6 Tips for Strength Training With Diabetes
The ADA suggests people with type 2 diabetes engage in 2–3 strength training sessions per week on nonconsecutive days. Here are some strategies to help you get the most benefits from your strength training sessions.
1. Talk to Your Healthcare Team
As with any exercise program, check with your healthcare team before starting a weight training regimen, making a point to discuss your blood sugar management specifically.
“People don’t typically associate strength training with low blood sugar, but some patients will have significant impacts on blood sugar with strength training,” says Wilson. Your doctor may recommend testing your blood sugar level before, during, and after exercise, as well as eating carbohydrates around workout time to prevent or address hypoglycemia, she adds.
2. Ask for Help
“To gain more health benefits from physical activity programs, participation in supervised training is recommended over non-supervised programs,” says Wilson. For guidance, consider working out with a certified trainer or joining a weight training class, both of which are available in person and virtually.
3. Focus on the Body’s Largest Muscle Groups
Occhipinti recommends working on your gluteal muscles, hamstrings, quadriceps, latissimus dorsi, trapezius, and chest muscles. Some of the best strength exercises that target these muscle groups are compound, multijoint movements such as squats, lunges, deadlifts, hamstring curls, rows, lat pull-downs, chest presses, and push-ups, he says.
4. Follow a Plan
Mapping out what you want your workouts to look like can help you make and keep a routine, says Audra Wilson, RD, CSCS, a bariatric dietitian and strength and conditioning specialist at the Northwestern Medicine Metabolic Health and Surgical Weight Loss Center at Delnor Hospital in Geneva, Illinois.
If you plan to strength train two or three times per week, she says you’re better off making all of your workouts total body workouts. However, if your strength training is going to be more frequent, such as four or five days per week, alternating between upper body and lower body workouts, or push and pull workouts, can help ensure that each muscle group still gets the recovery time it needs.
Wilson recommends trying new variations of your favorite exercise or altering your number of sets or reps every 8–12 weeks to keep your workouts — and results — progressing.
5. Prioritize Recovery
Giving yourself one (if not two) days in between working a particular muscle group can allow it time to repair while still training it with sufficient frequency to adapt and grow, says Wilson. Great recovery day options include foam rolling, stretching, and low-intensity cardio like walking or cycling.
6. Consider Multiple Tools
Barbells, dumbbells, and weight machines can be useful strength training tools, but they aren’t mandatory, says Occhipinti. Resistance bands, filled duffle bags, and other household items are also effective in loading the muscles and are particularly great for helping you log more at-home workouts.
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