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It’s well known that regular exercise can help lower blood pressure. But it seems some types of exercise may do that more efficiently than others.

In good news for fans of core strength workouts, planks and wall sits are among the best way to bring down your blood pressure, according to new research from the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Until now, the prevailing wisdom has been that cardio sessions are the ultimate blood-pressure-lowering workouts. But it seems exercising without breaking a sweat may in fact give you the edge when it comes to heart health.

Researchers analysed trials of 16,000 people and found that isometric exercises like the plank and wall sits led to significantly greater falls in blood pressure than even aerobic exercise.

What are isometric exercises?

Isometric exercises involve holding the body in one position, contracting particular muscles in order to do so. As well lowering blood pressure so efficiently, they have other benefits

“I think isometric exercises are good for overall stability and muscular endurance,” says Jack. “I also think they’re a way for a client to train without any impact, so therefore it can help prevent injury.”

What is a wall sit?

Wall sits, also known as wall squats, are when you have your back against – you guessed it – a wall, with your legs bent and thighs parallel to the ground. The idea is to incrementally increase the amount of time you hold the position, building strength and endurance, particularly in your legs and thighs.

How do you do a plank properly?

To do a full plank, also known as a high plank, you hold yourself in a position that’s pretty much the top of a push up: arms underneath your shoulders, back in a straight line, heels reaching back, neck straight. This works your core, shoulder, upper back and leg muscles.

“My top tips for doing a plank with good form are to keep your hands apart, have your shoulders over your elbows and more towards your wrist,” says Jack.

“You want to keep your hips slightly lifted to engage your core better and almost push your weight up onto your tiptoes, therefore creating a really tight squeeze in the stomach.”

As with the wall sit, the main point is to increase the amount of time you can hold the position and/or the number of repetitions you can do, all while keeping your form – if your hips are dipping or your neck is crunched, you could be doing more harm than good. Start off at around 10 seconds, take a break, then aim for another two-three 10-second holds.

There are different versions of the plank, ranging from the difficult – side plank – to the beginner-friendly – knee plank.

“I always recommend doing planks on your forearms as well if possible,” says Jack. “Try to focus on pulling your stomach muscles in tight, and keeping your neck and shoulder muscles relaxed and pulled down.”

What other isometric exercises are there?

Planks and wall sits certainly aren’t the only isometric exercises to consider. Glute bridges and squat holds, for example, can also help you build strength – and, it turns out, potentially lower your blood pressure, too!

“Another isometric exercise you could do instead of plank is a v-sit hold,” says Jack.

“This often performed by leaning back, balancing on your coccyx, and lifting your feet off the floor.

“Good for beginners, this isometric hold creates tension through the stomach but also relieves stress on the upper body.”

How do you fit isometric exercises into your routine?

There’s no suggestion you should abandon your running, weightlifting or favourite cardio class in favour of a daily plank session. Researchers found that you’ll still see reductions in blood pressure from those forms of exercise. But it’s worth adding some isometric moves to your exercise toolkit.

The beauty of isometric exercises is that you can do them almost anywhere – in the gym, at home, in the park – and fit them in alongside your existing fitness routine. After all, doing these exercises could have a real impact on your health, without taking up too much of your time.

Functional training is a very practical approach to fitness. The focus is on improving your body’s ability to effectively perform everyday movements like bending, twisting, and lifting. Simply put, a functional workout strengthens your body in a way that allows you to perform daily activities with ease and without fear of injury — something that becomes increasingly important as we get older.

Let’s dive into the details of functional training, including its many benefits, the types of exercises it entails, and how you can incorporate functional fitness into your workout routine.

What are the benefits of functional training?

Functional training offers a wide range of benefits that can improve your overall strength and well-being, including:

• Improved everyday function: Functional training focuses on movements that mimic real-life activities, making daily tasks like lifting, bending, and reaching easier and safer.
• Enhanced strength and stability: By engaging multiple muscle groups at the same time, functional exercises build muscle strength, and that improves your stability.
• Better balance and coordination: Functional training incorporates movements that challenge balance and coordination, reducing the risk of falls and injuries.
• Injury prevention: By promoting proper movement patterns, functional training helps prevent injuries during both exercise and daily activities.
• Increased core strength: Many functional exercises require core engagement, leading to improved core strength and stability, which is essential for maintaining posture and reducing back pain.
• Time efficiency: Functional exercises involve compound movements, targeting multiple areas in one session, leading to a more time-efficient workout routine.
• Adaptability: Functional training can be adapted to various fitness levels and can be easily modified to accommodate specific needs or goals.

