- How to avoid hypoglycemia during exercise
- What exercises indicated for diabetes
- How to do the exercises
- When not to exercise
Regularly practicing some type of physical activity has great benefits for diabetics, because in this way it is possible to improve glycemic control and avoid complications resulting from diabetes. The greatest benefits of exercise for diabetes are:
- Decrease blood sugar rate; Improve pancreatic cell function; Decrease insulin resistance, making it easier for cells to enter; Improve blood circulation and blood capillaries, reducing cold feet and hands and foot diabetic; Improve cardiac and respiratory function, musculature and strengthen bones; Helps to lose weight and reduce the abdomen.
But to achieve all of these benefits you need to exercise regularly, at least 3 times a week, for 30 to 45 minutes, for life. The benefits can be noticed from the 1st month of classes, however, to burn fat it is necessary to increase the intensity and frequency of the exercises, going to 5 days a week, during 1 hour of intense training.
Check out: Best exercises to lose weight.
How to avoid hypoglycemia during exercise
To avoid hypoglycemia during exercise, you should take 1 glass of orange juice, half an hour before class starts, if the last meal was more than 2 hours ago.
The best time to train is in the morning, after having breakfast, and never at night, to avoid hypoglycemia later, during sleep. Training up to 2 hours after lunch or snack is also a possibility.
It is also important to drink water or isotonic drink during exercise because good hydration helps to prevent rapid blood sugar variation.
If you feel dizzy, nauseated or unwell during exercise you should stop, take a deep breath and drink 1 glass of juice or suck a bullet, for example.
Know how to recognize and how to fight hypoglycemia
What exercises indicated for diabetes
The diabetic can practice any type of physical exercise, as long as the blood glucose is below 250 and there is no ocular involvement, such as diabetic retinopathy, or foot sores. In these cases, it is not recommended to do exercises like fights or involving jumps. If you have sores on your feet, you can do exercises such as cycling or water, such as swimming or water aerobics.
Other exercises that can be indicated, when there are no complications are brisk walking, running, weight training, Pilates with ball, equipment or on the ground, dance classes, or in groups. But it is not advisable to exercise alone to avoid the risk of having an episode of hypoglycemia and having no one around to help, if necessary.
How to do the exercises
In diabetes, exercises should be performed in a moderate manner, 3 to 5 days a week, lasting 30 to 45 minutes per class. The intensity of the training should be 60 to 70% of the maximum heart rate. If you want to lose weight you need to train at least 5 days a week, at a high intensity to be able to burn fat.
However, when it comes to light exercises, such as walking, for example, which does not induce muscle formation, the benefit of sugar uptake by muscle tissue is less efficient, so it is also good to take weight training classes for a better benefit.
When not to exercise
Exercise should not be done when blood glucose is greater than 250 to 300, and after drinking alcohol, vomiting or an episode of diarrhea. You should also not train during the hottest times of the day and extreme sports should be avoided, because they favor rapid changes in blood sugar.
See how to measure blood glucose
