Thread: exercise for very overweight

I have ell over nine stone to lose,
but regardless I walk every day,
have recently increased walking to about two hours a day,
it doing the trick as Im losing an average of 3lbs a week,
I have svt(heart kicks into very fast rhythms,240 beats a minute),
but Ive been walking regardless,
now Ive noticed bp is 158/98 or thereabouts all day long,
I thought exercise would lower blood pressure not increase it?

I can't really advise you, maybe you should see your doctor??
Just wanted to say well done for doing all that walking!!

thanks Missr,
Im probably panicking,
will give it a week and see what happens,
Im kinda addicted to walking now,
though I have blisters on top of blisters,
gonna treat myself to some new walking shoes.

Remember our bodies get used to the same exercise over time so it wont effect weightloss,I started on treadmill and wii just dance 1 hour 6 days a week and I changed it after 14 weeks to exercise classes.
I agree I think you should see your doc as it shouldnt really increase with low intense exercise,weightloss should bring your blood pressure down x

Well done on the walking!

Two hours a day will definitely impact your weight loss positively, especially when combined with a healthy eating programme, so you're doing the right thing there.

Don't worry about mixing it up too much just now - walking is the ideal exercise, being low-impact, low cost and good for your cardio-vascular health.

Exercise and weight-loss can indeed help to reduce your blood pressure, but there can be other factors at work which can lead to hyper-tension, so seeing a doctor to check these out is definitely advisable.
I had hypertension, at levels similar to and even higher than your own, and I am now taking medication to reduce it, as well as exercising and losing weight.

All these things combined have brought my blood pressure down to a safer 130/70 on average, but it took some time and effort.
Don't expect to see a huge difference right away, particularly if you still have some distance to go in your journey, but know that what you are doing WILL make a difference. Medication might be advisable as well, however, as hypertension is quite dangerous, so please ask a medical expert for advice too.

Thanks scanbran,
Im on betablockers so hopefully will be fine,
have taken to walking around local lough,
blood pressure has evened out nicely.

What you need to do is add some resisted exercises for toning. Bottles of water,resistance band or weights. That will get your metabolism up, and as the muscles tone up they get a better blood supply which lowers your BP. But as Scanbran says it will take time.

Walking is an aerobic activity (and lowers BP) for a slim fit person, but for a heavily overweight person it is more like weightlifting, which is a type of exercise that puts the blood pressure up. It certainly does for me (walking that is). Currently I am focusing on exercise where some of my body weight is supported, like using my exercise cycle. Or there is swimming.

Exercise does increase your blood pressure as you are performing it and shortly after. However, exercise will lower your overall blood pressure in the long term as your body adapts. This is normal.

As Inge Jones said rightly above, if you have a lot of weight to lose then you may not need weight training as you are already moving the weight of your body. Keep your diet on track, and keep doing as you are, making sure you work a little harder each time.