What exercises can I do as part of functional training?

A functional workout typically consists of compound exercises: movements that engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously, like squats, lunges, and push-ups. Instead of working one muscle in isolation, like many machines do, they challenge multiple muscle groups at the same time. For example, a squat works your glutes, quads, adductors and core. A push-up activates your chest, shoulders, back and core. Functional exercises are done using your body weight or with free weights such as dumbbells, kettlebells, and battle ropes, instead of machines.

Compound exercises are important as they mimic our natural movement patterns. We very rarely use one muscle in isolation. Most movements we make work multiple muscles together, whether it’s bending down to tie your shoelace or reaching up to grab something from a high shelf. When you train multiple muscle groups at the same time, you’re working to help your body move better as a whole. Additionally, you’re preventing straining one singular muscle and causing injury.

Does this mean I shouldn’t work any muscles in isolation?

If you’re healthy and generally looking to improve strength and fitness, most of your strength workouts should consist of compound exercises. However, isolation exercises are very useful if you’re looking to strengthen a particular muscle group in order to address a weakness, support an injury, or improve stability in a certain joint. For example, a knee injury may require you to work on very specific muscles around the knee in order to support the joint.

Tips for getting started with functional training

With a focus on improving your ability to perform daily activities with ease, functional training really is for everyone. If you’re new to functional training (or training in general), here are some tips to help you kickstart your fitness journey:

• Start with the basics. Begin with fundamental functional movements like squats, lunges, push-ups and planks. Focus on mastering these movements before progressing to more complex exercises.
• Gradually increase the intensity. Start with lighter weights and lower resistance, gradually increasing the intensity as your strength and confidence grow.
• Enlist a personal trainer. Working with a personal trainer, is a great way to learn the proper form for functional exercises, build your confidence in the gym, and achieve your unique fitness goals.
• Join a group exercise class. Group classes can help you ease into functional training in a fun and motivational setting.

Even elite athletes have days when their exercise motivation is low. It’s only human to wake up some days and just not be in the mood. Saying that, if this is happening to you on a regular basis, and you’re skipping more and more sessions, it may be time for a self-intervention.

There’s no one-size-fits-all method for regaining your motivation. That’s why we’ve put together a toolkit of techniques to get you back on track. Maybe just one of these tools will be enough to rediscover your enthusiasm for exercise; maybe you’ll need to try a combination of ideas.

Whatever the case, it’s worth making an investment in your exercise motivation, so that you can experience a healthy – and happy – fitness routine that works for you in the long term.

1.Choose habit over willpower

You’ll need willpower in the short term to get started with a fitness routine. But there’s a whole host of behavioural science research to show that you can’t rely on willpower in the long term. To maintain healthy choices, you need to convert them into habits.

That means harnessing the power of consistency. If you ‘always’ go the gym at 5pm on a Friday, it’ll start to feel weird not to.

You can also use techniques such as habit stacking, which involve pairing new habits with existing habits in order to make them stick.

2.Make it easy

Look at anything that’s holding you back from your fitness routine. For example, do you turn up to every workout feeling tired? Think about changing the time of day when you exercise. Fed up of the weather messing with your outdoor workout schedule? Consider joining a gym so you can get your fitness fix whenever you want. adsasd

As well as these big-picture items, try to care of as many little details as possible to make showing up a seamless process. Choose your outfit the evening before your workout to save time. Make sure your trainers fit and are comfortable. Pack up any kit that you think will enhance your workout, such as a water bottle or heart rate monitor.

3.Make it fun

Studies show that if you enjoy exercise, you’re more likely to stick with it. Do you find the workouts you’re doing pleasurable? That doesn’t mean easy, necessarily, or that every moment is a source of joy, but it is important to like what you’re doing and feel good about your fitness achievements.

If the answer is no, consider changing the type of workout you’re doing, or look at different ways to make exercise more enjoyable.

