Meet Doug. He’s a 67-year-old retiree who had a long, busy career in retail. He’s an active retiree. From doing yard work, to playing golf, and more, he was enjoying his retirement. But there was one big problem: he had really high blood pressure that wasn’t responding to medications.
Fast forward 6 months, and now, his blood pressure is basically normal, and he and his doctor have talked about the possibility of getting off his medications… which he’s been taking for nearly 40 years.
How did he do it? That’s exactly what we’ll cover in this case study. You’ll learn:
- About Doug’s nearly 40-year history with high blood pressure, and what he did to control it.
- The exercise strategies he used to lower his blood pressure.
- The nutritional guidelines that he followed.
- The supplements that he took.
- What kind of progress he made along the way.
- Any stumbling blocks that he’s had.
- How his life is different now that his blood pressure is basically normal, and he’s down 20 pounds.
If you’d like to hear Doug tell his own story, check out this 9-minute video:
And if you’d like some personalized help with your own (or a loved one’s) high blood pressure, we have a special program called simply “High Blood Pressure Reversal.” If you want to see whether you qualify for that program, just fill out the application form on our home page.
Doug’s History with High Blood Pressure
Doug was always an active guy. Never an athlete or a “gym guy” as he says in his video, but always active – both in his job, and in his personal life.
In his late 20s, he developed high blood pressure, and was put on medications, which controlled his blood pressure. It wasn’t great, even on medications, but it was consistently controlled. It was in the 130-139/80-89 range.
Eventually he retired, and his blood pressure spiked, which was very surprising. After all, he had much less stress than when he was working, and he was quite active, so this paradoxical spike was quite shocking. The systolic blood pressure spiked to the high 140s/low 150s. Very puzzling.
His doctor doubled the dose of his medications, and it didn’t do anything. The blood pressure stayed high.
Both his father and grandfather had strokes and mini strokes, so that was always on his mind, and with the sudden, paradoxical spike in blood pressure, he didn’t like the direction that he was headed. The possibility of having a stroke really occupied his mind.
His wife was both a client of ours earlier, and a reader of my newsletters, so she suggested he chat with me, and we did.
During our chat, he told me that his goal was to live an additional 20 healthy years. Based on how things were going right now, it didn’t seem like that was going to happen. But based on the details that I gathered during our short chat, I thought that we had a pretty good shot at improving his blood pressure. After all, one British lady who bought my blood pressure book (it’s called High Blood Pressure Reversal Secrets) on Amazon (who I’ve never met) said in her review that using just the nutrition I outlined in my book, she was able to normalize her high blood pressure in 1 week (and it was emergency high before).
Needless to say, I was hopeful about Doug’s situation as well. So we paired him up with his trainer, Bertwin, and they got to work.
Doug’s Exercise
It’s one thing to exercise in general, but it’s another thing to exercise with the express goal of high blood pressure reduction. There needs to be specificity in exercise prescription. And there’s a specific way to exercise for high blood pressure, which is different than fat loss, or diabetes, or osteoporosis.
So Bertwin crafted an exercise program for Doug with the goal of high blood pressure reduction.
Strength Training
Doug was doing strength training, using full body workouts. When it comes to exercise prescription, we need to know 4 different parameters:
- Frequency: number of days per week.
- Intensity: how close to push to muscular failure.
- How many sets and reps.
- Type: cardio, strength training or stretching.
Doug’s exercise prescription for high blood pressure was:
- Twice per week.
- Staying 3 or more reps from muscular failure (the point where you can’t do any more repetitions). This part is important, because unlike the goals of diabetes reversal or muscle growth, where you do want to come close to muscular failure, with strength training for high blood pressure, you don’t.
- Sets and reps: 3 sets of 10-15 reps.
The rationale for all of these elements is outlined both in my book, as well as in my article on exercise for high blood pressure.
Strength training (properly) has the obvious benefit of lowering high blood pressure in the long-term, but also the risk of raising blood pressure during the workout itself. So how do you get the benefits of strength training, while minimizing the risks? By being very cautious about proper breathing (and by the way, proper breathing for high blood pressure is not the same as proper breathing for people without high blood pressure).
Cardio
In addition to strength training, Bertwin had Doug doing cardio. Just like there are parameters to strength training, there are also parameters to cardio – and that’s specifically cardio for high blood pressure reduction. Not cardio in general.
The details we want to know are:
- Frequency: number of days per week.
- Intensity: heart rate
- Duration: how long
- Machine: jogging, cycling, swimming, rowing, etc.
For blood pressure reduction, Doug did:
- Frequency: 4-5 times per week.
- Intensity: 70-80% of the maximal heart rate.
- Duration: 30-60 minutes
- Type: a mix of walking and cycling.
If you’re wondering “why 4-5 days per week, why not 3 or 6? Why 70-80% of the maximal heart rate? Why not a higher or lower intensity?” The rationale for all of those is covered in my article on exercise for high blood pressure.
Handgrip Training
One little-known exercise for lowering high blood pressure is hand grip training. It looks like this:
Squeeze both fists with about 30% force. Hold that contraction for 2 minutes. Relax for 3 minutes. Repeat 3 more times. Do this 3 times per week.
