Aerobic exercise lowers systolic/diastolic blood pressure by ~7/5 mmHg in hypertension, whereas dynamic resistance training elicits modest reductions of ~2/2 mmHg and has no significant impact on ambulatory blood pressure.
Does resistance training provide comparable blood pressure reduction benefits to aerobic exercise in individuals with hypertension?
Aerobic exercise produces greater blood pressure reductions than resistance training and should remain the priority when the primary goal is blood pressure management in hypertension.
Historically, blood pressure (BP) guidelines emphasized the implementation of aerobic exercise. However, more recent guidelines started highlighting the benefits of resistance exercise. The primary aim of this brief review is to determine if resistance training offers comparable benefits to aerobic exercise on BP in individuals with hypertension. Aerobic exercise training consistently produces the greatest effect, lowering systolic/diastolic BP by ~ 7/5 mmHg in individuals with hypertension. Dynamic resistance training elicits more modest reductions (~ 2/2 mmHg), whereas isometric resistance training, though evaluated in fewer and smaller studies, has shown clinically meaningful reductions of ~ 5/5 mmHg. However, the impacts of resistance exercise training on ambulatory BP remain non-significant and marginal. Strategies to reduce BP should prioritize aerobic exercise rather than resistance training, especially when the primary goal is BP management.
Tanaka et al. (Fri,) conducted a review in Hypertension. Resistance training vs. Aerobic exercise was evaluated. Aerobic exercise lowers systolic/diastolic blood pressure by ~7/5 mmHg in hypertension, whereas dynamic resistance training elicits modest reductions of ~2/2 mmHg and has no significant impact on ambulatory blood pressure.