By Dr. Joseph Mercola

For the 48.1% of U.S. adults with high blood pressure,1 learning how to do simple isometric exercises, including wall sits, may offer a natural strategy for relief. In fact, a systematic review and meta-analysis of 270 randomized controlled trials looked at the effects of multiple types of exercise, including aerobics, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), resistance training and combined training, on blood pressure.

While all were beneficial, isometric exercise came out on top as “the most effective mode in reducing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.”2 It turns out that static contraction of muscle as you hold your body in one position, i.e., isometric exercise, may offer blood pressure benefits that some other types of more dynamic movement don’t.

Isometric Exercises Improve Resting Blood Pressure

When it comes to exercise recommendations to lower blood pressure, cardio aerobic-type exercises typically come to mind. But, according to researchers from Canterbury Christ Church University, this is outdated advice based on older study data that excludes HIIT and isometric exercise.3

The meta-analysis, which included clinical trials that analyzed the effects of exercise for two weeks or more on resting blood pressure, found all types of exercise led to significant reductions in resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure. However, the greatest reductions occurred after isometric training.

The top number of your blood pressure measurement, the systolic, is a measurement of the maximum pressure inside your arteries as your heart contracts. The bottom number, the diastolic, is a measurement of the pressure in your blood vessels when your heart is not contracting. Both numbers are important in determining how much damage may occur over time to your blood vessels and other organ systems.

Effectiveness based on the “surface under the cumulative ranking curve” (SUCRA) values for systolic — which refers to the mean probability of being the best for lowering your systolic blood pressure — placed isometric exercise in the No. 1 slot with an effectiveness rating of 98.3%, followed by combined training (75.7%), dynamic resistance training (46.1%), aerobic exercise training (40.5%) and high-intensity interval training (39.4%).5

In rank order, the analysis found significant reductions in resting systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure:

Isometric exercise (–8.24/–4.00 mmHg)

Combined training (–6.04/–2.54 mmHg)

Dynamic resistance training (–4.55/–3.04 mmHg)

Aerobic exercise (?4.49/–2.53 mmHg)

High-intensity interval training (–4.08/–2.50 mmHg)

Broken down to individual exercises, wall squats (isometric) were the most effective for reducing systolic blood pressure while running (aerobic) was most effective for reducing diastolic blood pressure. Overall, however, isometric exercise worked best for lowering both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Study author Jamie O’Driscoll told The Washington Post:6

“Our main message is that actually engaging in exercise is fantastic and any exercise might reduce your blood pressure. But if you’re an individual who is currently exercising to the guidelines and you’re still having a bit of difficulty reducing that blood pressure and you want to avoid going on medication, perhaps isometrics is an additional mode to complement the exercise you’re already doing.”

What Are Isometric Exercises?

Isometric exercises are low-impact movements that involve holding a position so the same muscle length is maintained, tiring out your muscles to fatigue.7 “Any kind of an exercise that is holding tension in any position which doesn’t involve dynamic movement is generally isometric exercise,” study author Jamie Edwards told The Washington Post.8 In other words, static contraction defines isometric exercise, examples of which include:

Wall squat
Isometric calf raise
Planking
Hollow-body hold
Low isometric squat
Static slide lunge
Overhead hold
Iso hang
Glute bridge
Incline pushup hold
V-sit Single-leg stand

In addition to blood pressure benefits, isometric strength exercises may help strengthen joints better than dynamic strength training,10 and it’s useful for reducing pain while increasing range of motion and functional ability in people with knee osteoarthritis.11 Isometric training is also beneficial for relieving neck pain, improving joint mobility and improving neck dysfunction.12

Past research similarly revealed that isometric resistance training reduces systolic blood pressure by nearly 7 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by close to 4 mmHg. Performing isometric handgrip exercise also significantly reduces systolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure, offering another accessible tool for blood pressure health.

As the scientists explained in the journal Medicine, “Low- to moderate-intensity isometric handgrip exercise can be performed anywhere, requires relatively inexpensive equipment, and does not elicit the same level of cardiovascular stress as aerobic exercise.”13 As for how isometric exercise lowers blood pressure so effectively, The Washington Post reported:14

“Isometric exercises effectively lower blood pressure because contracting a muscle and holding the position temporarily reduces blood flow to that muscle, O’Driscoll said. When you release that contraction, blood flow through the muscle tissue increases. This produces important signals that prompt blood vessels to relax more and creates less resistance to blood flow, which ultimately reduces blood pressure, O’Driscoll said.”

Eight Minutes of Isometric Exercise, Three Times a Week

How much isometric exercise is necessary to lower blood pressure? Isometric exercise training programs often use protocols involving four, two-minute contractions separated by one to four-minute rest intervals. The sessions are done three times a week.15 In other words, about eight minutes of isometric training three times a week may significantly lower blood pressure.

A wall sit is one straightforward option that can be easily done in two-minute increments, followed by two minutes of rest and repeated four times. The entire workout is then repeated three times each week. “On average, a regular isometric routine of wall sits lowered systolic blood pressure (the top number) by 10 mmHg and diastolic pressure by 5 mmHg, according to the research,” The Washington Post reported.16