4.Set goals

If you know you’re working towards something, that thought can help keep you motivated. Set realistic fitness goals to maintain your focus and remind yourself of why you started your fitness routine in the first place.

5.Track your progress

Similarly, seeing how far you’ve come can give you a big motivational boost. You might use a fitness tracker or measure it by how you look and feel; either way, when you see how you’re progressing, it should help you recommit to the process.

Saying that, do make sure your manage your own expectations. Fitness progression isn’t always linear – there’s always the possibility of a random bad run or an unexpectedly tricky day in the gym. If this happens to you, shake it off. Celebrate the positives and don’t overthink the negatives.

6.Get a workout partner

There’s research to suggest that exercising with others can help boost your exercise motivation. Of course, that won’t be true for every individual, but if you’re struggling to push yourself to exercise, it might be worth seeing if a friend of family member would like to buddy up with you. You could also consider booking a Personal Trainer, or joining a group exercise class.

7.Reward yourself

There’s nothing like the prospect of a treat to improve exercise motivation! You might reward yourself with something small for each workout – a post-exercise flat white, for example. Or you might promise yourself something bigger if you hit a particular goals – if you exercise consistently for a month, you’ll buy yourself those new trainers you’ve been eyeing up.

8.Try the 5-minute rule

If you’re right at the start of your workout and really aren’t in the mood, try this cognitive behaviour technique. Simply tell yourself that you only have to do your workout for 5 minutes – and set a timer. If at the end of 5 minutes you’re still not feeling good, stop. It’s that simple.

The point is that there will be plenty of occasions where that 5 minutes will be enough to get you warmed up and in the mood to carry on.

9.Break your workout into steps

This is a technique that’s often recommended for work tasks, but it can help with exercise motivation, too.

Thinking of your workout as one big chunk can be off-putting – an hour-long run, for example, or a 90-minute gym session. In your head, break it down into smaller steps, and that might make it feel more manageable.

For example, you can think about a gym session as 10 minutes warm-up, followed by 30 minutes of weights, followed by 30 minutes of cardio… you get the idea. Picture yourself moving through the steps one at a time, rather than having to blast through the whole thing.

Until relatively recently, walking was an unsung hero of the cardio world. Now it’s becoming a much-favoured form of exercise: the average walking distance covered in 2023 was 225 miles per person, according to a national travel survey – that’s a 10% increase on 2019. But does walking really count as a workout?

The answer is that it certainly can. Whether you’re pounding the pavement outdoors or have a regular appointment with a treadmill, this is a form of cardio that’s accessible to many different people of varying fitness abilities.

What’s more, walking is a great way to fit in a workout if you’re away from your usual gym and routine, such as when you’re visiting family or on holiday.

Even if you favour other forms of cardio fitness – running, cycling or HIIT, for example – you can still enjoy the plentiful benefits of walking.

Saying that, there are some approaches you can take that can transform your walk into even more of a workout. Here are eight suggestions for supercharging your walk – and your fitness.

1.Add an incline

Want to supercharge the calorie-burning properties of your walk? Add an incline, whether that’s powering up a hill, adjusting your treadmill or heading for the stairs. Walking uphill will also strengthen your leg muscles, from quads to calves.

2.Bring some weights

Another great way to burn more calories on your walk is to add some weights. You can buy an adjustable weight vest, or for a low-spend option, add weight to a rucksack, such as water bottles or canned goods.

A word of caution: don’t go too heavy too fast, as you risk damaging your back muscles. And keep an eye on your posture, in case the weight is making your slump or slouch.

3.Increase your distance

Use your phone or fitness tracker to find out how far you walk on an average day and set yourself a goal to increase this distance. If you’re worried about getting bored on a longer walk, download some podcasts or a motivational playlist to keep you company.

4.Speed up

Low on time? Make your walks short but speedy, for maximum calorie burning and strengthening. At a minimum, the NHS recommends a brisk 10-minute walk every day.

Remember, the operative word here is ‘brisk’. You want to elevate both heart rate and breathing. A fitness tracker can help you work out the right pace for you.

5.Add some intervals

Interval training is often associated with running, but it works just as well when it comes to walking pace, too. Try power walking for 30 seconds to one minute, then walking at a steady pace for one minute, and repeat throughout your session.

