Jogging is particularly effective. But going for a 30-minute run from a standing start as an untrained person over 50 will rarely be successful straight away.
However, with a realistic training plan and a slow increase in the amount of training, this is possible with good preparation.
Swimming and cycling are also great endurance sports that are easier on the joints for many people and can be easily adapted to the respective training level
For training at home or in a gym, I recommend the ergometer or cross trainer. Rowing is also a great strength and endurance sport.
What exercises can everyone do for 10 minutes every day to improve blood pressure?
10 minutes is enough for a great workout at home with simple exercises – the important thing is to do it every day. Short, simple but regular repetitions have more effect than just hitting the gym once a week.
It is important for active workouts to plan a short warm-up phase at the beginning of 2-3 minutes, then more intensive exercises and finally a cool-down phase with stretching exercises for 1-2 minutes.
As a warm-up exercise, for example, walking on the spot (march in place) is great, with high knees pulled up and then arm circles either as a propeller or as a mill to get the circulation going.
The jumping jack or squats with boxing movements of the arms (squat and box) are highly recommended as intensive exercises. It is always important to breathe continuously and not to hold your breath so as not to get into forced breathing – this causes your blood pressure to rise.
A good cool down exercise is picking apples and doing the cat-cow exercise on all fours. I always recommend specific stretching exercises after each workout.
As a short workout in between, you can also use yoga and QiGong exercises – they are also great mini hacks for relaxation in between. I particularly like the exercises to expand the heart or open the chest, support the sky and the exercise to part the clouds.
Breathing exercises are wonderful to learn and implement quickly in order to wind down quickly and effectively, especially in stressful situations.
Autogenic training and progressive muscle relaxation are well-studied techniques for also effectively lowering blood pressure. You first have to practice the exercises a bit and get involved with them, but then they can be used anywhere and very effectively in everyday life.
As a beginner, what is the best way to start lowering my blood pressure?
It is very important not to overwhelm yourself at the beginning. First plan small and short training sessions – no one starts with a marathon. Movement in everyday life is the key to getting started injury-free.
I always recommend that my patients count their steps per day – most cell phones do this automatically. Many patients are horrified when they see how few there are. Then I recommend setting a firm and realistic short-term goal: initially 4,000 steps per day, next week 5,000 steps, the week after next 6,000, etc.
And then check them consistently in the evening – if you haven’t taken enough steps during the day, go for another walk after dinner. It often helps to develop new routines: walking to work, getting off the bus or train one stop earlier, consciously parking your car a little further away, doing small purchases on foot, consistently avoiding the elevator, and from now on, always to take the stairs.
Once this has been implemented, you can plan sports sessions.
It is particularly important for people who suffer from high blood pressure to consult with their family doctor before taking up sports activities and to specifically choose them. The general advice “move more and do sport” is of no use; we as doctors have to give concrete recommendations here.
What role does consistency play in your daily exercise routine?
Consistency is the key to success. Short, moderate exercise sessions that are actually done regularly help you to exert yourself more than once a week. Goals that are too high at the beginning often only frustrate you and you abandon your good intentions in discouragement.
Many people find it helpful to do sport with others at fixed times. It’s not easy to cancel appointments with other people. Sports courses in clubs or fitness studios or simply making fixed appointments with partners, friends or neighbors on certain days of the week and at fixed times can help.
It’s important to build new routines, especially after long breaks from sports, so that you don’t have to negotiate with yourself every day whether you’re going to go running today or whether you’re going to find out tomorrow and at the end of the week that you haven’t managed it at all.
Putting the gym mat in front of the bed in the evening or putting the sneakers in front of the apartment door often makes it easier. Many people find it easier to integrate exercise into their daily routine in the morning – then nothing can get in the way during the day. Or to start straight away after work and not go home first, where the household is waiting or the sofa is calling. It is often difficult to pull yourself together again, especially at the beginning. At some point, sport will be firmly integrated into everyday routines again and it will no longer be possible to imagine life without it.
What additional tips besides exercise can help lower blood pressure?
We can influence high blood pressure very well with the 3 pillars of exercise, nutrition and relaxation and the 3 pillars reinforce each other.
Avoiding finished products and highly processed animal foods is very important. Many people are salt sensitive. The WHO (world health organization) recommends a maximum salt intake of 5 grams – preferably less. It’s not just about the visible salt, but much larger amounts of salt are found in finished products such as sauces, pizzas, ready-made dressings, bread and baked goods, etc.
Obesity often causes high blood pressure. Losing weight often results in an effective and, above all, sustainable reduction in blood pressure. As a rule of thumb, one can say that 1 kg of weight loss can achieve a blood pressure reduction of 1 mmHg systolic – so losing 10 excess kilos can lower blood pressure by an average of 10 mmHg Hg systolic – more than some medications would achieve on their own.
A Mediterranean diet with a high proportion of vegetables, good vegetable fats from nuts and vegetable oils, avoiding finished products and processed meat and sausages, and reduced salt consumption is the basic recommendation.
Stress management is important for all of us, especially for the prevention and treatment of high blood pressure.
It is important to me to say that drug and non-drug therapies go hand in hand and are often not “either/or” therapy options. I see many patients who have waited too long to begin drug therapy and unfortunately come to me with organ and vascular damage. Medications are very important in high blood pressure therapy, but when combined with exercise they often work even better and you can get by with fewer medications. Our lifestyle is very important in prevention.
