Exercise for people with diabetes acts like a medicine. Exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy lifestyle makes it easier to control diabetes. It’s probably the best diabetes treatment at home.
- It helps to keep your blood sugar in check by increasing insulin action
- It helps you lose weight
- Maintain balance, especially if you are over 40 years old
At least two to three days a week of proper cardio and weight training should sum up your fitness routine! But, remember to monitor your blood sugar levels first with a glucometer.
Workout options in your 40s if you have diabetes
1. Walking
The easiest form of exercise to get started with. All you need is a pair of good diabetes footwear to avoid heel pain.
Brisk walking about two to three times a week for up to 30 minutes raises your heart rate and is highly effective for diabetes control. Walking helps control your blood sugar levels, keeps your weight in check, improves your heart health, gives you better sleep and lowers the risk of many health problems.
2. Yoga
For a person with diabetes, practicing yoga can provide several health benefits. There’s no investment here and it’s one of the best diabetes exercise.
Yoga helps fight insulin resistance, lower the body fat, improve nerve function and reduces stress. This is most important as stress majorly affects your blood sugar levels.
4 key yoga postures for diabetes control & diabetic neuropathy
- Vrikshasana – Helps stimulate hormonal secretion of pancreas
- Dhanurasana – Bow pose helps improve functioning of intestines & pancreas
- Halasana – Plough pose helps stimulate spleen, pancreas, & activates the immune system
- Ardha Matsyendrasana – This posture massages the pancreas, kidneys, gall bladder, small intestines, & liver
3. Swimming
Great diabetes exercise as it does not stress the joints. Carry a glucometer and a snack to avoid low sugar levels.
Compared to jogging or walking, it does not put you under the radar of foot injuries. Make sure you wear diabetes footwear made for use in the pool to prevent cuts or scrapes. Swimming on alternate days of the week is good for heart health. It helps with diabetic neuropathy. So, those who suffer from numbness can benefit from swimming.
4. Stationary bike
An aerobic exercise that makes your lungs function better and heart stronger. Stationary cycling is a great diabetes exercise and an ideal diabetes treatment at home as there is no need for you to step outside.
It helps improve blood flow to your legs and burns a lot of calories. It helps to maintain a healthy weight. Cycling is one of the best exercises for diabetes as there is lack of sensation in the lower limbs due to reduced circulation.
Cycling helps avoid ulcers and many other complications related to diabetes. 2-3 times a week in your routine is good to begin with and later you can gradually increase the time and intensity as you progress.
5. Weight training
Consistently training your body twice a week helps you build muscle. With more muscle mass, your diabetes control is much better.
Hit up different muscle groups in each session and challenge your strength with different weights and reps.
Weight training helps the body to improve the way it uses blood sugar. Your body responds to insulin better, lowers the risk of several heart diseases and maintains healthy weight.
If you are working out in a gym, it’s better to monitor your blood sugar levels with a smartphone glucometer as your care team is aware of your blood sugar levels.
6. Tai chi
Has been practiced for over centuries and is excellent for people with diabetes.
Movements performed in tai chi are slow and in a very relaxed manner. Each session lasts about 30 minutes.
It helps reduce stress, improves balance, and reduces nerve damage. Tai chi is most beneficial for people over 40 years of age as it helps minimize the complications of diabetes, it improves the lung and heart function, balance, flexibility, and muscle strength.
Make sure you check with your diabetes doctor before beginning any exercise regimen. Check your sugar levels before and after your exercise.
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