How about a hand job? I know my male subscribers are officially paying attention! Sorry! Not that kind. The kind where you take on the job, using your hands, of lowering your blood pressure. Relax fellas. These hand grips exercises will only appeal to you if you have hypertension. Which sadly, a huge segment of the population does! Keep reading.
According to the AHA (American Heart Associations) over 100 million folks have high blood pressure. I’m guessing since that article was written it has increased by about 30% or more. High blood pressure is defined as BP above 130/80. High BP, aka Hypertension increases our risk of heart attack, stroke, as well as vision problems, especially as we age!
It is typically treated with meds such as beta blockers. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know me. I hate drugs and I’m always searching for ways to avoid taking them. I’m sorry. While they might put a bandaid on one problem, they’re usually creating a new one. So, I’m always online searching “Lowering Blood Pressure Without Drugs!”
Low and behold, I came across multiple sources that published research and studies on the benefits of handgrip exercises on blood pressure. I immediately ordered one of those gizmos. (I will try anything twice! Well not anything!) I will share my purchase below. My handgrippie thing came arrived a few days ago. (Stay tuned.)
I mean who knew that folks with high blood pressure could literally take matters into their own hands?
And for those that might immediately brush this off as nonsense the NIH (National Institute of Health) article linked below states the following in terms of strategy to prevent and manage hypertension:
“Current guidelines recommend both aerobic and dynamic resistance exercise training modalities to reduce BP. Mounting prospective evidence suggests that isometric exercise training in normotensive and hypertensive (medicated and non-medicated) cohorts of young and old participants may produce similar, if not greater, reductions in BP.”
As far back as the 70’s two NY doctors published breakthrough papers that examined the effects of intense, whole-body isometric exercise on blood pressure. In case you don’t know exactly what isometric exercise is. It requires you to put and hold tension on a muscle without moving it. Although it initially raised blood pressure, over time, blood pressure began to fall and remained lower.
In the early 90’s a pulmonologist Ronald Wiley from Miami University, did a study using only isometric handgrip exercises. He had subjects exercise at 30% of their grip strength for two minutes on each hand, resting in between. (The gizmo I ordered has a read out. So, I squeezed as hard as I. could on each hand. They were not identical! And then when I did the hold, I held at 30% of that number. Yes, you must do math!)
Wiley’s results were impressive. After 8 weeks and performing the exercises 3 times a week, the subjects of the experiment had reduced their top number (systolic) by 10 -12.5 and up to 14.9 on the lower. (diastolic) Study after study have come to similar conclusions.
So, how does it appear to work? Research has shown that these hand gripping exercise briefly restrict blood flow in the forearms. As a result, nitric oxide, a powerful dilator is released into the arteries helping to lower the blood pressure. It appears you can literally lower your blood pressure without lifting a finger! (Can’t squeeze and lift…get it?)
There are many other isometric exercises you can do that offer such benefits as:
Strengthening and conditioniong muscles
Improve bone density
Prevent injury
Improve posture
So, I’m starting today! If you’re thinking about trying this out for yourself, there are a few important notes below!
Important: Please consult your doctor before doing hand grip exercise if you have severe hypertension (180/110mmHg or more).
DO NOT STOP TAKING YOUR MEDS! BUT IF YOU HAVE A MONITOR, AS I DO, AND WE ALL SHOULD, TRY IT! WORSE CASE YOU’LL FIRM UP THE ARMS A LITTLE.
How and what to do:
Grip at 30% strength for 2 minutes. Rest for 1-3 minutes in between. Switch hands and repeat. It is suggested you do 4 times and 3-4 times a week!
I purchased the Gripx Dynamometer on Amazon for $27.