Just one wall squat session a week can help maintain some of the blood pressure benefits already achieved with more frequent training. In a study conducted on 100 adults, those who switched from three weekly sessions to just one maintained, for another four weeks, an average reduction in maximum blood pressure of 6.56 mmHg compared to the beginning. Those who continued to train three times a week achieved a reduction of 13.73 mmHg.
An important difference, especially for those who try to fit physical activity into work, commitments and days that seem to have fewer and fewer hours available. The good news is that temporarily cutting back on your workouts can help ensure you don’t lose all of your progress. Quitting completely, however, produced decidedly different results. This was verified by researchers at Canterbury Christ Church University, in the United Kingdom, with a randomized clinical trial published in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine.
How many times to do wall squats to keep the pressure lower
The researchers involved 100 adults, with an average age of 37 years, not very physically active and with initial systolic blood pressure values between 120 and 140 mmHg. None were taking antihypertensive medications. Eighty participants began with four weeks of training, three times a week. The other twenty made up the control group, which maintained their habits.
The exercise chosen was the isometric wall squat: you lean your back against a wall, bend your knees and maintain the position without performing the continuous movement of the traditional squat. The leg muscles work while remaining still. Each session consisted of four sessions, interspersed with two minutes of seated recovery. The intensity was personalized: the researchers established the knee angle through a preliminary test and monitored the heart rate during the workouts.
After the first four weeks, in the participants who had trained the maximum blood pressure decreased on average by 9.45 mmHg and the minimum blood pressure by 5.47 mmHg, with statistically significant improvements compared to the control group. At that point the most interesting part of the experiment began. For the next four weeks, one group continued to train three times a week, another went to two sessions, a third to just one. The fourth stopped the exercises completely.
One, two or three sessions: what has changed after eight weeks
At the conclusion of the study, the average reductions in systolic blood pressure compared to initial values were quite different: 13.73 mmHg for those who continued with three weekly sessions, 6.95 mmHg for those who did two and 6.56 mmHg for those who trained only once. No statistically significant difference emerged between one and two weekly sessions. Both groups maintained a lower maximum blood pressure and mean arterial pressure compared to the control group.
For minimum blood pressure, however, at the end of eight weeks the differences between the groups were not statistically significant. Those who continued to train three times a week also showed improvements in other cardiovascular indicators, including the resistance opposed by the blood vessels to the circulation and some parameters linked to the nervous regulation of the heartbeat.
And who had stopped completely? After four weeks without wall squats, blood pressure returned to values that were no longer significantly different from those of the control group. The benefits obtained in the first month were therefore attenuated until the statistical difference observed initially was lost. According to the authors, even just one weekly session can slow down this loss. Three sessions, however, remain the frequency that produced the best results in the experiment.
Once a week may be enough, but for how long?
There is a key distinction: the study measured maintenance of benefits for four weeks, after an initial month of regular training. It does not demonstrate that starting directly with a weekly session produces the same results, nor that this frequency is sufficient to keep blood pressure lower for months or years.
The researchers also observed that in the groups that underwent one or two sessions, the blood pressure already showed a tendency to rise. The reduced training therefore appeared to slow down the loss of benefits, without necessarily preventing it.
The characteristics of the participants must also be considered: they were mainly relatively young adults, poorly trained and who did not take blood pressure medicines. The results cannot be automatically extended to people with hypertension under treatment, cardiovascular diseases or different physical conditions. Furthermore, although the plank belongs to the same family as isometric exercises, the wall squat was used in this experiment. We don’t know if reducing plank frequency in the same way would produce equivalent results.
For those with cardiovascular problems or high blood pressure, it is advisable to agree with a healthcare professional on the intensity of the exercises. During isometric contractions you must also continue to breathe regularly: holding your breath can temporarily increase the pressure. The American Heart Association also reminds us of this in its indications on physical activity for blood pressure control, which recommends regular activity and a combination of aerobic and strength exercises.
A weekly wall squat session, therefore, can be a temporary solution for those who have already started training and are going through a particularly challenging period. It does not replace recommended overall physical activity, nor any prescribed therapies. The practical advantage is obvious: to perform the wall squat you need little space and a wall. To establish how long it is enough to use it only once a week, however, four weeks of observation is still too little.
