Diabete | How to do fitness training for people with diabetes

The role of brisk walking, jogging, cycling, and other aerobic exercises in controlling blood sugar has long been recognized by everyone. With the deepening of research on strength training, more and more scholars have realized its multi-faceted benefits for diabetic patients and compared it with the effects of aerobic exercise.

A comprehensive study of many years has found that strength training can reduce the glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) of diabetic patients by about 0.6%, and a series of studies in the United Kingdom have confirmed that for every 1% drop in HbA1c, diabetes-related mortality can be reduced by 21%; the incidence of myocardial infarction It will drop by 14%; the incidence of stroke will drop by 12%; the incidence of microvascular disease will drop by 37%; the rate of cataract extraction will drop by 19%; the amputation or mortality caused by the peripheral vascular disease will drop by 43%; the incidence of heart failure will drop by 16%.

The American Academy of Sports Medicine ACSM, the American Diabetes Association ADA, and the Australian Institute of Sports and Sports Science all recommend strength training twice or more per week.

In the research comparing aerobic exercise and strength training, it is found that the role of strength training in blood sugar control is comparable to or even better than that of aerobic exercise. Strength training can increase the quality of skeletal muscle, and skeletal muscle is the main tissue that consumes sugar. In insulin-sensitive glucose utilization, the consumption of skeletal muscle can be as high as 80%.

Therefore, increasing the quality of skeletal muscle through strength training can help control blood sugar. Many diabetes prevention and treatment institutions in the world recommend that people with diabetes should not only do aerobic exercise but also strength training. The best exercise program is a combination of aerobic exercise + strength training. What needs to be reminded is that although strength training is beneficial, it should not be carried out blindly. It needs safe, scientific, and effective training under the guidance of professionals.