high blood pressure

[Rowan]

So ive been going hardcore at the gym 5 days a week for a month on this new split program I've got going, I have this little chest rattle so I go to the docs and he wants me to get x-rays to put my mind at ease, cause he knows im paranoid as **** and wont take his word for it. But he took my blood pressure and im 140/80. This shocked my ass. What the hell? Im busting my ass everyday working out, and my blood pressure is that ****ing high? My diet isnt strict, but its pretty damn healthy. I dont know where this is coming from and would appreciate if someone could educate or share their experiences with blood pressure with me. This cannot be a developing thing for me as I can see this having a negative impact on my workouts.

[OceanEyes28]

Sometimes it's hereditary. It sucks that you don't have much control over that possible risk factor, but it might provide an explanation. I believe you that you're eating a good diet, but you might still closely monitor how much salt you take in for a few days. It sneaks up on you. And stress is also a huge factor. Try meditation or yoga?

I mean, maybe you just need to chill the **** out.


In all seriousness, I hope you get it back where you want it. Mine tends to be on the low end (I'm just small, mostly), but I have seen it go up when I'm stressed out about something.

[Rowan]

See, I dont know if im just tightly strung, but theres stress wherever I go. At work, its ****ed. Thats acceptable though, cause its work. But when i get home, the dogs barking drives me mad, my mum constantly yelling in that annoying pitch of voice constantly telling them to shutup, her nagging etc. Then I go to my gf's house and her mum is wonderful dont get me wrong, but shes always coming in the room asking us stuff or even just telling us stuff every 20 mins, it can get frustrating. Stef has dogs as well and they are the same breed as mine and they also bark a lot which stresses me out.

Maybe its stress, i didnt think of that. I often tend to think of stress as a copout though that has no effect on health, but we'll see. Ill start listening to some classical music, it always calms me down.

[Alpha]

Move out of home and get a cat.

Also, consider getting public transport to work. Plenty of time to come down from work, or sleep in the morning.

[Crescent]

Find the root of your worries n stress n KILL IT! Kill it with fire! Ahem. You actually do sound like you put alot of pressure on yourself Why?! Your only young for a lil while! Also a brief interlude of calm works wonders for everyone. Breathing slowly for a few minutes a day can help nudge down bad blood pressure n prevent it from creeping up. And the obvious, reducing your alcohol intake or cutting it out completely if you are in fact drinking..Im not sure if your a smoker obv that wouldnt help matters too. Mm I guess I'll just tell you when Im stressed, my friends and I cruise around n go to the beach n chill after work sometimes that helps or I play with my dog cause animals remind me to keep it simple, they're also just pure,beautiful,loyal creatures that arent judgemental fkers like the two-legged ones. Also playing FFVII(im not kidding) peps me right up everytime but I dunno...your BP might spike everytime you see Tifa I also blast videogame OST's when I come home from work Ill just quickly link you 1.2.3.4 of my faves>XD I think your good,kind person at heart

[Rowan]

Just found out from dad when he got home that not only him, but both his mother and father have high blood pressure. Looks like its hereditary folks. I'm gonna consult with the doc about whether or not im eventually going to have to take meds for this, because I'm really against the idea that I need pills to be artificially healthy. Ill ask him whether or not training and healthy lifestyle alone will be enough to keep my blood pressure at its best. I do want to body build, not anything crazy... just like sephiroth or vegeta or something. Anyway, the more muscly I get (which I am becoming) the more your blood has got to pump in order to fill the mass in the muscle. If I continue to put on weight in muscle, It would ultimately seem that my blood pressure would also increase. That is going by what I understand, I could very well be wrong, but this is what I will consult with the doc about in the coming weeks. I will be shattered if he tells me I need to do cardio, because I hate cardio. I'll keep you updated on whats happening.

I also think the blood increase might be related to some sort of infection (which is why im having x-rays taken). My symptoms are very mild, if any at all. Shortness of breath and a slight rattle when inhaling seem to warrant x-rays. I dont smoke, havnt smoked for 3 years, when i did I was passive smoker for about 2. I rarely drink and im always eating healthy... which is why it pisses me off that Im getting x-rays on my chest and being told I have high blood pressure. I wish I could relax, but It seems like the world is testing me at the moment, wondering If I can hack the pace. The only way to move forward is to push forward, and Im fine with that, its just my body needs to be able to hold out.

[Recluse Writer]

You'll be okay Rowan - do your checks and tests and everything, but make sure you allocate some time to yourself in order to relax.

Lying down in bed listening to calming music (classical or trance comes to mind), meditating, yoga, even playing Final Fantasy is scientifically proven to relieve stress and lower blood pressure

(Ok, maybe not the last one, but everything else is fact!)

[noxious.sunshine]

My dad has struggled with high blood pressure for much of his life. Dude used to be pretty buff too from racing Sprint Cars and working on his big trucks during his down time.
He'd go into the doctor for whatever reason and it never failed, his blood pressure would be astronomically high.

There's a few tricks he'd do to lower it without taking medication - I think taking a few swigs of white or apple cider vinegar helps do the trick if you do it the night before. It's not a permanent solution, but it saves you from being super shocked when you get tested again. I'd say try that and go hit up one of Wal-Mart's free checkers.

