Why You Should Not Give Up On Exercises
Living with diabetes is not a death certificate. Many methods and tips are available to help you live a better and healthier life, feeling lesser symptoms while managing your health condition. Some diabetes management methods include dietary changes, lifestyle changes, physical exercises, and many more. These combined methods work hand in hand to give you great experiences and can even make you live longer than expected.
Engaging in physical exercise is one sure way of helping you manage type 2 diabetes. This is because it will help regulate your weight and blood sugar. Besides these, physical activities naturally help prevent the occurrence of certain health conditions. It protects you against cardiovascular conditions, stroke, and heart attack illnesses.
In addition, people who have high risks of developing type 2 diabetes should also consider these exercises. They will help reduce their chances of developing health conditions in the future. According to medical experts, people, especially those living with diabetes, should get up to 150 minutes of exercise per week, or even more per week, as this would help prevent the illness in people predisposed to it and manage it in people who are living with it already.
Ensure that you start small. Begin with the simpler exercises. Meanwhile, do not engage in those that will leave you injured or tired all day. Monitor your body and know which ones are best for you. If you are actually unsure of the kinds of exercises to engage in as a diabetes patient, or you are confused about which one of them to start with, here is a list of exercises that you can add to your diabetes routine.
10 Healthy Exercises for Type 2 Diabetes
Walking
Walking is one of the most uncomplicated ways to begin any form of physical exercise. This is because it loosens up your body and prepares you for other exercises in case you want to go beyond the surface. Walking does not require any special instructions. In fact, you do not need to go to the gym to use expensive gym equipment. All you frankly need to do is, get yourself a comfortable pair of shoes, find a safe location to take walks in, wake up every morning and take at least 30 minutes brisk walks per day, 15 minutes going, and 15 minutes coming back to your house. This is a great way to start!
Research showed that type 2 diabetes patients who take walks per day experience improved blood sugar levels, and it helps them lose weight.
Cycling
Studies have found that most people living with type 2 diabetes have higher chances of developing joint issues like arthritis. This is because its risk factor is similar to the risk factor of type 2 diabetes—obesity. Another joint issue that might arise is diabetic neuropathy, which is peculiar to diabetic people. It is a condition that results in the damage of the nerves. This is where cycling comes in.
Cycling is a low-impact exercise that will help you lose some weight on the one hand and also help exercise your joints. On the other hand, without you having to strain them in a painful way.
Swimming
Swimming as an aquatic activity is effective at easing joint pains. It can also help in the workout of the lungs, heart, and muscles. It helps you exercise your joints while putting less pressure on them. To get started, get for yourself a clean pool and swimming kits, then swim for at least 30 minutes per day. Ensure to monitor your body while doing so to avoid compounding your problems, especially when you have a cold.
Research has also shown that the effects of aquatic exercises are equated to the effects of land exercises in terms of lowering and regulating blood sugar.
Team Sports
If you think you need partners or you cannot do it alone, you can join a sports team. This will not only motivate you to engage in those physical activities, but it will also help you socialize and relate with people, especially people who have similar problems as yours. It helps you share your experiences and understand that you are not the only one in the world suffering from type 2 diabetes. It is such a relief! Joining a sports team will also teach you commitment.
Aerobic Dance
Aerobic dance classes are another effective way of hitting your exercise target. You could opt-in for programs that combine aerobic activities with dance. This activity will not only help lower your blood sugar and manage your weight, but you will also find it fun to engage in. In fact, studies have shown that women with type 2 diabetes who engages in aerobic activities for up to 10 weeks got motivated to partake in more physical activities, and it turned out that they experienced weight loss and regulated blood sugar while catching fun.
Weightlifting
Weightlifting, as the name implies, involves the lifting of heavy objects. However, do not be too desperate to improve your diabetic experiences by lifting weights that you know very well are too heavy for you. Weight lifting is an effective way of strengthening your body and increasing your muscle mass. Also, experts have discovered that asides from helping you burn calories, weightlifting can also help regulate your blood sugar in order to incorporate weightlifting into your exercise routine, ensure that you start small. Start with lifting not too heavy objects. Also, ensure that you lift those objects effectively in order to prevent them from falling from your hands and injuring you.
Resistance Band Exercise
Just like weightlifting, a resistance band is another method of strengthening your muscles. This might be more tasking and complicated than weightlifting. Hence the need for you to speak with a professional trainer before engaging in such physical exercises. You can also casually watch videos on how to engage in this physical activity in order to ensure that you are doing it the right way.
Exercising with resistance bands can help you regulate your blood sugar levels while increasing your strength and muscle mass in the process.
Calisthenics
Calisthenics is a kind of physical exercise that involves you using your own bodyweight to generate a weight for your muscles in order to strengthen them. Some calisthenics exercises include lunges, pull-ups, squats, abdominal crunches, among others. Ensure that you have targeted areas of your body while doing any calisthenics exercises so that you can achieve maximum results.
However, ensure that you give your body enough time to recover after each straining and strengthening activity. When you work out for a few days, give your body an equal amount of days to recover.
Pilates
Pilates is a kind of exercise that is used in balance coordination. It also improves strength. These are general health benefits of Pilates. However, for people living with type 2 diabetes, it can help in the regulation of their blood sugar levels and help them maintain healthy body weight. Pilates is something you might want to join a class for or something you might need an instructor for. Thus, you can sign up for classes in a local gym to get the best out of Pilates, especially for those living with diabetes. If you also decide to make it a personal thing, the internet is filled with various materials, both articles, and videos on how best to engage in Pilates exercises.
Yoga
Yoga is a healthy exercise for everyone. You do not necessarily need to wait until you are diabetic before you engage in physical exercises, especially yoga. It is a calming exercise that helps you meditate and improve your mood, better your sleep, and eliminate the thoughts of your condition from your mind.
In addition, yoga has been discovered to help in the improvement of your blood pressure, boost the quality of your sleep, regulate your blood sugar, help you maintain a healthy weight, and lower your cholesterol levels. If you wish to start yoga, you can sign up for classes or watch online videos on how to go about them.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many techniques that can be used to improve the quality of life of people living with diabetes. These techniques include changes in diet, changes in lifestyle and habits, medications, and engaging in physical activities. All of them combined will reduce symptoms and improve the experiences of people living with diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes.
