Exercise tips for diabetics

Living with diabetes can be tough. You have to monitor your blood sugar levels and be careful of your activities and what you eat. But, you still need physical activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Here are five ways that diabetics can get the exercise they need.

Some diabetics can experience a drop in blood sugar from exercise. If the activity is too vigorous it can cause problems. The object here is managed activity in moderation. If you are a diabetic who wants to lose weight, this can still be done without compromising your health.

Exercise is important for everyone not just diabetics. The main object is to get moving. Try for thirty minutes most days of the week.

1. Walking – walking is still the best all-round exercise. You work the entire body and your cardiovascular system. Walking can be done on a treadmill, in a park or on a path around your neighborhood, whatever is convenient for you. To get the most benefit, a brisk pace is recommended if you can stand it.

2. Aerobics – aerobics is fun for people of all fitness levels because there is such a range of activities available. You can participate in step aerobics, aerobic conditioning (PT training), aerobic kickboxing and dance aerobics. For the diabetic, a low-impact type of aerobics is recommended. Try a dance or beginner aerobics class.

3. Water workouts – water has the added benefit of providing built-in resistance. As you move you are displacing the water for a harder workout. Water aerobics can be done with or without water weights. Swimming is a great form of exercise for diabetics. Swim laps in your pool or use the pool at your local gym for thirty minutes, or as long as you can stand it and build up to thirty minutes duration.

4. Lift weights – everyone can preserve their muscle mass as they age with strength training. Weight lifting exercises are also great for maintaining bone density. Lifting weights is not about heavy weights but a combination of technique and muscle usage. When you perform a variety of exercises, the muscle works harder to adapt and more muscle is built. Start with a light weight to learn the movements and increase the weight if the exercises get too easy.

5. Yoga – you may not have exercised in a long time. Ease back into it with an exercise that combines stretching with relaxation. Keeping those muscles flexible helps when you are working in the garden or doing work around the house.

Before doing any type of exercise, remember to warm up those muscles and cool down at the end to ease the heart back into a normal resting pattern. Diabetics do have to watch out for changes in their blood sugar while working but you still have a variety of exercises to choose from.