"How Can Weight Lifting Help High Blood Pressure and Halt a 'Total Eclipse of the Heart'?"

Can weight lifting help high blood pressure?

Learn how to halt a "total eclipse of the heart."

Total Eclipse of the Heart

The Welsh are famous for their singing. For proof, you need look no further than the princess of the power ballad Bonnie Tyler.

This international singing songstress has been performing since the age of 17. With Grammy nominations and number one albums both sides of the Atlantic, she is perhaps best known for the Jim Steinman 1983 classic "Total Eclipse Of The Heart."

The song was so successful that during its peak it sold a staggering 60,000 copies per day. With over 6 million copies sold worldwide, Tyler's tune clinched No. 1 in the US, South Africa, New Zealand, Canada and the UK.

Yet if the story by Meat Loaf is true, this global success almost never happened.

Midnight at the Lost and Found

According to Meat Loaf, Steinman had penned "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" for his album "Midnight at the Lost and Found." Only the record company refused to pay Steinman for the song. If this tale is true, the track was then handed to Tyler to perform, and the rest - as they say - is history.

But what does this rock ballad have to do with your training?

Well, a few articles ago we talked about how you can help stamp out high blood pressure by lifting weights.

But there was something else.

What I DIDN'T tell you, was how high blood pressure is more than a result of lifestyle choices. Just like Bonnie Tyler's devastating "total eclipse of the heart", this silent killer also lurks in your genes.

How Can Weight Lifting Help High Blood Pressure?

A study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics examined DNA from 87,736 patients. Their findings identified 11 genes responsible for causing high blood pressure.

Scientists are excited, as this would allow these genes to be targeted by existing drugs, thereby saving thousands of lives.

Patricia Munroe is the Professor of Molecular Medicine at Queen Mary University of London. Enthused at these reports, she says: "Discovering these new genetic variants provides vital insight into how the body regulates blood pressure. With further research we hope it could lead to the development of new treatments."

This is fantastic news, I am sure you will agree.

But how can weight lifting help high blood pressure?

Research shows lifting weights has been identified as an effective way to target the risk of high blood pressure. Such health benefits aren't only crucial to your well being, but have a significant impact towards any results you see from your training. 

Simply put, bigger and stronger muscles can help prevent a total eclipse of the heart.

Now check out Bonnie...

Weight Lifting and High Blood Pressure to Home Page