Study shows how bodybuilding training can control blood pressure

While physical activity has been well studied as a blood pressure lowering mechanism, most research on the subject focuses on aerobic exercise. Last month, a group of Brazilians published a study in the journal. Scientific Reportshe also considers bodybuilding as an alternative tool to control hypertension.

A group of researchers, coordinated by Professor Giovana Rampazzo Teixeira of the Unesp Department of Physical Education at Presidente Prudente, conducted a systematic review of the scientific literature on the subject through a meta-analysis. The purpose of the study was to investigate the intensity, volume and duration of bodybuilding training to achieve better results.

“On average, strength training performed over eight to ten weeks was sufficient for a 10 mmHg systolic and 4.79 mmHg diastolic reduction,” Teixeira tells Agência FAPESP, “two or three days a week were effective in lowering blood pressure. The study says that around the 20th session, the hypotensive effects last for up to 14 weeks.

Brazilian researchers used the Cochrane methodology (combining randomized clinical trials) to evaluate the effect of strength training on blood pressure in hypertensive patients. The static analysis worked with data from PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane Library and the World Health Organization.

Although there was already consensus on the effectiveness of weight training as a therapeutic option, there was much uncertainty about which protocols were most effective. To come up with a more effective prescription, the authors studied 253 participants with an average age of 59 and divided them into several controlled studies that evaluated the effect of strength training for eight weeks or longer.

The study, which found that this type of exercise — done with moderate to vigorous load, two to three times a week for at least eight weeks — has the ability to lower blood pressure, offers an important non-pharmacological tool to help professionals. to hypertensive patients both in clinical practice and in gyms.