This large study found increasing physical activity was able to significantly reduce the risk of hypertension.
Liu X, Zhang D, Liu Y, Sun X, Han C, Wang B, Ren Y, Zhou J, Zhao Y, Shi Y, Hu D, Zhang M.
Dose-Response Association Between Physical Activity and Incident Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies. Hypertension. 2017 May;69(5):813-820. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.116.08994. Epub 2017 Mar 27. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28348016