High blood pressure and lifting
Charlottesometimes23
Posts: 687 Member
I've been doing SL 5 x 5 pretty much 3 x a week and have enjoyed progressing with the weights. I'm now lifting some decent weights.
Unfortunately I just found out that I have high blood pressure and will probably need to go on medication for it. It's likely genetic (mother, and all siblings in same boat) and I really have no lifestyle factors to modify in an effort to reduce it eg. I don't smoke, I'm not overweight, my diet is good, I've exercised for years.
What I'm worried about is that the doc will want me to give up heavy lifting at least until I get my BP in control, if not for good. I want to look after my health, but I don't really want to stop the weights either.
Has anyone had any experience with this?
Unfortunately I just found out that I have high blood pressure and will probably need to go on medication for it. It's likely genetic (mother, and all siblings in same boat) and I really have no lifestyle factors to modify in an effort to reduce it eg. I don't smoke, I'm not overweight, my diet is good, I've exercised for years.
What I'm worried about is that the doc will want me to give up heavy lifting at least until I get my BP in control, if not for good. I want to look after my health, but I don't really want to stop the weights either.
Has anyone had any experience with this?
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Yep, but I'm hoping my blood pressure issues stem from being overweight. Upon my last Dr. visit, he commented upon my weight loss, asked what I had been doing to lose the weight and after finding out, said keep up the good work. With my weight loss, I have been able to cut my medication by half, but am also realistic that I might be on something for the rest of my life either due to genetics or having screwed up my body from being overweight.0
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I have not experienced this (that I know of), but tagging so it shows up on my wall.0
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Ask your doctor.0
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Thanks Sara, cajuntank and Fitnsassy. I'm not suggesting that my lifting has anything to do with it, I'm pretty certain it's genetic and my age, but I'm after personal experiences of people who lift and may have had issues with high BP.
I understand the physiology behind it, and that holding my breath with the exertion can cause a sharp temporary increase in BP, but I don't hold my breath, I breath out with the actual exertion.
Anyway, I'm interested to see what the doc says. Fingers crossed I can still lift.
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I had high blood pressure and was on medication for it, lifting and weight-loss has helped me come off the medication. I'm still being monitored every 3mths.
Don't hold your breath when you lift.0 -
What I have learned from studying fitness, is not to lift above your head (ie shoulder press) and if you are on meds be extra careful when changing from low to high eg Bulgarian split squats/pistol squats, burpee's and standing up quickly in general.
Good luck!0 -
I also have high BP and take medication .I am at a healthy BMI and have noticed BP going higher during weight training.I have cut my work out session a bit and now work upper body and lower body on different days.Hope that will help0
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my former lifting partner had hbp and was on meds, he was fine with the heavy lifting.0
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Thanks everyone. I went to get some blood results today and it turns out I'm severely Vitamin D deficient. There is an interesting correlation between low Vit D status and high BP, although no causal link has been established yet. The plot thickens.
I'm off to the uni clinic doc on Friday with a copy of the review article. I'm sure medical science researchers are the worst type of patients..lol
In the mean time, I'll be doing bodypump, until I get the all clear.0 -
Back from the doc and my BP has been normal for the past 2 days so she said I don't need BP meds at this stage and I can go back to strong lifts. Woohoo! :drinker:
My vitamin D is being investigated and it looks like I'll need to take drops to get it up to reasonable levels. It's really warm and sunny where I live and I always slather broad spectrum sun screen all over me before I leave the house, so I might need to rethink this a bit.0 -
That is excellent news. Thanks for keeping us posted.0
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Back from the doc and my BP has been normal for the past 2 days so she said I don't need BP meds at this stage and I can go back to strong lifts. Woohoo! :drinker:
My vitamin D is being investigated and it looks like I'll need to take drops to get it up to reasonable levels. It's really warm and sunny where I live and I always slather broad spectrum sun screen all over me before I leave the house, so I might need to rethink this a bit.
I have Vit D, Iron and B12 deficiencies due to my Thryoid
Just wanted to let you know that it is fixable pretty quicly. I had to take 50,000 IU of Vit D3 once a week for 4 weeks, then now 1,000 IU per day ... well forever :bigsmile:
It is amazing how these deficiencies can make you feel absolutely horrible. I finally saw and endocrinologist for my Thyroid and got the news that its dead and non functioning so whatever I have now - is for life. Take those vitamins :bigsmile:0 -
Not saying this is what's happening to you, but I went and saw my doctor a few months back for a yearly physical/check up. I have been doing 5/3/1 for a year or so and when I went in, it happened that that morning I had done squats. My BP was high and the doctor ALMOST put hypertension in my chart. I asked him not to on the basis that I'll come back in a week and we can check it again. On the day of the second check I did not lift that morning and my BP was well within the "good" range. Turns out heavy weightlifting can cause temporary increases in blood pressure and the increases can be quite high and last for a while, although this is in the short term. Long term, weight training can cause improvement in blood pressure.
In any case, it's good you are talking to your doc about it. Mine wasn't fully aware about it and almost had me labelled as a hypertension risk...0 -
I'm going to bump this because I also have this question.
I have a history of hypertension and it appears to be getting high again (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/BusyRaeNOTBusty/view/so-i-have-a-history-of-high-blood-pressure-607701). I've been lifting heavy regularly for over 2 years. I currently do a modified version of Stronglifts doing 3 sets of 5 and include the big 5 lifts. I randomly googled and found this:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weightlifting/AN00637If you have high blood pressure, here are some tips for getting started on a weightlifting program:
Learn and use proper form when lifting to reduce the risk of injury.
Don't hold your breath. Holding your breath during exertion can cause dangerous spikes in blood pressure. Instead, breathe easily and continuously during each lift.
Lift lighter weights more times. Heavier weights require more strain, which can cause a greater increase in blood pressure. You can challenge your muscles with lighter weights by increasing the number of repetitions you lift.
Alternate between upper and lower body exercises to let your muscles rest during exercise.
And this article say 12-15 reps.
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=701&page=2
Anyone seen any better sources on this?0 -
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