I have always been very attentive to my blood pressure readings for a very long time. In fact, I actually have an electronic blood pressure monitor in my house. blood-pressure-numbers
And the reason is, I came from a family that have a history of High Blood Pressure. My both parents were hypertensive before their demise.
They both succumbed to the same illness.
Father died of cardiac arrest, mother died of heart failure.
Both were overweight and never exercised as they should.
And because of that I learn a very vital lesson, to always monitor my blood pressure, and watch my weight.
I think that is what motivated me to start writing the newsletters on healthy living 5 years ago.
I have always been an advocate of regular exercise and my blood pressure readings has always hovered around 110/68 to 115/70
However sometime early last 2 months, I lost an uncle, and I had to travel for the funeral. While I was there, I spent 9 days with preparations and every other thing that needed to be done.
In that period of time, there was no conducive environment or even the chance to do my regular exercise. I even lost some sleep during some of the days and this caused me serious mental stress.
However, I was with my blood pressure monitor. I check it weekly.
When I checked my blood pressure, It has gone up beyond the normal reading that I use to experience.
It was reading 125/80. I was under severe stress.
When I got back to my base, I decided to do an experiment on the effect of exercise on blood pressure.
The results below are my findings…
Effects of Exercise on Blood Pressure
Before I started, I took my blood pressure reading in the morning, and this time it was reading 120/71.
Starting Blood pressure reading…
Systolic = 120
Diastolic = 71
Pulse rate = 70
Workout Done
I used my Dumbbells to do Squats and Dead-lifts, along with Bench presses, and some Push-Ups for a total of 30 minutes.
Blood Pressure Reading 30 Minutes After Workout
In exactly 30 minutes after the exercise, I used my electronic blood pressure reading to check my blood pressure, below was my results.
Systolic = 105
Diastolic = 56
Pulse rate = 105
If you notice, in the result above, 30 minutes after the exercise, my blood pressure went down to 105/56, from 120/71 but my pulse rate was 105. This bothered me for a little while.
Then, I remembered that the reason why the pulse rate was high was because, my heart beat has not yet recovered to the normal heart beat level because of the strenuous exercise I just did.
So I decided to wait another 3 hours before taking another measurement.
After 3 hours, I repeated the blood pressure reading, and here is what I saw…
Blood Pressure Reading 3 Hours after Workout
Systolic = 113
Diastolic = 55
Pulse rate = 80
So, the blood pressure reading this time around is 113/55, and the pulse rate is now 80. I know this will eventually go down to 70 or 72 before the end of the day.
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Lessons From Blood Pressure Experiment
From the experiment above, it’s obvious that exercising alone helps immensely to crash blood pressure level.
It also means that if you dedicate a regular time for exercising, your blood pressure will be controlled or brought down without any need for a drug.
However, if one is already hypertensive, it is always a good idea to get your doctor’s opinion on the type of exercises that will be good for you to engage in.
If you’re hypertensive, and you have not been exercising for many years, don’t just start doing any exercises, get your doctor’s opinion first on the type of exercise that can support your heart.
The bottom line is this…
Any form of exercise that tasks your heart a little, if done regularly is a natural way to control blood pressure without medications.
And for people living with Type 2 Diabetes, do you know that regular exercises help, in addition to strengthening the heart, lowering blood pressure, burning fat, to increase Insulin sensitivity?
When your Pancreas is sensitive to the presence of Insulin, then blood glucose can be moved to areas where it’s needed and converted to energy, and optimal blood sugar level will be maintained.
Done overtime, with the right diet, one can completely reverse Type 2 Diabetes doing just regular exercises and eating specially selected foods can help.
Take Home Points
Exercise is a very important healthy habit that helps anyone to avoid diseases, remain healthy and fit.
A lot of persons see exercise as uncomfortable, while that is true, the reality is, the health benefits of exercise can not be over emphasized. There are just too many that you just can’t ignore it.
So whether you like exercising or not, try to “Buy Out” time from your busy schedule and create a 30 minutes exercise done at least 3 – 4 times every week.
According to the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, and others, to be healthy and fit, every adult need at least…
Option 1
150 minutes of moderate intensity/Aerobic activity like brisk walking PLUS, muscle strengthening exercises done at least 2 days in a week. [This should be done every week]
OR…
Option 2
75 Minutes of vigorous-intensity/Aerobic activity like jogging or running, PLUS muscle strengthening exercises done at least 2 days in a week. [This should be done every week]
The muscle strengthening activity will work all major muscle groups like your legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, arms and shoulders.
You may say that spending 150 minutes [2 hours, 30 minutes] per week, is a lot of time for exercising per week. But let’s think about it, 150 minutes is about the length of time for a single movie.
And most people would not hesitate to watch 2 – 3 movies per week.
The goodnews is that, you can actually spread out this time over the week and take it 30 minutes at a time.
And if you’re fit and have the strength for high intensity exercise, this time can be just 75 minutes per week.
The question is…
Can you plan to spend at least 30 minutes of your time, 3 or 4 times in a week to exercise?
If you say yes to this, and actually have the discipline to do so, then you will surely enjoy the greatest health benefits like avoiding, maintaining, and treating some of the diseases currently plaguing humanity today.
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