Lifting Weight and Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is something we all need to watch as many people can suffer for years with hypertension (high blood pressure) without knowing about it until the damage to their kidneys and other organs has already occured.

What many people do not know is that there is evidence to show that weight lifting has an impact on blood pressure.

What is blood pressure?

Blood pressure is the force exerted by the circulation of the blood being pumped around the body. Blood pressure is actually reviewed through two pressure guages, these are Systolic (the highest pressure reached during the transit of blood and Diastolic which is the lowest pressure experienced during blood transit.

A healthy adult would expect to see their blood pressure at the typical resting value of 120/80 that is a reading of Systolic 120 mmHg and Diastolic 80 mmHg.

Lifting weight and blood pressure

When lifting weights in the gym a persons blood pressure can rise quite dramatically, the heavier the weight lifted the higher the blood pressure becomes. If you are lifting your one rep max in any exercise you can expect your blood pressure to rise to its highest level.

As you finish your weight lifting set your blood pressure will reduce back to normal extremely quickly.

Those who lift weights regularly will not only find their physical appearance change over time, they will also find their blood pressure becomes lower as the regular exercise helps maintain a healthy heart and cardiovascular system.