The largest analysis to date pooled 270 randomised trials and nearly 16,000 people. Aerobic training took around 4.5 mmHg off systolic blood pressure. Resistance training took off around the same. Both together did better than either alone, at around 6 mmHg.
The mechanism is vascular. The lining of a blood vessel releases nitric oxide, which signals the vessel to relax and widen. Training increases how much you produce, so arteries open more easily and stiffen less with age. The heart moves the same volume with less force, and sympathetic activity falls. The vessels get better at their job and the number comes down.
The NHS target is 150 minutes a week. Three classes here is 180, and each one covers both the conditioning and the strength work.
On whether to lift at all: bracing pushes your pressure up sharply for the few seconds you hold your breath, then it settles. The adaptation is to resting pressure. Tell a coach you have a diagnosis. If you are on medication, speak to your GP before you start.
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Sources: Edwards et al., network meta-analysis of 270 RCTs — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37491419/ · NHS high blood pressure guidance — https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/high-blood-pressure/ · exercise, nitric oxide and arterial stiffness — https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11943552/ · Claudino et al. (2018), on the absence of CrossFit-specific blood pressure trials — https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40798-018-0124-5