Sounds a little funky? A little out there? That’s what I thought until I read the research about it. In one study, blood pressure dropped by 5/3 mmHg over an 8-week period… and this was in people whose average blood pressure wasn’t that high to begin with (just 125/83 mmHg). In another study, there was an impressive drop of 10/3 mmHg. A large meta-analysis found that the higher the blood pressure, the greater the effects. In that meta-analysis they saw reductions of 14/6 mmHg. In exchange for 8 minutes that can be done while you’re watching TV, that’s a good trade-off.
If you’re wondering how it works, again, I’ll refer you to my article that answers that question.
If you’re wondering why we selected walking and biking – just preference. The exercise matters a whole lot less than the other variables – frequency, intensity, and duration.
Doug’s Nutrition
Sometimes turning around a condition is about adding in good things (like in osteoporosis… there’s nothing really to remove for most people), sometimes it’s about removing bad things, and sometimes, it’s both.
The two biggest things that Doug had to reduce were coffee and alcohol. One study showed that coffee raises blood pressure by 8.1/5.7 mmHg, and the duration of increase can be 3-7 hours. That’s from a single cup of coffee. Doug wasn’t drinking just a single cup. He was drinking 2-3 cups a day. So the spike in blood pressure is considerably higher.
As for his alcohol, while he wasn’t a heavy drinker to begin with, the alcohol was affecting his blood pressure negatively, so now, he only has 1-2 glasses of wine on the weekends.
Besides the “remove bad stuff” part of the equation, Doug also added in a morning smoothie that consisted of:
- Flax seeds
- Chia seeds
- Collagen
- Kale or spinach
- Peanut butter
- Banana or other frozen fruit
- 1 date
- Protein powder
- Oat or almond milk
What’s the rationale behind this? To get his potassium way up, while also adding other good things (like protein and fibre). People with high blood pressure usually have a low-potassium diet, when what they really need is a high potassium diet (around 3400+ mg/day). A banana has around 800 mg of potassium, and dates (dried fruits in general) are a pretty rich source as well.
Doug’s Supplements
Doug was already taking some supplements, but the ones that Bertwin recommended specifically for high blood pressure were:
- Greens powder
- Omega 3
- Aged garlic extract
- Magnesium glycinate
In the supplement chapter of my blood pressure book, I outline which supplements are proven, unproven and disproven. And within those that are proven, which have the largest effect. For instance, grape seed extract is proven, but the magnitude of the blood pressure reduction is very small (only about 1.54 mmHg). We wanted to recommend supplements that were both proven and had a high effect size.
All the recommended supplements have been proven to drop high blood pressure by at least 8/4 mmHg (and some of them even more).
Doug’s Progress
I like studies – they help us isolate variables, and see what works, and what doesn’t. But in real life, when we have a client in front of us, we don’t have time to isolate variables. We want results ASAP. So we gave Doug everything that’s been proven to lower high blood pressure – exercise, nutrition and supplements.
So the most obvious result is a reversal of decades-long hypertension, to basically normal levels, and to the point where his doctor told him he’s no longer at risk, and they’re exploring the possibility of going off the medications – after nearly 40 years.
Besides the obvious, he’s made other great progress.
As a nice side effect of improving his nutrition and exercising 4-6 days per week, he’s actually down 20 pounds, and his strength is way up.
- His chest press improved from 30 pounds, up to 70.
- His pushups improved from only doing 8 pushups on his knees, to 12 pushups on his feet. This means that his chest, shoulders and triceps are considerably stronger.
- His 1-arm rows went from 20 pounds, up to 35. So his biceps and back are stronger.
- His lunges went from only 10 reps, while holding on to a chair to no chair, and adding 10 pounds to his own weight. So his lower body was significantly stronger. Lots of people complain that they have trouble standing up from a low chair/couch. Not Doug.
- His goblet squats improved from 25 pounds for 12 reps, up to 35 pounds for 15 reps. Again, a sign of a much stronger lower body.
Obstacles Along the Way
I explain that progress is like the stock market in a good year. For the most part, it goes up, but there’s the occasional “blip” downwards.
Doug had excellent consistency in general, but occasionally, he’d just forget to do an exercise that he needed to do on his own (like the hand grip exercise). Occasionally his cardio frequency would decrease. At some points along the way, his tracking of his blood pressure would decrease, which would give Bertwin less feedback of what adjustments to make.
Implementing new habits after a lifetime of not having those habits is difficult, and yet, despite all the obstacles, Doug showed up for his training sessions with Bertwin, regardless of whether he felt good or tired, and performed a lot of work outside of their twice weekly sessions – both in the gym and in the kitchen. That’s why he experienced such fantastic results.
How Doug’s Life is Different Now
So how’s Doug’s life different now that his blood pressure is basically normal, he’s down 20 pounds, and his strength is way up? Quite significantly.
- He’s much less worried about experiencing a stroke like his father and grandfather – it’s something he’s still mindful of, but it’s no longer persistently occupying his thoughts.
- He has way more energy, especially in the mornings.
- He continues to be very active, both with golf and yard work.
- He’s now an active exerciser – something he plans to maintain for the rest of his life.
- Oh, and he’s getting a ton of compliments from his family and friends on the definition in his arms and chest. He was never a gym guy or athlete, but he’s built a nice amount of muscle – at age 67.
Overall, we’re very proud of Doug, the amount of effort he’s put in, and the amount of progress that he’s made.
If you’d like some personalized help with your own (or a loved one’s) high blood pressure, we have a special program called simply “High Blood Pressure Reversal.” If you want to see whether you qualify for that program, just fill out the application form on our home page.