starting strength gym
Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: Clarification on Blood Pressure

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2024
    Posts
    12

    Default Clarification on Blood Pressure

    • starting strength seminar april 2025
    • starting strength seminar april 2025
    Hey Rip,

    I may be misquoting you, but on one of the podcasts with Dr. Wittmer, I recall you saying to him that they keep lowering the number for a healthy blood pressure. Can you elaborate on that quote a bit more? Are you saying that slightly elevated blood pressure is not as big of a deal as they make it out to be, so they can prescribe you blood pressure medication? Again, I may be misquoting you.

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    North Texas
    Posts
    55,297

    Default

    I said that in people who train heavy, a slightly elevated blood pressure was not only normal, but adaptive to recovery. I also said that if the pharmacy people want to sell more hypertension medications, lowering the standard for healthy blood pressure makes a lot of sense for that business model.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2022
    Location
    Scottsdale Arizona
    Posts
    209

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Max Wynn View Post
    Hey Rip,

    I may be misquoting you, but on one of the podcasts with Dr. Wittmer, I recall you saying to him that they keep lowering the number for a healthy blood pressure. Can you elaborate on that quote a bit more? Are you saying that slightly elevated blood pressure is not as big of a deal as they make it out to be, so they can prescribe you blood pressure medication? Again, I may be misquoting you.

    Thanks!
    BP standards have remained relatively static over the years. For example in 1950, when I was born, 120/80 was considered normal with increases for individuals as they aged. BP standard is the same now, except no allowance for aging.

    To Rip's point, over the years the upper ranges have been stratified to encourage corrective action before problems occur. Enter free enterprise wherein the pharma and life insurance industries have developed product for the "at risk" people (at risk people are profits in escrow, the more the better). As we age, expected increases in BP place us in the "at risk" category. We age out of life insurance eligibility but become easy prey for the pharma marketing geniuses.

    I have had slightly elevated blood pressure, documented annually since my first flight physicals in the Marines starting in 1971. As an old retired guy, I watch pretty my BP pretty closely and since my 2023 physical was 155/95 I have made several life style corrections to get my BP into my historical range of 130/70. No meds!

    As a young person you need to establish a base line for future reference and not obsess over BP standards. There is good reason why Rip discourages focusing on weight lifting standards- because they mean little to the individual- same with BP standards. You need to establish what is normal for you.

    In a free enterprise system of medical care, everyone including Dr. Whittmer is selling something. Buyers must be educated and aware.

    I found the following on the interweb, I cannot vouch for it's accuracy. Take it for what it is worth, it is, after all, peer reviewed and written by an MD level Dr.

    Just a moment...

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    North Texas
    Posts
    55,297

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by David Roberts View Post
    I found the following on the interweb, I cannot vouch for it's accuracy. Take it for what it is worth, it is, after all, peer reviewed and written by an MD level Dr.

    Just a moment...
    And after all, he IS a doctor. Look David, most nurses in most doctors offices don't even know how to take a BP, much less understanding what it is, which is also true for most doctors. And BP medications have side-effects that may create quality-of-life problems themselves. None of us get out of this alive, and if you're training, eating clean, and having fun, and your BP is 155/95, are you going to take BP medications? Or are you going to lose some bodyfat and get better sleep, and stop worrying about what the Medical Services Industry wants you to worry about?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Posts
    235

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe View Post
    And after all, he IS a doctor. Look David, most nurses in most doctors offices don't even know how to take a BP, much less understanding what it is, which is also true for most doctors. And BP medications have side-effects that may create quality-of-life problems themselves. None of us get out of this alive, and if you're training, eating clean, and having fun, and your BP is 155/95, are you going to take BP medications? Or are you going to lose some bodyfat and get better sleep, and stop worrying about what the Medical Services Industry wants you to worry about?
    My friend was recently diagnosed with hypertension and put on meds. It was diagnosed in an emergency department during a head injury assessment. He is overweight (large waist circumference) and never exercises and works a toxic stressful job. Everything wrong with modern medicine

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2022
    Location
    Scottsdale Arizona
    Posts
    209

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe View Post
    And after all, he IS a doctor. Look David, most nurses in most doctors offices don't even know how to take a BP, much less understanding what it is, which is also true for most doctors. And BP medications have side-effects that may create quality-of-life problems themselves. None of us get out of this alive, and if you're training, eating clean, and having fun, and your BP is 155/95, are you going to take BP medications? Or are you going to lose some bodyfat and get better sleep, and stop worrying about what the Medical Services Industry wants you to worry about?
    Quoting myself with emphasis added-

    "As an old retired guy, I watch my BP pretty closely and since my 2023 physical was 155/95 I have made several life style corrections to get my BP into my historical range of 130/70. No meds!"

    As a young person you need to establish a base line for future reference and not obsess over BP standards. There is good reason why Rip discourages focusing on weight lifting standards- because they mean little to the individual- same with BP standards. You need to establish what is normal for you."

    "I found the following on the interweb, I cannot vouch for it's accuracy. Take it for what it is worth, it is, after all, peer reviewed and written by an MD level Dr." Meant to be tongue in cheek

    I agree with your assessment of nurses measuring blood pressure. I monitor my own for comparison and validation. Further, I am primarily concerned with my personal Dr.'s (a lifter) performance and not the industry average. He has offered both ace inhibitors and statins to me but I have chosen to make life style adjustments instead. He agreed. Because I have 53 years of my annual physical records, I have a pretty good idea of what normal is for me.

    With regard to your question about meds, I currently take none and have no plans to change that. Thanks to you, your book, and the coaching I have received, my training has been and remains quite successful. My diet is OK. 5'11, 220lbs.

    And finally, I don't worry about the medical industry concern of the day- the OP should heed that advice.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2021
    Posts
    1,054

    Default

    I'll chime in on the observations about staff not knowing how to take BP. In the past, I've had to ask about a larger cuff, and even been chuckled at once and told, "Oh, you're not that jacked," only to be vindicated when I had a very high reading, she swapped in the larger cuff, and magically it was suddenly fine.

    I have noticed of late, however, that I've had better experiences than before, both in medical offices and from Red Cross blood drive staff, where they start off unbidden with, "You're gonna need the bigger cuff, hold on." In that period, the most I might have put on my upper arms is a quarter inch, if that, so maybe there's some word getting out in the industries?

    We can only hope.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Posts
    1,533

    Default

    Just move to Europe; their guidelines allow for the healthy range to be 10-20 points higher than the Novo-American guidelines.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2021
    Posts
    1,054

    Default

    starting strength coach development program
    Quote Originally Posted by David Roberts View Post
    Enter free enterprise wherein the pharma and life insurance industries have developed product for the "at risk" people (at risk people are profits in escrow, the more the better). As we age, expected increases in BP place us in the "at risk" category. We age out of life insurance eligibility but become easy prey for the pharma marketing geniuses.
    The life insurance racket is particularly enraging on both BP and BW. Like pre-ACA health insurance, employer-provided guaranteed programs are the only ones that seem to be worth doing if you're at what we know to be a healthy weight... Unless anyone here happens to know more reasonable underwriters?

    Quote Originally Posted by Yngvi View Post
    Just move to Europe; their guidelines allow for the healthy range to be 10-20 points higher than the Novo-American guidelines.
    I appreciate the suggestion, Yngvi, but upon consideration, that one factor alone does not tip my cost-benefit analysis at this time.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •