8 EXERCISES FOR DIABETICS (AT HOME AND OUTSIDE) - ARTE - 2025

There are exercises for diabetics that help treat disease, improve health, well-being, quality of life, and ultimately increase happiness. In diabetics, exercise, along with diet and medication, is essential to help reduce blood sugar and lose weight. However, there is a high percentage of those affected who do not practice it.

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease characterized by the inability of the pancreas to produce insulin or simply when the body is not able to make good use of the insulin that is produced.

Insulin is a hormone that allows glucose from the food we eat to be distributed through the blood to the cells of the body to produce energy. If this is not produced or does not work effectively, glucose accumulates in the blood, causing damage to organs and tissues.

Treatment for diabetes forms a trinity: diet, medication, and physical exercise. We will pay attention to the latter. It is estimated that only 39% of American diabetics participate regularly in some physical activity. This data is quite sad considering that, by taking a regular exercise program, excess weight would be controlled and medication could be saved.

Here are 8 types of exercises that could help improve the quality of life of diabetics and their benefits.

8 healthy exercises for diabetics

1- walk

The most basic, but also the most recommended by doctors for people with type 2 diabetes. Walking or doing some aerobic exercise at least three times a week can help improve your heart rate.

2- Swimming

An example of aerobic exercise is swimming. Ideal activity since it does not put pressure on the joints and is a less stressful exercise.In addition, for people with obesity it is more comfortable than walking or running, since they help to avoid knee, ankle or foot injuries, which are very prone to suffering from the body weight.

3- Stationary bike

Another type of aerobic exercise. Ideal for strengthening the heart and lungs. Because their activity takes place indoors, diabetics can forget having falls, the weather, or being away from home. Its greatest benefit for the body is the burning of calories and especially the improvement of blood flow in the legs.

4- Weight training

Exercising with weights helps increase muscle mass, key in people with diabetes. This is because if you lose muscle mass, it is more difficult to maintain the correct blood sugar levels.

A training plan with this type of exercise could be three times a week, leaving a day of rest between each day. Depending on your fitness level, doing 3 or 4 sets of each exercise with 15 repetitions would be a good scheme.

5- Tai-chi

This gymnastics of coordinated movements in a slow and precise way, can be an excellent option for people with diabetes. Taking 30 minutes a day to help reduce stress or improve balance.

6- Yoga

Like tai-chi, many studies show its benefits in people with diabetes problems. Helps reduce body fat, fight insulin resistance, and improve nerve function.

In addition, it is a good remedy against stress, which results in the regulation of blood sugar levels. How much time to dedicate to yoga? The more the better.

7- Dancing

Good exercise for the body and mind. For diabetics, it's fun physical activity to lose weight, improve flexibility, reduce stress, and improve blood sugar levels. For excessively obese people, they can carry out the activity leaning on a platform or sitting in a chair.

8- Others

• Carry out activities around the house that require physical effort such as walking a lot or climbing stairs.
• Take your dog for a walk. Remember that walking is the activity most recommended by specialists and in this case you will be accompanied by a faithful friend.
• Play with children. Your energy will rub off on you and you will engage in aerobic activity almost without realizing it.
• If you have a garden or orchard, take time to take care of it. The precise movements when carrying out gardening tasks and their de-stressing function can be equated to yoga or tai-chi.
• Wash your car. Another aerobic activity that will help you maintain strong muscles. Taking into account that you will have to dedicate between thirty minutes and an hour, you will complete your physical routine for the day with the satisfaction in addition to having your car clean.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. More effective aerobic activity in burning calories as well as promoting endurance. The only downside is that it is a limited exercise for people with bad knees.

Benefits of sports practice

The practice of physical exercise is considered a direct and effective channel for the prevention of the various pathologies that are obtained when suffering from diabetes.

Taking into account the report carried out by the Working Group on Diabetes and Exercise of the Spanish Diabetes Society (SED), the benefits of exercise in the disease can be established in four frameworks:

• About cardiovascular risk factors
• Prevention of neoplasms
• Psychological
• Economical

Prevents cardiovascular diseases

Cardiovascular diseases are one of the main problems for diabetics. This is due in large part to physical inactivity, a driver of coronary artery disease among other heart diseases.

