Does Lifting Increase Blood Pressure
Have you ever noticed that when someone in the gym lifts a heavy weight, their face will turn red from exertion and holding their breath? It’s a well known fact that exercise raises blood pressure temporarily. Blood pressure is determined by the force of your heart contracting, times the resistance provided by the blood vessels against the flow of blood. Think of your heart as a mechanical pump, and your blood vessels as pipes. The pump has to work to push fluid through the pipes. The harder the pump works, the greater the pressure in the pipes.
Likewise, when you exercise, your heart muscles contract with much greater pressure to increase blood flow to your exercising muscles. Not to worry— studies have shown that lifting heavy weights does not cause sustained high blood pressure. On the contrary.
Normally, your blood pressure stays under 120 when your heart contracts and under 80 when it relaxes. I am sure that you’ve heard “120 over 80″ before, as an ideal blood pressure, depending on your age. Well, when you lift a heavy weight, blood pressure rises dramatically. For example, if you perform a set of heavy squats, your blood can shoot up from 120 over 80 to 400 or 200! Fortunately, it doesn’t stay there for long. Within minutes of finishing your workout, your blood pressure returns to normal.
People who exercise regularly enjoy lower blood pressures than people who don’t. To make sure that your heart receives maximum benefits from exercise, incorporate both weight training and aerobic, or “cardio” exercise in your workout program. Lifting 3-5 times per week, combined with 3-5 cardio sessions lasting 25-30 minutes is optimal for most people.
If you are sedentary and just getting started in working out, be sure to have your doctor check out the health of your heart first. Ditto, if you suffer from high blood pressure or have a family history of heart attacks or stroke. Once you have a clean bill of health, ease into your program, giving your body (and your heart) ample time to adapt.
And for those of you concerned that weight lifting is bad for your blood pressure, now you know that it’s not!
