Other Health Benefits of Strength Training for People With TD1
The perks of lifting weights are many and varied, but some have special importance for people who live with diabetes.
Cardiovascular Health
Heart disease is a concern for people with any type of diabetes. While cardio exercise is called that for a reason, strength training can be beneficial for your ticker, too.
“Resistance training supports heart health by improving blood pressure, cholesterol profiles, and overall metabolic health,” says Jessica Jones, CDCES, RDN, a certified diabetes care and education specialist and the cofounder of Diabetes Digital, a virtual nutrition counseling platform for people with diabetes and prediabetes.
The American Heart Association says weight training, alone or in combination with aerobic training, can improve cardiovascular disease risk factors.
Visceral Fat
“People with type 1 diabetes don’t inherently carry more visceral fat than people without diabetes,” says Jones. “The bigger issue is that when visceral fat does develop, it can raise cardiovascular risk even in people who appear lean.”
Research finds that resistance training can decrease visceral fat, even without calorie restriction.
Diabetic Neuropathy
“Studies have looked at reduction in neuropathic pain with a variety of types of exercise training and recommended it for adults with type 2 diabetes, but studies looking at type 1 diabetes are sparse,” says Colberg. Despite the lack of data in this population, she adds, “it is probably safe to conclude that people with T1D will have similar, positive responses to exercise training, including strength training.”
Jones says it’s key to anyone who has neuropathy to take precautions about the type of strength exercises they try.
“If your gait is affected, it is safer to focus on non-weight-bearing strength exercises like machine-based or seated workouts,” she says. “This keeps you active while protecting your feet.”
Muscle Loss
Type 1 diabetes may contribute to muscle loss, as does advancing age and a sedentary lifestyle, and resistance training is a crucial way to maintain muscle and build even more.
“Resistance training increases muscle mass, strength, and physical function and improves body composition, thereby counteracting muscle loss and muscle loss risk across the lifespan,” says Alex McDonald, MD, a family medicine and sports medicine physician with Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center in Fontana, California.
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