6.Try a ‘strength break’

Mix cardio and strength by stopping every 15 minutes or so to do a run-through of some muscle-building moves. If you’re out and about, you can put together a no-equipment circuit using body-weight exercises, such as planks, squats, mountain climbers and glute bridges.

If you’re doing your workout in the gym, you’ll have even more options for strengthening exercises. Not confident on the machines? Simply ask a personal trainer for some tips on simple but effective ways to pair a treadmill walk with some strength work.

7.Keep it consistent

Whatever your pace, incline and distance, one of the key ways to make your walk into a workout is to commit to doing it regularly – every day, ideally, if it’s your main form of exercise.

Saying that, keeping it consistent doesn’t mean you have to do the same route every time if you’re walking outdoors. Switch things up to keep your brain engaged.

8.Trial a treadmill challenge

Treadmill challenges are all over social media. These are a simple way to refresh your walking routine and supercharge your fitness. Perhaps the best known is the 12-3-30: treadmill incline at 12, speed at 3 miles per hour (4.8 kilometres per hour) and walk for 30 minutes. Note that this isn’t one for beginners – only try this if you already walk regularly on an incline and have a good fitness base.

Tips for walking workouts

• Start slow. If you’re new to exercise, or haven’t worked out for a while, there’s no point in starting at maximum effort – that’s a one-way ticket to injury town. Keep your incline, pace and distance low to start with, listen to your body, and gradually build up as your fitness increases.
• Make sure you’re wearing comfortable, supportive footwear. Just as people who run regularly pay close attention to their trainer choice, if you’re a regular walker, make sure your footwear will help you avoid injury.
• Opt for breathable, sweat-wicking fabrics. You can still build up quite a sweat when you’re out walking, so look for clothes that will keep you warm and dry.
• Warm up and cool down. Just as you’ll prepare yourself for any other form of cardio, add some dynamic stretches before you head out, and then make time for some static stretching afterwards. Trust us, your muscles will thank you for it.
• Choose daylight hours if possible, particularly in winter. Work and other responsibilities allowing, try to schedule your walks so you can get some fresh air and – most importantly – exposure to the sun, to increase your vitamin D levels.
• Think about technique. If you’re walking ‘properly’, with correct posture, that can help you avoid injury. You can find detailed walking tutorials on YouTube, including the right foot form. (Yes, there is a correct foot form.)
• Take a water bottle. If the weather is hot or you’ve planned a long-distance walk, it’s important to stay hydrated.

Flexibility and mobility sound like something a physio might talk about. Or something you’d work on in a yoga class. Or concepts you may worry about one day but not until for a few years yet. But here’s the thing — if you move in any way, shape or form, you need them both. And not just to touch your toes or flow through a perfect sun salutation.

Whether you’re lifting heavy in the gym, chasing a toddler around the park, or just trying to get out of bed without making that weird groaning noise, your body’s ability to move well matters.

Let’s bust the myth that flexibility and mobility exercises are only for the ultra-bendy or the older body. Because flexibility and mobility aren’t just about stretching — they’re your secret weapons for moving better, feeling better and living better, whatever your age and fitness level.

Flexibility vs mobility: What’s the difference?

They’re often talked about together, but they’re not the same thing.

• Flexibility is about the ability of your muscles to lengthen. Think of it like this: it’s your hamstring letting you touch your toes in a forward fold.
• Mobility is your ability to move a joint through its full range of motion — with control. That’s your hips allowing you to drop into a deep squat, or your shoulders moving as you lift your arms overhead.

Here’s an easy analogy:

Flexibility is how far a rubber band can stretch. Mobility is how well you can use that stretch when you’re moving.

Why flexibility matters

Flexibility might not feel like a priority — until it’s gone. Muscles that are too tight can pull on joints, mess with your posture and make everyday movement feel restricted.

Improving flexibility can:

• Help you recover faster after workouts
• Ease stiffness after a long day at your desk
• Prevent muscle imbalances and improve alignment

It’s the difference between waking up with tight calves that make stairs feel like Everest, and gliding into your day with ease.

Why mobility might matter even more

If flexibility is the stretch, mobility is the strength. It’s what allows your body to use that range of motion when you’re moving — not just hold it in a static pose.

