One of the most common concerns that my clients come to me with is how to lower blood pressure without medication.
I work primarily with individuals noticing age-related changes to their health, and high blood pressure is a major culprit.
And this is not something that only affects older people.
Chronically high blood pressure can start even in your 20’s.
But once you get closer to your middle age years, your risk of developing high blood pressure becomes much more significant.
At least half of my clients over 40 have been told by their doctor that they have elevated blood pressure and need medication for it.
Now, I do think that pharmaceutical intervention is necessary in some cases – but I don’t think you absolutely need to get on medication if you implement the proper blood pressure lowering strategy.
So if you have been told by your doctor that you have high blood pressure, start implementing these 3 steps.
Step 1: Track Your Progress
Before you implement any of the following strategies, step 1 is to ensure you are tracking your progress.
We need objective data to show the doctor that you are no longer a candidate for high blood pressure medication.
I always have my clients measure their blood pressure first thing in the morning, right after they wake up.
This gives us a baseline that won’t be affected by other variables, such as caffeine and movement.
I recommend getting an electronic blood pressure cuff.
They are incredibly simple to use and you can find them at any pharmacy or online.
Once you take your blood pressure, you are going to write it down so we can see your progress over time.
I like to chart all of my clients data in an excel sheet and then take an average at the end of each week so that we can see how our strategies are successfully lowering their blood pressure over a few months.
You won’t see progress day to day, and you are going to have to get committed.
But stay the course for a few months and implement these strategies, and I promise you will lower your blood pressure.
Step 2: Implement a Cardiovascular Training Program
Step 2 can’t be overstated enough.
If you want to lower your blood pressure without medication, you are going to need to start doing aerobic exercise.
And I specifically say aerobic because this type of cardio is the best for lowering blood pressure.
You don’t need to be doing high-intensity interval style cardio.
In fact, if you have high blood pressure – the last thing you want to do is push yourself too hard during your exercise session because it will raise your blood pressure to dangerously high levels.
The type of cardio I recommend to all of my clients with high blood pressure is called Zone 2.
Zone 2 Training
Zone 2 is defined by a heart rate of 180 – your age.
So if you are 55 years old for example, your target heart rate will be 180 – 55 = 125bpm.
You will want to maintain this heart rate throughout your cardio session.
Try to get as close to the target as possible.
+/- 5bpm is perfectly acceptable, but you don’t want your heart rate to get too high.
It’s easy to stay on target if you are using exercise machines such as a stationary bike or treadmill because you can set the resistance and speed at a constant metric.
The prescription is simple.
3-4 days per week at one hour in duration.
If you haven’t exercised for a long time, start slow.
One hour can seem like a long time but the target heart rate of 180- your age is not strenuous at all.
It is a conversational pace that you can maintain.
I recommend getting a chest strap heart rate monitor to make sure you are on target during your cardio session.
Step 3: Reduce Your Body Fat
One of the easiest ways to lower your blood pressure without medication is to lose some body fat.
Obesity is one of the primary culprits of high blood pressure, and you can drop both your systolic and diastolic blood pressure several points by losing some pounds.
And don’t forget to track your progress!
I like to track both overall body weight and waist size.
If you are losing weight on the scale and your waist size is going down, rest assured that you are losing body fat.
Exercise and diet modification are the best way to lose body fat.
Step 2 discusses implementing a cardio program, so you already have that down.
Now you will want to create a net energy deficit by reducing your overall caloric intake each day.
There are a million types of diets out there, but they all work through some sort of energy deficit.
You need to burn more than you take in to lose body fat.
The easiest way to track this is with a calorie-tracking app.
You’ll input your age, weight, and height.
The app will give you a target calorie number to hit.
Each time you eat something, add it to your food diary and it will subtract calories from your daily budget.
Get as close to the target number as possible each day, and make sure not to spill over!
It’s really that simple.
This is the primary way I get all of my clients to lose weight consistently week over week.
It comes down to the objective nature of this strategy.
The numbers don’t lie and when you want to be precise, numbers are the way.
Recap
There you have it, three simple steps that you can start today in order to reduce your blood pressure without medication.
Implement a cardio program, reduce your overall body fat, and above all – track your progress.
Your doctor is going to want to see objective data, and recording your results is the best proof.
If you need help creating a structured program, I would be happy to help you along the way.
You can take a look at my coaching options.
And of course, as always, if you have a few questions, feel free to email me as well.
I always respond to every inquiry and love helping people improve their health through diet and exercise.
I hope to hear from you soon!