As of today in the United States it is estimated that 45% of the adult population has some form of hypertension. The chronic cardiovascular issue is one the biggest killer. More than cancer, More than Diabetes. Hypertension is rotted in a number of different causes from genetic predisposition to culinary preferences. Exercise plays a specific role in the treatment and prevention of hypertension; and since exercise is the greatest drug that doesn’t cost anything or come in pill form, lets explore the how and why we can use it to keep our tickers ticking.
Hypertension is another name for High Blood Pressure. The plumbing in our body is damn important and when the pressure builds up inside it, problems can occur. Not unlike the plumbing in your car or house, plaques build up, vessels weaken or Harden, the fluid flowing through it is out of sorts, and when it goes…. bad shit happens.
Exercise and High Blood Pressure have been studied extensively since the 1960’s when the idea of exercise (outside of manual labor) became a thing. This corresponded to our diets in the US; with a high saturated fat diet being the main culprit of the medical community and chronic health problems. Doctors saw that those who were physically active had a lower occurrence of heart disease and high blood pressure.
(As an aside, smoking was still very common place in these days and most doctors smoked. So…. it was easier to blame red meat and butter than to look at the real killer, the pack of smokes in their pockets. And it should also be noted that even though we switched to a low fat/ high carb diet in the US and exercise rates went up….. Hypertension continued to rise…)
As I noted in the opening, we now sit at 45% of the population having some form of hypertension. There are stages of Hypertension (1-4) and there are also different exercise recommendations for each stage. With the body is differing states of well being you should always customize your fitness to provide the best path to success so as to mitigate further damage without hurting yourself FROM the exercise!
Stage 1 Hypertension-
Stage 1 is an elevated systolic blood pressure number that ranges from 120-139. Fluctuating numbers in this range can be a result of many different things like Age, stress levels, sleep, heart arrhythmia , diet and of course exercise. If you get your blood pressure taken at the doctors office and it is in this range, do not automatically think you have Hypertension. You could just be like me… stressed out. I always have high blood pressure when I get tot he office, which is why I ask to have mine take when Im laying down and i’ve acclimated to the office.
Exercise in this level can range from aerobic conditioning to intense interval or strength training. If you are ou of shape or routine, I would suggest working on your aerobic foundation with running, biking, swimming. Strength Training is also a WONDERFUL treatment for hypertension because it is scalable and produces a stress on your cardiovascular system that it has to learn to deal with.
I mean; when you lift weights your blood pressure naturally goes up because you are exerting force. I know you’ve felt this. The pressure in your head builds , your lungs feel tight and you may even go light headed. That is your blood pressure. Your body develops a tolerance and a ‘flexibility’ when you expose your body to weight lifting. This can help control the blood flow through keeping your blood vessels healthy and not static and hardening.
Stage 4 Hypertension-
On the other end of the the disease you have a situation where continuous damage has occurred and serious symptoms might be a daily occurrence. Stage 4 is classified as anyone who maintains a blood pressure over 180/110. That is pretty rough honestly. This means that there is either some very clogged vessels, the vessels have hardened, or you have COPD/CHF. Either way your health is pretty touch and go, but exercise can still be the best drug to help recovery or prolong your life.
When there is this much pressure in the lungs and blood vessels there are many contra indications to fitness of the intense variety. Blood cannot pass through the vessels because of blockage and lack of ‘flexibility’. When the pliable veins became hardened they are unable to help the heart move blood out to the extremities and back to the heart and lunge. High Blood Pressure creates more than just issues in your veins, it also attacks the lungs. Chronic Smokers are a good explample of this. Press builds up in the veins and capillaries which pushes fluid back into the lungs and basically you drown in your own fluid. Not good.
Therefore, if you are someone with VERY high blood pressure, exercise needs to be thoughtful. Keeping the heart rate at 40-50% of max for short bouts of exercise is important for building capacity vary slowly. Walking , and easy biking is a good way to scale exercise. Weight lifting should be VERY light but Fun Range of Motion Exercises help flexibility which in turn helps circulation.
