If you have high blood pressure, your doctor would probably have advised you to lose weight with exercise, but how do you do that while trying to avoid hypertension. Although this might be a little tricky, it is very possible. Exercising comes with a lot of benefits and a very important one is that, it helps you to lose weight. If you have high blood pressure, losing weight can help bring your blood pressure back to its normal range. Aside from weight loss, consistent exercise can balance the blood pressure. Other benefits include being at a reduced risk of having certain health defects like diabetes, heart disease and so on.
1. What type of exercise is best
You obviously can’t engage in just any exercise in this state. Cardiovascular exercises can help to lower blood pressure and also keep the heart healthy. Basic examples include walking, jogging, running, swimming and skipping. You can also try moderate strength training exercises to build your muscles so you don’t lose them along with fat. Stretching exercises are also beneficial as they make you flexible and prevent minor injuries.
2. Exercise guidelines
These guidelines should help you in setting up goals and drawing out your fitness schedule.
- The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute recommends 30 minutes of moderate activity most days of the week for treatment of high blood pressure.
- The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes per week or 30 minutes each day to achieve heart health.
- The American College of Sport Medicine recommends at least 250 minutes per week of moderate intensity exercise to achieve significant weight loss.
3. Get started with a program
Now that you have the guidelines and know the types of exercises to carry out, the next step is to get started. Your program should go along with your targeted goals and to get the best out of this, it is advisable to see your physician. You should discuss the best ways you can monitor the intensity of your exercise with your physician, especially if you are on medication.
Exercising when you have high blood pressure is not impossible. You just need to get started right away, using the tips we’ve shown you in this article.
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