This Simple Once-a-Week Exercise Could Help Keep Blood Pressure Lower

Key Points:

• A study published in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine found that adults who completed four weeks of isometric exercise (such as wall squats) could maintain some blood pressure improvements with just one or two sessions weekly for an additional four weeks, while three sessions weekly produced the largest reductions.
• The research involved 100 adults aged around 37 with normal to high-normal systolic blood pressure (120-140 mmHg) who initially trained three times a week for four weeks before varying their exercise frequency.
• After eight weeks, groups exercising once or twice weekly retained significant reductions in systolic and mean arterial pressure, but only the group continuing three times weekly maintained the greatest systolic drop (−13.73 mmHg) and additional cardiovascular benefits like improved heart rate variability.
• Participants who stopped exercising lost the blood pressure benefits, returning to levels similar to the control group, highlighting the importance of ongoing exercise for maintaining gains.
• The study suggests that while lower frequency isometric exercise can help preserve short-term blood pressure improvements, higher frequency training is needed to sustain broader cardiovascular adaptations; however, longer-term research is needed to confirm these findings.