Contrary to popular belief, well-being is not only the mental or emotional health but largely the physical health of an individual. Almost every known disease that affects the immune system is caused by a lack of physical activity and dietary habits. Diabetes is no different so one needs to be a personal trainer. Are you wondering how to control diabetes? Here is a simple solution.
The multiple benefits of exercise for a healthy individual include control of weight, lowering of blood sugar levels, reduction of LDL cholesterol, strengthening of muscles, and improving the general immune system. Adding to all of this, the advantages of exercise for a Diabetic person are minimizing the sugar in the bloodstream and boosting the body's sensitivity to insulin.
Specific Fitness Training for Diabetic Patients
Although physical activity is counted as a repulsing agent for Diabetes, specific exercise needs have been pointed out by doctors for Diabetic patients. Everyday exercise is different from those of Diabetic patients only due to the fact that a healthy person exercises to maintain their physical well-being, but the Diabetic will need regular physical activity for maintaining their insulin health.
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However, exercise for a Diabetic isn't as complicated as it sounds. The guidelines for a Diabetic's fitness training are almost mirrors of those for ordinary individuals. According to research by the American Diabetes Association, adults having Type 2 diabetes should either exercise for at least 150 minutes moderately or do 30 minutes of nonstop physical activity every day of the week.
Exercise for a Diabetic patient should include resistance or strength training for two to three days and aerobic or cardio for the rest of other days. Exercise will efficiently help Type 2 diabetes patients by lowering their blood glucose levels as well as improving insulin sensitivity throughout their bodies. Whenever physical activity is done by the Diabetic individual, it immediately triggers glucose uptake from blood into coordinating the muscles and organs. So, those with elevated blood sugar levels will benefit greatly if they walk after meals.
Fitness Training for Diabetic Women
Particularly women who have Diabetes should spend at least four hours each week engaging in moderate exercise (cardio or walking). Even vigorous exercise can be done for a comparatively lesser amount of time.
Regular cardio or walking people can reduce the risk of developing diabetes and heart disease by 40% in comparison to those who don’t exercise. Generally speaking, the best time for exercising is three hours after eating because, at this time, blood sugar levels are likely to become higher.
Exercise Recommendations for Diabetics Using Insulin
For controlling Diabetes with exercise, if someone is using insulin, it is vital to test their blood sugar before starting to exercise. If the level before starting the workout is below 100 mg/dL, one can cut up a piece of fruit or have a non-sweet small snack. This is of need since it will boost blood sugar so that one can minimize hypoglycemia. Once the exercise is done, testing again will show if the blood sugar level is stable.
Ordinarily, it is always a great idea to check blood sugar after any heavy workout or physical activity. If someone is taking insulin, their risk of developing hypoglycemia might be a maximum of six to twelve hours after exercising.
However, medical practitioners warn against exercising if their blood sugar is too high (above 250) since exercise can several times raise blood sugar even higher than it is.
How do Personal Training and Diabetes Relate?
There is a direct relationship between personal training and Diabetes. Usually, gyms and leisure centres are the best spaces for people struggling to maintain fitness being a diabetic. Nowadays, even online training sessions and certificate courses are doing the job flawlessly.
Patients can opt for personal training either online or offline, whichever suits them. In the case of an offline personal trainer, diabetics can usually have the benefit of accessing a wide range of high-end sports gear, but even online sessions are now adding on with a lot of interactive features to help people achieve health fitness goals.
Any activity that affects fluctuations in the blood sugar levels should be avoided as blood sugars can fall rapidly during, immediately after, or several hours after fitness training, thus putting diabetics at risk of hypoglycemia.
Similarly, hyperglycemia sometimes results after a short burst of highly strenuous activity.
