The effect of exercise on your blood glucose and your general health in type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Andrew Heilbrunn
Head Biokineticist, Biokinetics Department, Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology,
Diabetes Associations all over the world agree that exercises should be one of the main treatments for people with diabetes. The benefits of exercise for people with diabetes include improved blood glucose control, a longer life span and lower rates of heart disease and stroke. Regular exercise, whether it is gym training or leisurely activities such as gardening, shopping or housework, helps to decrease high blood glucose levels, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity. It also assists with stress, anxiety and depression, improving your overall quality of life.
How can exercise help my diabetes?
When you exercise, your body uses blood glucose as an energy source. During the course of exercise your body will also use up stored glucose which is stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver. After exercise, your muscle and liver need to replenish the glycogen stores that were used. During this process, blood glucose is transported from the blood into the liver and muscles. This process lowers your blood glucose levels, giving you better control. The key to improving blood glucose control is to perform a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise per week.
The benefits of exercise for people with diabetes
- Improved insulin function
- Increased fitness – the ability to perform everyday tasks easily
- Improved heart function
- Improved blood pressure
- Improved cholesterol
- Decreased body fat percentage
- Enhanced sense of wellbeing
Fitness fundamentals
Physical fitness is the ability to endure and withstand stress; to be able to carry on in circumstances where an unfit person could not continue. It is an important contributing factor towards good health and well-being.
Physical fitness results in the improved functioning of the heart, lungs and muscles of the body.
Fitness components
Physical fitness is comprised of the following components:
- Cardio-respiratory endurance: exercise that uses large muscle groups for a sustained period of time. Swimming, running and cycling are examples of cardio-respiratory endurance.
- Muscular strength: the ability of a muscle to exert force for a brief period of time. These can be performed using your own body weight or additional weight in the form of dumbbells.
- Flexibility: the ability to move joints through their full range of motion. This allows the muscles to stretch and relax. Flexibility maintains health of the joints leading to pain-free and easy mobility.
- Warm up & cool down: brief periods of time between the start and end of an exercise session that allows the body to get used to an increased intensity of exercise and the to return to the resting state. Stretching can be added to both the warmup and cool down.
- Diabetes recommendations
People with diabetes should include a combination of both endurance (walking, cycling) and strength training (weight machines, free weights or elastics). This may be done either in a single workout or as separate sessions on alternate days.
A physical activity schedule
Frequency: a minimum of three balanced workouts per week are necessary to maintain a desired level of fitness and better blood glucose control.
Progression: increase the intensity, frequency and/or duration of activity every 4 to 6 weeks to ensure improvement is seen and greater benefits are gained.
Note
- If you experience any chest pain, dizziness, severe joint or muscle pain before, during or after exercise, consult your doctor. If you have a particular injury and experience discomfort with any exercise, stop that exercise and consult with a Biokineticist to get the correct exercise prescription.
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