High blood pressure increases your risk of many serious health problems. This condition can respond favorably to lifestyle changes, such as increasing physical activity. If you have high blood pressure and desire to start exercising regularly, you are taking a big step toward improving your readings and overall health.
Step 1
Talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program. This is particularly important if certain factors apply to you in addition to having hypertension. Examples include being a smoker, being overweight, having a history or increased risk of heart problems and being older than 50 if a woman and 40 if a man, according to MayoClinic.com. You also might require adjustments in medications, and only your doctor can safely advise you on this.
Step 2
Start with lower-intensity activities such as brisk walking or swimming. Even household chores can count toward exercise. The doctor-created EMedTV website lists 15 minutes of shoveling snow, 30 minutes of gardening or raking leaves and 45 minutes of washing and waxing your car as good forms of exercise.
Step 3
Exercise for about 30 minutes five days a week rather than longer sessions over fewer days. You might need to work up to this daily amount, and the American Heart Association explains that an exercise session should last at least 10 minutes to provide benefit. Consider breaking up your 30 minutes into chunks -- for example, take a 10-minute walk after every meal.