EDIT:

It could be worse. High blood pressure runs on both sides of my family along with breast cancer, dementia, alzheimers, depression (which is something I think can be a load of shit, personally), heart attacks, strokes (those 2 are super serious on my dad's side - he's had 4 major heart attacks and 4 major strokes and a plethora of mini episodes of each)..

Not that I'm super worried about any of it except when it comes to my dad (I'm super freaked that something'll happen to him in the near future and my daughter will grow up without her Poppy).

[Rowan]

Okay, x-rays come back all clear, been diagnosed with some mild asthma, makes sense I suppose. The problem is that my blood pressure is still too damn high, hit 150/83 today. Can being nervous increase blood pressure? Anyway, doctor said I cant lift weights until its under control... Which may be never since its a family condition. What the **** do I do? I feel like just dropping my fitness course because all I gave a shit about was lifting and now if I cant do that, Whos going to want to have a skinny **** as a personal trainer? Im not overweight, I eat a healthy diet and end up with results like that. If its truly out of my control, shouldn't I give up?

I'm really down about this. I absolutley with all my heart detest the fact that its heridatary and out of my control. Nothing pisses me off more in this world than the idea of 'fate' and that im genetically pre detestined to be the way I am. Its the fact that lifting weights could mean life threatening health problems for me, the fact I was already motivated to become the best I could be, and realising im already at my limits because of retarded genetics.

Im afraid of myself you know? Im afriad that im just gonna do it anyway and not listen to what doctor says. I know that comes with consequences, but at this point I'd rather die young and at least be able to achieve my goal.

[OceanEyes28]

That your family history is a factor is something you will have to accept. You are aware that you can't change it, and now you have to be okay with it. Because, genetics or not, you need to find a way to wind down. You seem tense. It's understandable, but let's be honest, it ain't helping your blood pressure. Don't give up on an active lifestyle. Lifting is your passion, and I bet you can find a way to keep doing it. It sounds to me like you need more variety. And that might mean cardio, which you said you hate. But adults do things we don't want to do all the time. And if you have to bust out 20 minutes of cardio for your passion, well, that's not so bad.

You might seriously try a yoga class, though. I know the stereotypes, but try a hot yoga or flow class. With your upper body strength, you could kick some ass at floor poses, it would improve your balance and flexibility, and you'd get some time to yourself to calm down and lower your blood pressure without having to get on a treadmill.

Also, if you don't already, I'd suggest eating more veggies than meat.

[Sasquatch]

First, relax. Seriously -- you're not a 50-year-old going through a mid-life-crisis whose body can't handle it, you're a young, healthy guy with high blood pressure. You'll be able to accomplish your goals just fine.

That having been said, you do have to realize that cardio is going to be necessary. And flexibility. Especially if you're looking into being a personal trainer -- women usually don't want to put on too much muscle, they want to tone and gain flexibility, so if you ever want a female client instead of sweating with dudes all the time, you're going to have to do more than just lift. Most people want tone, not bulk.

Also ... keep in mind that you're having your blood pressure checked, not tested. There's no way to "fail". You can't prepare for it, and "scoring worse" isn't from something you did. So when you go to get your blood pressure checked, just relax and be more curious than nervous, because being nervous does increase blood pressure. Mine is usually around 100/60, unless it's an urgent situation, in which case it's still never gotten over 125/85. Be cool, man.

If you think you're already at your limits, the next thing to do is increase your limits. If you believe your asthma may be holding you back, then increase your pulmonary efficiency. For your blood pressure, improve your cardiovascular system -- your veins and arteries will become stronger, and your heart stronger as well, but it will become easier to pump blood (and thus, oxygen) through your body, lowering your BP.

Half-hour to an hour, three times a week. Run, jog, whatever. Even better, combine exercises -- rowing, front-back-go, supine bicycle, simple stuff like that. Rowing helps more of the body than just running, and swimming helps immensely. Most people don't realize it because swimming is usually associated with fun, but swimming can be a hell of a workout.

I'd suggest kickboxing. It doesn't take much for equipment. If self-trained properly, it can be a valuable skill to teach yourself. It's enjoyable and fun. And in addition to all that, not only can it be a great whole-body cardio workout (if you push yourself to keep moving), it also relieves stress. I mean, really, what helps more than beating the crap out of something? So there you go -- it's easy, fun, tones your body, good for your heart, and relieves stress.

On the same note, sex does all of that stuff, too. Minimal equipment, good workout, stress relief ... usually done alone ...

[Rowan]

Thanks for the info. What bothers me though Sas is that im young, healthy yet I have high BP. It makes me feel as if theres very little that can be done and therefor no reason it should be high in the first place. I was stressed about not being able to lift weights in order to get the image I want to be a personal trainer. It really is all about image and noone wants a skinny personal trainer, they want a buff guy, thats how I see it. I'm aware of the benefits of swimming, I think I might have even posted about it here once before, but the reason I stopped was because all pools within a 40 km radius of my suburb are foul, I seeked other means of exercise and ended up just doing heavy weightlifting. I will however, start boxing as a means of cardio since my course requires me to try 20 hours in various different exercise programs. My friends do boxing and I think that would make for an easy transition into the boxing program if my mates are doing it too.

I have a blood pressure machine at home and tried a few different times. I figure that its easy to make it go high by being nervous etc, but its impossible to lower it under what your bp is capable of displaying. The lowest reading I got was 128/80. So that must be the most accuracte reading I have, right?