Diabetes Freedom
I’m here right now to talk about what you must do to find an exercise program that works for your diabetes-control plan.
Most people who have diabetes do understand that exercise is a key part of the game. If they hope to regulate blood sugar levels and ensure that they are maintaining good levels of insulin sensitivity, exercise is important.
But how do you go about creating an exercise program that will earn top marks for regulating diabetes?
Let’s take a look at five steps to follow.
Step 1: Enjoyment
First, you need to find a workout plan that you enjoy. This is a factor that many people overlook, but one that I place in top priority when figuring out your workout.
The reason?
If you don’t enjoy your workout program, chances are you won’t do it. And doing that workout program is the key.
No workout program will get you results if you’re constantly skipping over it, so you must make sure that it’s getting completed.
Step 2: Cardiovascular Fitness
Next, you’ll want to get some cardiovascular fitness into the mix. This is going to boost heart health and can help burn off the extra sugar that you may have sitting around in your bloodstream.
It is ideal to do a burst of cardio exercise daily, even if it’s just for 10 minutes. A brisk walk around the block can get the job done or if you’re at the gym, some wind sprints on the bike are also an excellent choice.
Step 3: Weightlifting
Weightlifting is the next exercise that you’ll want to get into the picture to achieve optimal health. The reason being that weightlifting not only helps build lean muscle mass, which will boost your resting metabolic rate and prevent future fat gain, but weightlifting is also great for improving insulin sensitivity levels. It’s even better than cardio training.
You should be aiming to do weight lifting activities about 2-3 times per week for about 30 minutes each session. Of course, you can do more than this, but consider that the minimum that each person should be doing.
Step 4: Optimal Frequency
It’s also important that you schedule your workouts at an optimal frequency. Remember, you want to exercise enough to see great benefits but not so much that you become burned out.
Ideally, you should aim to exercise 4-5 times per week. Then the other two days should be rest days or days that you just do some leisure activity. You don’t need to sit on the couch all day long, but you don’t need to be in the gym pushing yourself hard either.
Step 5: Optimal Intensity
Finally, you need the right intensity level when you are in the gym. When you are exercising to manage blood sugar levels, you want to be exercising at a perceived exertion intensity of around 6-7 out of 10. You don’t need to go full blast at a level 10 unless you want to, but at the same time, you can’t be at a 4 or 5 and expect to see results.
It’s often a great idea to mix up the intensity level over the course of the week so some sessions are more intense than others. That will typically yield optimal results.
So there you have it. Follow these five steps and you can create an exercise program that will help you manage your blood sugar and can prevent diabetic complications.