Regularly practicing aerobic and resistance exercises would improve, both primarily and secondarily, the prevention of these types of diseases:

• Arterial hypertension: its incidence is minimized considerably with the practice of physical exercise, thanks to the reduction of peripheral vascular resistance. It also helps to improve left ventricular hypertrophy.
• Dyslipidemia: as with arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia is one of the most common causes in diabetics, but thanks to physical exercise, the levels decrease considerably.
• Insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus: numerous studies assure that exercise helps increase insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetics and that its effect persists up to 24 hours later.
• Obesity: studies show a decrease in blood glucose levels in obese people after practicing physical exercise.
• Smoking habit: practicing sports facilitates its long-term quitting. Specifically, one study suggests that about 12% stop smoking after the first year.
• Fibrinolytic system: research correlates the practice of physical exercise with the decrease in fibrinogen levels, especially in the elderly.

Prevention of neoplasms

In addition to creating complications in organs such as the heart, nerves, feet, or kidneys, diabetes is a risk factor for developing cancer. Specifically, the chances of developing colon, breast or pancreatic cancer, among others, are doubled.

The reason, although not confirmed, may be the multiplying effect of the cells that insulin has, since it would spread, among others, cancer cells.

At the same time, blood sugar levels or inflammation are also viewed with suspicion as a possible cause of developing cancer.

To prevent this serious complication, exercising is a natural medicine to take advantage of.

Psychological

There are numerous studies on the psychological benefits of physical activity. Compared to sedentary people, an active individual presents better results on scales of cognitive functions. This is shown in their response to stress or symptoms of depression or anxiety. The risk is considerably reduced.

In addition, a person who is in good physical condition or frequently practices sports has better symptoms of self-confidence and self-esteem, reducing behaviors of laziness, undervaluation, despondency, discouragement or sadness.

Economical

The health costs faced by states are enormous and economic policies look at the expense with suspicion, since it can create a collapse that is difficult to solve.

With all the health benefits of sport, the savings in medical costs would be a huge relief to the state coffers. For example, in Spain 23,000 million euros are invested in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Precautions and tips

Although some of the precautions are not directed only to diabetics, but to all types of audiences, it is worth remembering them, since they are just as important:

Check your blood sugar levels

It is important to have controlled, through medical certificates, your regular blood levels before, during and after a workout.

Do not always forget to carry carbohydrates with you

It is advisable to always carry a soda or fruit juice, rich in carbohydrates, in order to re-establish the fluid levels that are lost during exercise.

Don't hide your condition

If you suffer from diabetes and carry out physical activity in sports centers or gyms, let the monitors or employees know, they will know how to help you improve results and especially to avoid major ills if any complication occurs during physical activity. Wearing an identification bracelet always helps to respond quickly in an emergency.

Wear good shoes

Feet in good condition are key to carry out sports practice in correct conditions. You need to find out what type of footwear best fits your feet based on the support you need. In specialized sports stores they will be able to tell you.

Arm yourself with a friend

If you know a friend who suffers from diabetes, encourage him to play sports with you. If you don't know, do so anyway. According to research carried out by the University of Missouri (United States), people who exercise with a partner improve in performance and perseverance.

Lean on technology

With the widespread use of smartphones, smartwachs or activity wristbands, sports performance applications have exploded. This is a very lively way to monitor and exceed your goals. In addition, according to Stanford University, people who use a pedometer increase their activity by 27%.

Others

Details such as writing down progress on an agenda, rewarding yourself after reaching a goal, sticking motivational post-it notes or reminders, setting schedules.

Bibliography

1. Spanish Diabetes Society (SED). Diabetes and exercise. 2006
2. Masana L. Mechanisms of dyslipidemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Clin Invest Arterioscl. 2002; 14 Suppl 1: 24-9.
3. Stratton JR et al. Effects of physical conditioning on fibrinolitic variables and fibrinogen in young and old healthy adults. 1991; 83: 1,692-1,697.
4. Thompson PD, et al. Exercise and physical activity in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Circulation. 2003; 107 (24): 3,109-3,116.
5. Ussher MH, West R, Taylor AH, McEwen A. Exercise interventions
6. Prat, A (2014). Physical exercise and colon cancer prevention