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Exercising is recommended to stay healthy. But depending on your state of health, certain exercises may be avoided. This is the case for these four physical activities, which should be avoided if you suffer from high blood pressure.
Sports activity must always be adapted to the state of health of the person practicing it. Therefore, certain exercises should be avoided for people suffering from high blood pressure. Here are the ones.
Weightlifting
Weightlifting is favored by many people for muscle development. However, in case of hypertension, exercise is rather not recommended.
Indeed, lifting heavy weights would cause an increase in blood pressure, due to the increase in resistance of the vessels. The heart is therefore forced to work harder, leading to spikes in blood pressure which can be dangerous for your health.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
HIIT workouts are workouts that are done over a short period of time, but at high intensity. This type of exercise is recommended for burning fat, but they are not suitable for everyone. Indeed, HIIT exercises can cause blood pressure spikes. Additionally, large increases in heart rate and blood pressure pose potential risks for people with uncontrolled hypertension.
Isometric exercises
Isometric exercises are exercises that are performed statically, such as plank or chair position, against the wall. You might think they are safe, but not for people with high blood pressure.
Indeed, these exercises can cause a continuous increase in the subject’s blood pressure throughout the time they are performed and represent a risk for patients suffering from uncontrolled high blood pressure.
Intense sports
Likewise, intense sports, such as sprinting, for example, can be dangerous for people with high blood pressure. It is therefore important to take your state of health into account before choosing the sport you will practice and to ask the question, if necessary, to your doctor to obtain advice and know which sport to choose, before starting.
Sports to favor
This should not lead you to stop doing sports! Quite the contrary. To regulate and lower blood pressure, French Cardiology Federation recommends the regular practice of physical activity of low to moderate intensity and of long duration, at a rate of 30 minutes per day and 3 times per week, alternating days of rest and days of effort. Experts advise endurance and aerobic type sports such as brisk walking, running, cycling, swimming.
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