High Blood Pressure Clients

 

 

As a Personal Trianer you will meet many clients with high blood pressure. I often have Pt's ask my advice for clients with high blood pressure. Are they safe to train them?what exercises should they do?​ Ive been lucky in my career to work with some great trainers and exercise physiologist, ill share the tips ive learnt from them.

 

SHOULD I TEST THEIR BP?

YES, you should do this with all clients. Period. Unless theyre a medical professional who is confident they know their recent and long term bp values, do it with everyone. Many people wont know they have high blood pressure!

 

WHAT IS A SAFE VALUE I CAN TRAIN SOMEONE AT?

If their bp is over 140 Systolic or 90 dystolic then by governing body guidelines you must refer

them to their GP and not trian them. Thats it!  Their GP will almost always send them

straight back to you and say yes of course this person can train, its what they need. Depending

upon the individual health requirments the doctors will sometimes give advice too. In my

entirre career the most technical advice from a doctor regarding BP is "take it steady, slowly

progress and avoid heavy weights"

 

Lets be clear if you didnt already do this with all of your "new to exercise" clients, then there is

something wrong you as a Trainer.  Ive sent over 100 people back to their doctors regarding

their bp over the last decade and not once has advice been more technical than above! REP's

guidelines would give further advice to avoid isometric exercises (holds such as planks as this

raises BP significantly) and also avoid resistance exercises over the head, such as shoulder

presses. Use a lateral raise instead. 

 

WHAT TO DO WHEN CONDUCTING THEIR BLOOD PRESSURE TEST?

95% you test will not have high blood pressure if conducted properly.  A client walks into an unfamiliar environment via the lengthy car park walk or huge fligt of steps, meets their Pt for the first time, and then is told they will have their blood pressure tested. the public associate BP with very bad news and basically death. People with high BP are liekly to die. Thats the perception. So before you start you can almost gaurentee that their BP will be high. Now heres the trick... Put them at ease.

 

Explain....

 

                                    We are going to do the test 3-5 times. The reason for this is many people become nervous before a test,                            

                                   due to its association with ill health etc. But you have also walked from the car, which will raise it, you've                       

                                   met a new person for the first time, thats def going to raise it. So as we do it, we will see it drop from slightly                  

                                   above normal down to where it should be ok. So relax, we will have a chat when we do it and go from there"                    

 

 

If you just test, and then retest, they will wonder why and naturally will become anxious, which will keep their BP elivated. By telling them before the procedure you will hopefully elimnate this. 

 

I have several clients who have "white coat syndrome". Meaning at the doctors their BP is always high (148/95 region). However at home and at the gym with myself it is always normal (117/75 region). 

 

Simply putting them at ease, ensuring they sit down and remain still/calm for 5 minutes will help give a true reading of their BP and not a false reading due to the situation. If you have someone who knows they have high blood pressure, you can do the same procedure with your client laying down . We would expect to see a 5 drop on each reading (Systolic and Distolic) when a person has been lying and relaxed compared to sitting.

 

Most people you meet will drop below the 140/90 limit at which point they should be advised to

seek the advice from their doctor. If of course they dont, then they need to see their doctor first.

 

The amount of stories ive heard where a inexperienced PT has sent a client away, when their first

BP reading was 140/78. After climbing a flight of stairs, going to a scary venue, meeting someone

new and being worried about their BP. I have particulary low BP 106/60 on average. However when

im at gym after just stading around chatting mine will often start at 135/85 region... Then as i sit

their for 5 and relax drop right down to my normal values. 

 

 

Try it yourself. Get a few friends, try it on them. 

 

Hopefully you have found this helpfull and it will result in you not having to turn clients away quite as often as before.