Planks and wall sits are best for lowering blood pressure – here are six more reasons they're such great exercises

By Alex Walker, Lecturer in Sports Therapy, University of East London
Jamie Edwards, Lecturer in Exercise Physiology, University of East London

If you were told to do more exercise to lower your blood pressure, you might think you’d need break out you running gear or hit the weights. But one of us (Jamie) recently published research that found exercises that you hold in a static position, such as planks and wall sits, are actually the best way to reduce blood pressure.

This kind of “isometric” exercise involves contracting a specific muscle or muscle group and holding it so the length of the muscle doesn’t change throughout the…

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