What is the point of regular exercise??
When you have type 2 diabetes exercise is a very important part of your treatment. It is just as important as medication and diet. Exercise has so many health benefits but the biggest one for us diabetics is it helps get them blood sugar levels down. Our bodies have too much glucose in our blood either due to not producing enough insulin or because our bodies doesn’t use insulin correctly (insulin resistant). Either way exercise can reduce the amount of sugar in the blood as your muscles will take the glucose they need and lower your levels no questions asked.
Exercising regularly could:
- give you better control of your sugar levels
- reduce your risk of heart disease
- maintain your weight
- lower your cholesterol level
- lower the risk of some cancers
- lower your blood pressure
- give you stronger bones, muscles and joints and lower your risk of osteoporosis
- improve your balance
- make you feel better giving you more energy, better moods, helping you feel more relaxed
- aid a better nights sleep.
To have these benefits adult should aim to do some sort of aerobic exercise around 150 minutes each week/30 minutes a day over 5 days. This could be something as simple as taking the stairs instead of the escalator, a brisk walk or riding a bike instead of driving short distances in your car to some full on hiking up in the hills or even mowing the lawn. You should also mix in some strength training at least a couple of times a week, working out your legs, hips, chest, back, abdomen, arms and shoulders. You don’t even need expensive gym memberships or equipment, just get a bag of potatoes and lift them up above your head for 10 reps or do some lunges and squats while holding them into your chest.
You could also add some vigorous aerobic training into the mix. This could be a game of football, singles tennis, rugby, running/jogging, martial arts or my favourite, a group class like bootcamp or spinning.
I have added some exercise plans here for people just starting out to people wanting to improve their fitness levels.
Most people with type 2 diabetes are usually overweight and will find exercise quite daunting but for all the health reasons I listed above its so important you get onto a good exercise plan and start off slowly. No one ever achieved anything worth shouting about whilst in their comfort zone.
Before you start exercising you should always speak to your GP if your:
- overweight
- aged over 45 years
- getting pain in your chest during physical activity
- prone to fainting or have spells of severe dizziness
- breathless during light physical activity
- at a higher risk of heart disease
- pregnant
