A review of the world’s literature shows that high-intensity exercise, particularly interval training, causes greater reduction in HbA1c in diabetics than less intense exercise
How Does Exercise Lower Blood Sugar?
Exercise helps to treat the cause of most cases of diabetes — failure of the cells to respond to insulin — and it lowers blood sugar, insulin levels and body fat
Muscles use fat, sugar and, to a lesser degree protein, for energy. At rest, muscles get almost all of their energy from fat, so resting muscles draw almost no sugar from the bloodstream and need insulin to draw the meager amount they do use. On the other hand, contracting muscles draw large amounts of sugar from the bloodstream and don’t even need insulin to do so. Just starting an exercise program at lunch time significantly lowered blood sugar in diabetics
Intense Exercise Lowers Blood Sugar Even More
During low-intensity exercise, muscles burn mostly fat, and as the intensity of the exercise increases, muscles use a greater percentage of sugar. When you run at 100 percent effort, your muscles get almost all of their energy from sugar
Interval Training Saves Time
One of the most common excuses people make is that they do not have enough time to exercise. Interval training provides more intense exercise in much less time. A series of studies on a training program called HIIT (high intensity interval training) showed that it corrected the metabolic abnormalities that cause and precede diabetes more than less intense interval training. HIIT makes you burn more fat after you finish exercising
How to Do Interval Training
Interval training is a technique used by athletes, but anyone can do it to get more benefit from an exercise program in far less time. Set up an exercise program in which you exercise more intensely on one day and far easier on the next.
• On one day, take an intense workout, but only if your legs feel fresh after a five-to-ten-minute warm up. After your warm-up, pick up the pace for a few steps or pedal strokes, slow down until you feel comfortable again, and then alternate pickups and recoveries until your legs start to stiffen. Try to work up to the point where each hard interval lasts about 30 seconds, or until you go into the muscle burn, and then immediately slow down.
• On the next day, your muscles may feel sore. Take your five-to-ten-minute warm up and if your muscles do not feel fresh, take the day off. If they feel fresh after your warm up, go slow anyway and always stop your workout when your legs start to feel heavy or you feel pain in one or more spots.
• Don’t plan to take days off, but if your muscles feel tired, heavy or hurt after your warm-up, go home.
• You should always stop your workout if you feel persistent pain in a localized area or your muscles start to feel stiff or hurt.
How to Tell if you are Diabetic or Pre-Diabetic
Any of the following can be signs of high blood sugar levels:
• a large abdomen (“beer belly”)
• small narrow buttocks
• fasting blood sugar over 95
• triglycerides over 150
• the good HDL cholesterol below 40
• fatty liver (shown on a sonogram)
• HBA1c over 5.7
• systolic blood pressure greater than 120 when you first wake up or just before you go to sleep at night.
If you have any or all of these signs, your doctor should be counselling you on prevention or treatment of diabetes.
Caution:Â Check with your doctor before you start a new exercise program or increase the intensity of your existing program.
