🦵 Axios Finish Line: The anywhere exercise

Plus: Michigan summer jam | Monday, July 31, 2023

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Circle   Axios Finish Line By Mike Allen and Erica Pandey and Jim VandeHei ·Jul 31, 2023 Jul 31, 2023 Welcome back! Smart Brevity™ count: 290 words ... 1 min. Copy edited by Amy Stern.     1 big thing: The anywhere exercise Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   The most effective exercise for lowering your blood pressure might not be what you think. Running, cycling and lifting weights are all ways to stay healthy and reduce blood pressure. But the exercises that work best are isometric, according to a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, reported by the N.Y. Times. Isometric exercises — like planks or squat holds — work your muscles by contracting them instead of moving them. 🔎 Zoom in: Researchers considered three types of isometric exercises. Squeezing a hand grip. Holding a leg extension machine in place. Squatting against a wall. The third option — a wall sit — doesn't require any equipment and can be done in any room, or even outside. 🦵 Here's the 14-minute anywhere, anytime workout that Jamie Edwards, the lead author of the study, recommended to The Times: Sit back against a wall, getting low so your thighs are as close to parallel to the floor as possible. Hold it for two minutes, then rest for two minutes. Maintain the same squat height for each rep, and repeat four times. Go deeper: Catch up with our Finish Line editions on squats and grip strength.     A message from Circle Get the insights you need to understand blockchain for business     Digital currencies and blockchains are set to create a seismic shift in how value is transferred globally, benefiting businesses and institutions. Get involved: Circle's Executive Insights series helps business leaders prepare for what's to come. Read the series.     🎵 For your summer playlist ... Reader Mary Ann T., from Berkley, Mich., says "Groovin,'" by the Young Rascals, is her jam. "[It's] my quintessential summer song, played on CKLW [out of Windsor, Ontario] on my little transistor radio. It still evokes memories of Michigan summer days. I lived away from Michigan for most of my adult life, but chose to return home a couple of years ago. I still hear that song playing in my head on a perfect sunny summer day." 🎧 Listen.   Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: