How Often You Really Need To Do This Simple Exercise To Keep Your Blood Pressure In Check
Everyone knows that a consistent workout routine is the gold standard for health, and even more so when it comes to blood pressure. But fitting a workout into your day is hard, especially when a sick kid, work deadline, or family vacation disrupts your routine. That's why short bursts of movement known as "exercise snacks" are gained popularity, which studies have shown are just as effective as long workouts.
Researchers in the U.K. recently tested one specific isometric exercise, wall squats, to see how doing them a few times a week can effect blood pressure. They also looked at the minimum effective dose to see benefits, and it's likely lower than you would expect. The most important thing is to make sure you don't stop moving your body altogether.
What the study looked at
Researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial of isometric exercise training in adults with normal to high-normal blood pressure. Isometric exercises are held in a static position rather than moving through reps. In this study, they used a wall-squat, which involves participants squatting with their backs pressed up against the wall and holding that position, rather than dropping in and out of it. It's similar to a plank, where you are creating muscle tension without actually moving.
In the study, participants first completed four weeks of wall-squat training three times a week, building up their blood pressure benefits. They held four squats per session, with two minutes of seated rest between each hold. Each person's squat depth was set individually in a lab test and their heart-rate was monitored during training.
By the end of those four weeks, their systolic blood pressure (the top number in your reading) was 9.45 mm Hg lower than that of a comparison group that didn't exercise, and their diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) was 5.47 mm Hg lower.
Participants then entered a four-week maintenance phase to see how much wall-squatting is really needed to keep up the blood pressure benefits. Then they were split into groups that either kept training three times a week, dropped to two times a week, dropped to just once a week, or stopped doing the exercise entirely,
What they found
All participants who kept up their wall-squat holds, even just once a week, held onto reductions in systolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure (a measure of the average pressure in your arteries over a full heartbeat cycle). As you may expect, people who continued training three times a week preserved the most benefit. The one and two session-per-week groups didn't differ much from each other, though researchers did note early signs of blood pressure creeping back up in both of those groups over the four-week maintenance period.
The group that stopped exercising entirely saw their blood pressure benefits reverse within those same four weeks.
This maintenance phase only lasted four weeks, so it's not yet clear how long reduced-frequency training can keep protecting these gains beyond that window, but this builds on previous research showing some exercise is better than none. Once you've put in the work to build a benefit, a lighter maintenance routine can help protect it when life doesn't allow for more.
How to do a wall-squat hold
When you're in a busy season and can't find the time to devote to a long workout, this wall-squat routine is the perfect because it can be done in just 10 minutes. If you just want to try it for yourself, the study's protocol offers a useful template:
- Set up: Stand with your back against a wall and lower into a squat, like you're sitting into an invisible chair.
- Hold: Keep your back against the wall and hold the position. The published paper doesn't list how long each hold lasted, so hold only as long as you can keep good form, and build up your time as you get stronger.
- Find your depth: The exact squat depth used in the study was set individually per person in a lab setting, so start at a depth that feels challenging but sustainable for you. Adjust as it gets easier.
- Repeat: Work through all four holds, resting in between, to complete one session.
The takeaway
Consistency is what builds blood pressure benefits in the first place, so aim for regular sessions when you can. But if a packed week means you can only fit in one day of wall squats, it still worth doing. The research suggests it's enough to help protect the progress you've already made, rather than a sign you've fallen off track. Even one wall-squat session a week can help preserve the gains you've already earned.