Good mobility helps you:

• Exercise at greater intensity and more safely
• Run, jump and twist without strain
• Protect your joints from injury
• Perform better in sport and fitness

You might be able to lie on your back and pull your knee to your chest, but can you bring your leg that high when you’re lunging forward? That’s mobility in action.

Can you be flexible but have poor mobility?

It’s entirely possible to have flexible muscles but poor mobility. In fact, many people do. That’s when you can stretch into a shape, but you can’t control it during movement.

For example: you might stretch your hip flexors all day long, but if you don’t have the mobility to stabilise your hips during a lunge, your knees or lower back could take the hit.

Mobility is what turns flexibility into functional strength. And that’s where the magic happens.

How to improve flexibility and mobility

The good news? You don’t necessarily need to overhaul your training — just be intentional.

To improve flexibility:

• Stretch when your muscles are warm (think post-workout, not cold starts)
• Hold static stretches for at least 30 seconds
• Try low-impact classes like yoga or Pilates to build flexibility work into your routine

To boost mobility:

• Start your workout with dynamic moves like leg swings or arm circles
• Incorporate mobility drills like deep squats, shoulder rolls and hip openers
• Use tools like resistance bands or foam rollers to support joint movement
• Add tempo and control to your strength training — moving through a full range, not just hitting the reps

Move better, feel better

Flexibility helps you reach. Mobility helps you move. Together, they keep your body strong, supple and ready for anything, from your toughest workouts to your everyday life.

Flexibility and mobility exercises are for anyone who wants to move with ease, strength and confidence — and really, who doesn’t?

Need some extra motivation for your next workout? There’s one thing you can add to your routine that should help shake things up: a partner.

Whether that’s your other half, a family member, a colleague, a friend – hey, maybe even an enemy – couples workouts can be a great way to revitalise your fitness habits. Working out with others means keeping each other accountable. Even if a trip to the gym is the last thing you feel like after a long day at work, you won’t want to let your workout buddy down.

What’s more, working out in a pair means you can really lean into the social side of exercise – and that can have significant benefits for your emotional wellbeing.

Of course, you’ll need to make some adjustments to your routine in order to work out as a pair instead of as an individual.

Make it interactive

“Doing exercises in a pair is a great idea to keep each other motivated,” says Jack. He suggests introducing some movements you can do together, in order to keep that enthusiasm high:

• A plank where you’re high-fiving each other.
• A plank where you’re rolling a medicine ball to each other while trying to keep the hips as still as possible.
• A Russian twist where you’re sitting next to each other, passing a medicine ball to and from one another.
• A squat where you throw a medicine ball to your partner, and they catch and twist or press overhead.

Consider a distance challenge

You also need to take into account potential differences between your fitness levels – but there’s a way round that.

“Another way to look at partner exercises would be to set a distance challenge on certain cardio equipment, like the SkiErg or Stepper,” says Jack.

“This would also overcome the difficulty if one of the individuals is considerably fitter than the other as it would be more of a team method than someone having to keep up.”

Use each other’s energy

“I like training in a pair because it stops you from resting too much,” says Jack.

“Some may think it will have the opposite effect because you’ve got someone to talk to, but actually I think it keeps you focused and motivated – when they stop you tend to be working and when they stop vice versa.”

You can feed off each other’s energy and effort to achieve more than you realised you could.

Choose an exercise you both enjoy

It may sound obvious, but it’s worth spending time planning the kind of exercises you’ll do as a couple. “It needs to be a type of exercise both people enjoy so that they’re more likely to continue it and build a habit,” says Jack.

“In terms of whether strength or cardio is better, that is purely down to preference and what the individuals goals are at the end of the day.”

Don’t forget the cooldown

As with any workout, make sure you factor in cooldown time to avoid injury. However, that doesn’t mean using each other to go deeper into stretches, as that could lead to the very injury you’re trying to avoid! “There are partnered stretches you can do, but I would recommend sticking with a trainer to do these,” says Jack.

Instead, do your normal routine but use it as an opportunity to catch up.

“With regards to stretching as a pair, it’s as simple as doing them next to each other on a mat,” says Jack.

“Stretching may feel slightly easier because you can talk and distract yourself from the pain of it! It would be good to set a timer to make sure you’re doing this for an adequate time for a cooldown – I would recommend 60 to 90 seconds on each muscle group.”