Adoption and maintenance of physical activity are critical points for blood sugar management and overall health in individuals with diabetes and prediabetes. Recommendations and precautions can be change according to individual characteristics and health status of the person.
While physical activity includes all movements that increase energy use and quality of life, exercise is planned and structured physical activities. Exercise improves blood sugar control, reduces cardiovascular risk factors, contributes to weight loss and improves patient’s health in type 2 diabetes. Regular exercise can prevent or delay the development of type 2 diabetes. Difficulties with cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, insulin sensitivity, heart disease, and similar blood sugar management vary with the type of diabetes, type of activity, and presence of diabetes-related complications.
Types of exercise and physical activity
Aerobic exercise involves repeated and sustained movement of major muscle groups. Activities such as walking, cycling, running, and swimming rely primarily on aerobic energy-producing systems. Resistance (strength) training includes exercises with free weights, weight machines, body weight, or elastic resistance bands. Flexibility exercises improve mobility around joints. Balance exercises benefit walking and prevent falls. Exercises such as yoga combine flexibility, balance and resistance activities.
Benefits of physical activities
Flexibility and balance exercises are an important factor for older individuals with diabetes. Limited joint mobility is often present, partly due to the formation of advanced glycation end products that accumulate during normal aging and are accelerated by hyperglycemia. Balance training can reduce the risk of falls by improving balance and gait, even when peripheral neuropathy is present. Group exercise interventions (resistance and balance training) can reduce falls by 28−29%. The benefits of alternative training such as yoga are less proven, but yoga may promote improvement in glycemic control, lipid levels and body composition in adults with type 2 diabetes. It may improve some aspects of glycemic control, balance, neuropathic symptoms, and quality of life in adults with diabetes and neuropathy, but high-quality studies of this education are not enough.
Exercise has many benefits, but the most important one is that it makes it easier to control your blood sugar levels. People with type 2 diabetes have too much glucose in their blood because their bodies don’t produce enough insulin to process it or their bodies don’t use insulin properly. In either case, exercise can lower the glucose in your blood. When exercising, muscles can use glucose without insulin. In other words, it doesn’t matter if you’re insulin resistant or don’t have enough insulin: when you exercise, your muscles get the glucose they need, and your blood sugar level drops in return. If you’re insulin resistant, exercise actually makes your insulin more effective. So insulin resistance goes away and your cells can use glucose more effectively while you exercise.
Exercise can be very helpfull for people with type 2 diabetes to avoid long-term complications and heart problems. People with diabetes are more likely to develop clogged arteries (heart disease) that can lead to heart attack or stroke. Exercise helps keep your heart healthy and strong. Plus, exercise helps you maintain good cholesterol, which in turn helps you avoid high cholesterol and the buildup of plaque that can prevent blood from flowing easily through your arteries.
- Additionally, exercise has traditional benefits:
- Low blood pressure,
- Better weight control,
- Increased good cholesterol (HDL) level,
- Thinner, stronger muscles,
- Stronger bones,
- More energy,
- Improved social life,
- Better sleep,
- Stress management.
Generally, individuals with type 2 diabetes have excess weight problems and therefore it may be difficult for them to exercise. You also need to consider other complications related to diabetes. When you start an exercise program, you can get support from your doctor to help you find the best exercise program to get you in shape for your fitness level. You also need to set realistic goals before you start exercising. If you haven’t been exercising much lately, you’ll want to start slow and gradually increase the amount and intensity of the activity.
Remember to stay hydrated by drinking water and always have a good treatment plan for low blood sugar (a 15g carbohydrate snack is a good idea). It’s wise to check your blood sugar with your glucometer before and after exercise to make sure you’re in a safe range. Being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes changes your life, but making small changes to your routine can help add more physical activity to your day. You should do what is beneficial for your body and lifestyle. Give yourself some time to establish a steady, challenging exercise routine.
What kind of exercises should you do?
There are three main types of exercise: aerobics, strength training, and flexibility work. You should aim for a good mix of all three.
Aerobic Exercises
Aim to do at least 30 minutes of cardio (aerobic) exercise at least 3 times a week.
- Aerobic exercises include:
- Brisk walking,
- Running,
- Ride a bike,
- Skipping rope,
- Climbing stairs,
- Swimming,
- Step-aerobic exercises.
Try adding a few minutes to each walk and gradually increase it to 30 minutes, or exercise every other week until you can manage 20-30 minutes at a time. But don’t stop there – try to add a few minutes over time to reach 60 or even 90 minutes a day to continue improving your Duration and Conditioning. Also, get creative when it comes to exercise. Take a walk for lunch or go out for a soccer game after dinner. Remember that walking your dog is a form of exercise.
You have to find a way to do an exercise that you truly enjoy, because if it’s not fun, you can’t do it. Even if you know all the benefits of exercise, it will be harder to stay motivated.
Strength Training
Once you can incorporate aerobic activity into your days, you can start adding some resistance training. Strength training helps you achieve lean, efficient muscles. In addition to walking or running, these resistance-type exercises also support strong, healthy bones. Building more muscle instead of fat is especially beneficial when you have type 2 diabetes because muscles use the most glucose, so the more you use your muscles, the more effective you can be at controlling your blood sugar levels.
Weight training is one of the most used strength building techniques, but you can use your own bodyweight training to build strength, pull-ups and planks are very suitable for this job. When you start a weight training program, make sure you know how to use all the Equipment. Lifting weights for 20-30 minutes two or three times a week is sufficient to take full advantage of strength training.
Flexibility Training
With flexibility training, you will improve how well your muscles and joints work. Stretching before and after exercise (especially after exercise) reduces muscle soreness and actually relaxes your muscles.
Create and Follow a Routine
Make a commitment to exercise regularly; make this a priority. It will help you lose weight (if you have to) and make your body more efficient at using insulin and glucose.