Physical activity is a key factor in maintaining and improving insulin sensitivity.
The majority of patients with type 2 diabetes don’t exercise enough or don’t exercise at all. Research has proven that being active can have an extremely positive impact on health and you don’t need to lift 80kg or run a marathon to do it. Physical activity covers all forms of muscular movement including strenuous physical work, walking, cycling, running and household tasks like cleaning and gardening. No matter what your age, weight, or current level of physical fitness: if you start exercising you could improve your insulin sensitivity a lot.
Daily exercise has both immediate and longer-term effects on insulin sensitivity. The immediate effects are evident after a single exercise session and can last up to 72 hours post-exercise. The long-term effects are visible in the long run but the more you exercise, the better your insulin sensitivity will get.
Other benefits of being active with diabetes include:
- better blood pressure
- lower cholesterol levels
- improves your sleep
- helps your joints and flexibility
- benefits your mind as well as your body
What training is best to improve insulin sensitivity?
Any form of exercise is great. If you’ve been inactive for a while, even a short 30 min walk every day might help you improve insulin sensitivity! The benefit you get from these physical activities really depends on your fitness level: if you already train, for example, you could introduce some interval training, resistance training or running to your routine to get the most of it.
I already talked about how running is great to fight type 2 diabetes so let’s focus on interval and resistance training today 🙂
In interval training, you work on time and intensity. If you’re running for example, you could run at a slow pace for 2 minutes and then run as fast as you can for 60 seconds. You can repeat this pattern throughout your exercise session and can do the same on a bike or a rowing machine if you go to the gym.
During a resistance training workout your body works against external resistance provided by your own body weight, gravity, bars, bands or dumbbells. You should ideally do two resistance training workouts per week, on non-consecutive days. You can do it home, in your living room or in your garden if you have one, and every workout should not last more than 45 minutes.
The key to get the most from your exercise routine is to mix it up. I found out that doing some resistance training, interval training and aerobic exercise has improved my endurance, speed and strength. Most of all, my blood sugar levels have dropped significantly. Mixing and alternating different workouts is also beneficial for your mind as you won’t get bored 🙂 It is also great for your body and you should ideally increase the difficulty level of your training sessions every month.
My exercise plan to improve insulin sensitivity
If you are going to start exercising now or if you are already doing it, I would strongly recommend you to write down your training plan and print it. Put it somewhere you can always see it, print it twice if needed! I’ve got mine on the fridge and also in my bedroom. I can assure you that seeing it every day will motivate you and also remind you that you don’t have any excuse to be a couch potato 🙂
This is how my weekly exercise plan looks like. I often do yoga on running days but I haven’t put it here as it’s something I do if I feel like it or if I feel stiff.
- Monday: resistance training (legs)
- Tuesday: 8K run
- Wednesday: 5K recovery run
- Thursday: resistance training (arms)
- Friday: 6K run (HIIT)
- Saturday: yoga
- Sunday: yoga (optional)
I’ve just started with yoga and if you are a beginner like me I would really recommend you to start with Yoga with Adriene. Her youtube channel is full of great videos for both beginners and advanced yogi! 🙂