Understanding your blood pressure is one of the easiest things to monitor and when analyzed over a longer term, can give you a good snapshot of what is happening to your insides. If you are just beginning a exercise routine, it is normal to have the ‘wooziness’ after your first couple of classes. You are exposing your body to new stimuli and your blood pressure is responding. I recommend starting easy and not going out to hard. Even I get reminded of this from time to time.
Hypertension is no laughing matter. With good diet and exercise you can turn the statistics away from becoming another victim. For many who read this and already have established good exercise habits; I still recommend creating a hedge against hypertension as you age with a Whole Food diet. While the science is showing us that processed food is much more to blame for a bad heart than saturated fat, we still need to be smart about what we shove in our mouths.
One last thing.. Statins are drugs that 35% of the population takes to fight Hypertension. While they are proven to open blood vessels, I would think twice about taking them and look to exercise. Research is showing that those pills do more harm than good in long term use. And the Same science is showing that long term Exercise routines……drum roll….. Extend your life! Lower Your Blood Pressure! Make you happier! And is Free!
May you prosper and love fearlessly my friends.
Eric
Programming Notes 11/18-11/22 **This is Week 3 of the Strength Exposure Cycle. We have a full pause on the box Squats this week, which means a reactivation at the bottom and a possible rethinking of the weights used. Deficit deadlifts on Monday and more volume on the shoulder press Thursday. Train smart and recover well.
11/18
Baseline:
500m Row
3X
8 Barbell Good Mornings
8 Barbell Back Squats
8 Barbell Hang Squat Cleans
8 Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
CleanComplex;
Every 2 Minutes on the Minute X 7
-Clean Deadlift
-Hang Power Clean
-Squat Clean
-Split Jerk
*Building Each Set
Strength:
Deficit Deadlift
7X 3
*on 4” Riser or plate
*do not bounce the bar off the ground.
Conditioning:
For Time
1 K Row
straight into,
3X
10 Deadlift 155/105
7 Hang Power Clean
4 Push Jerks
11/19
Baseline:
800m Run
3X
10 Scapula Pull Ups
8 Elbow To Instep Lunge + Reach
6 Divebomber Push Ups
4 Squat Jumps
Squat Flow: Squat Flow: Kang Squat, Internal Rotation, Ankle Roll Out, Bootstraps, PNF Stretch, Squat W/ T Spine Stretch
Strength:
Pausing Box Squats
*to parallel
5X3
*Building Each Set>
*Pause :02 on box.
Conditioning:
For Time
400m Run
21 Thrusters 95/65
400m Run
15 Thrusters
400m Run
9 Thrusters
11/20
Baseline:
4X :30 @ Each.
-Deadbug Contralateral Reach
-Squats
-Alternating Knee To Elbow
-Box Bend
-Jump Lunges (foot on 10# plate)
Conditioning:
30 Minute AMRAP
A- :20 L Sit Hold
B- :40 D Ball Carry or Hold
C- 10X Dumbbell Squat Snatch
D- 1:00 Easy Bike
11/21
Baseline:
3X
25 Jumping Jacks
8 Banded Pass Thru
8 Banded Pull Aparts (supine)
8 Banded Pull Aparts (prone)
8 Banded Bench Press
8 Cherry Pickers
Strength:
Barbell Strict Press
10 X3
*Building
Super Set With,,
Barbell Pendlay Row
10X 3
*At same weight
WOD:
7 Minute AMRAP
50 Double Unders
12 Push Press 115/75
11/22
Baseline:
Agility Warm Up @ 10m Each
High Knee Pull
Quad Pull
Squat 180 **stepping the leg high over hip, swing opposite leg to 180, squat
High Knees
Butt kickers
Marching High Kicks
Groiners
Straight leg shuffles
Fig 4 Drill
Lateral Shuffle
Carioca
Lateral Bounding
Sprint W/ Change of Direction
Agility and Plyometrics:
4 X
50’ Single Leg Lateral Hops (Each Leg)
10X Depth Jumps (10” drop to Vertical Leap)
5 X Triple Jumps (from static bilateral start)
Conditioning:
For Time
30 Chest to Bar Pull Ups
1 Mile Bike
15 KB Snatch 53/35
1 Mile Bike
15 KB Snatch 53/35
1 Mile Bike
30 Chest to Bar Pull Ups