The World Health Organization (WHO) gave a diabetes manual suggesting these risks can result if personal exercise and training are lacking in a diabetic’s lifestyle:
- Diabetes patients have a two-to-three-fold higher risk of having heart attacks and strokes
- If there is not enough physical movement for weeks, diabetic patients are prone to developing nerve-related damage, inflammation, or neuropathy. This usually starts from the feet in the form of ulcers or infections.
- Reduced blood flow leads to temporary or total paralysis depending on the lack of activity.
- Blindness from Diabetes, known as Diabetic retinopathy, occurs due to long-term accumulated damage to the small blood vessels that are found in the retina.
- One may also suffer from Kidney failure.
What is the Role of Fitness Training in Diabetes?
Scientific studies for decades have backed the fact that exercise is an established strategy for preventing Diabetes. Latest research has also shown a direct proportionality between physical activity and the occurrence of Diabetes, proving that even regular physical activity helps reduce the risk of Diabetes.
Diet and exercise are considered lifestyle modification techniques in the fitness industry, leading medical experts to recommend a combination of both to be the foundation of diabetes management practice. One only needs to reevaluate their fitness goals and add health management to them.
Walking for a break of 10-minute sessions every day, three times after meals, can improvise the condition miraculously.
Some fitness training that one can do on a daily basis are Cycling, Walking, Tennis, Frisbee, Softball, Aerobics, Swimming, Zumba, Exercises using the resistance band, and Calisthenics, Yoga and Pilates.
It might sound surprising, but dancing vigorously for 30 minutes daily can help greatly even if no other physical activity is combined with it. A research study conducted in 2015 has shown that women having Type 2 diabetes felt more motivated to exercise after having participated in Zumba classes for over 16 weeks. These participants had also shown improved fitness other than just losing weight.
How to Beat Diabetes with Personal Training?
People with Diabetes had a tough time during the COVID pandemic since they were shut away inside four walls for months. This resulted in thousands of new diabetes patients due to the sedentary lifestyle people took recourse in during the pandemic lockdown.
During such an hour, doctors recommended that a qualified personal trainer and gym instructor both can actually help reverse Diabetes if they work with reliable names in the fitness industry. Especially for Type 2 diabetes, a sedentary lifestyle is a major cause because muscles are the largest storage houses of blood sugar.
Guided personal training with the help of a qualified personal trainer or online personal training sessions needs to be coupled with proper nutrition. A low-calorie diet rich in fresh fibre (e.g., green leafy vegetables, fresh fruits, whole-grain foods, lean meat, pulses) works well for Diabetics. One must also simultaneously avoid preservatives, processed foods, white flour, and sugar as these tend to build up fat rapidly.
What Do You Need to Include in Personal Training for Curbing Diabetes?
Regardless of having a personal trainer, exercise professionals at the gym, or just casually working out at the leisure centre, there is a list of things diabetic patients must thoroughly keep in mind before starting their workout:
- One should take proper care to wear only loose-fitted clothes, comfortable shoes paid with cotton socks. If the socks feel suffocating, it is alright to remove the socks. Another advantage of wearing comfortable footwear is that it will prevent blisters and often avoid serious infections.
- One must always carry a non-sweetened snack or a couple of glucose tablets in case of the blood sugar level bottoms out.
- One must essentially hydrate well before and during, as well as after the workout.
- Not all gyms and exercise facilities have IDs, but it is better to ask for one and wear the Diabetes ID necklace or a loose bracelet while doing the fitness training.
Other than the above, taking the help of a strength conditioning coach is most beneficial. While some of the challenges related to maintaining blood glucose are universal concerning the type of exercise involved, it is always helpful to have a prescribed medication chart. This is important because both the presence and absence of diabetes-related comorbidity vary from person to person. Thus, physical activity for every particular patient should be tailored to meet their particular needs.
The layman knows Diabetes is all about sugar and sweeteners, but there is more to Diabetes than just avoiding sugar, as we discussed in the article above. Proper strength conditioning, training courses, a nutrition coach, and guided weight loss can help a diabetic easily glide across the stormy sea.
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