It is a good idea to wear enclosed shoes and to check your feet before and after exercise for any changes or concerns. Plan to do your physical activity at regular times on set days to reduce the chance of hypoglycaemia.

Read more about BGLs and exercise. If you wear medical alert identification, such as a bracelet or chain, ensure you have this on. Apply sunscreen and protect your head and body against the sun.

Drink plenty of water before, during and after exercising to avoid dehydration. Check your BGLs every minutes if the intensity, type or duration is new to you, or you experience symptoms of hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia.

Exercise should be postponed until you have treated your hypoglycaemia. piece of fruit or small glass of milk before you start exercising. While exercise is generally a safe activity, there are some warning signs to look out for. These signs let you know that you may have overdone it, or your body is having an abnormal reaction to exercise.

If the symptom subsides see your GP before starting exercise again. Remember to always discuss your exercise plans with your GP or an Accredited Exercise Physiologist especially if you have been inactive for a long time, have any medical conditions or injuries.

Being active can help you manage your diabetes by keeping your blood glucose levels BGLs within your target range and helping you to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. It also helps you to relieve stress, sleep better, feel fitter, have stronger bones and is an opportunity to interact with your family and friends and meet new people.

Doing any physical activity is better than doing none. If you are new to exercise, start off by doing small sessions of your chosen activity — just minute bouts are enough to gain benefit. Gradually, as your fitness improves, increase this to minutes.

Adults are recommended to be active on most, preferably all, days of the week. Research shows this effect only lasts for hours though, so we need to do it regularly! Why not mix it up? Try doing both moderate and vigorous activity each week to make up the recommended amount and to keep it interesting!

Exercise that is too light may not give you the recommended health benefits while exercise that is too hard can place you at risk of over-training and injury.

Undertake muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days each week. Strengthening activities include anything that requires your body to move against a weight or gravity. This would include activities such as lifting tins of food, repeated sitting and standing from a chair or seated leg raises.

Minimise the amount of time spent in prolonged sitting. Break up long periods of sitting as often as possible. Meet a friend for a walking date rather than a coffee, stand on public transport rather than sit or ask whether your workplace can provide standing workstations.

Increasing your general physical activity is also helpful, e. taking the stairs instead of the lift, moving during the ad breaks of your favourite TV program, completing housework, and gardening. Avoid watching too much TV or sitting at the computer for a long time. Regular exercise is an important part of your diabetes management.

It will help your insulin to work more efficiently and assist with your blood glucose management. However, if you have fluctuating or high blood glucose levels i.

Exercise in these circumstances can actually elevate blood glucose and increase ketone production. It may be necessary to reduce your insulin dose prior to exercise, depending on the intensity and duration.

Insulin adjustment will vary with each individual so it is important to discuss appropriate adjustments with your doctor or Credentialled Diabetes Educator.

You may also require extra carbohydrate before, during and after exercise. Discuss adjusting carbohydrate intake with your doctor or dietitian. How much exercise should I do? Benefits of exercise Exercising safely with diabetes Exercise programs for people with diabetes A guide to BGLs and exercise Steps to get started with exercise Exercise advice for people with type 1 diabetes How much exercise should I do?

Plan ahead — Dedicate time each day to exercise, it will be easier to keep to a schedule and you will start to form a routine.

Motivation — Surround yourself with positive role models to remind you why exercise is important and encourage you to continue. Reward yourself — Treat yourself to new exercise gear or a massage to keep you motivated and celebrate your achievements.

Benefits of exercise Physical activity is one of the best things you can do for your overall health. For a person with diabetes, exercise can help: Insulin to work better, which will improve your diabetes management Reduce insulin resistance and reduce blood glucose levels Improve joint and muscle movement, and strengthen bones Maintain a healthy weight Lower your blood pressure Reduce your risk of heart disease Reduce stress and anxiety Improve your sleep.

RELATED: 6 Great Exercises for People Living With Diabetes. Get the go-ahead from your healthcare team. Talk to your primary care physician or endocrinologist before beginning a workout program, recommends the Mayo Clinic. Make a plan to ensure your blood sugar stays in a healthy range.

Again, talking to your medical team can be important, as is testing your blood sugar before and after exercise. When first getting started with exercise, you may also need to test during your workout, she says. The American Diabetes Association offers a guide it calls the rule.

RELATED: How a Marathoner With Type 1 Diabetes Uses a CGM to Control Her Blood Sugar. In addition to being one of the best ways to stay motivated to exercise when you have diabetes, this gradual approach to exercise will reduce the risk of exercise aches, pains, and injury. One study found that low-intensity physical activity 15 minutes per day or 90 minutes per week can also help improve sugars, cholesterol, and increase life expectancy by 3 years.

Think outside of structured workouts when considering movement. Dedicated workouts are great, but including everyday activity and physical recreation is equally, if not more, important, Laughlin says. Performing everyday physical activities like walking while doing your errands, taking out the trash, and cleaning the house also helps maintain functional strength and mobility.

One study found that even small amounts of physical activity can improve post-meal blood sugar, insulin levels, cholesterol, and weight. RELATED: 8 Ways to Sit Less and Move More Each Day. Start with low-impact exercise, especially if you have nerve damage.

Stationary cycling, weight-bearing strength training, swimming, and other low- to no-impact workouts are gentle ways to ease into exercise. Gasnick says. Focus on large muscle groups for maximum benefits.

When it comes to resistance training, multijoint exercises such as squats, lunges, rows, and chest presses come with the greatest per-rep benefits for both blood sugar management and the progression of related complications, says Occhipinti.

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We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.

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Sandy Bassin, MD of American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Next up video playing in 10 seconds. RELATED: What Updated Exercise Guidelines Mean for People With Diabetes And importantly, weekly workouts should include resistance, or strength, training at least two or three days, preferably on nonconsecutive days.

How Exercise Improves Insulin Health Exercise helps manage prediabetes and type 2 diabetes by lowering blood glucose levels and improving insulin sensitivity throughout the body, according to a study. RELATED: The Health Benefits of Strength Training for People With Type 2 Diabetes Improving Weight Loss Losing just 5 to 10 percent of your body weight can improve your A1C, which is the two- to three-month average of your blood sugar levels, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

RELATED: Animal Study Sheds Light on How Strength Training Reduces Insulin Resistance How Exercise Helps Prevent Complications of Type 2 Diabetes Apart from managing blood sugar and insulin levels, exercise functions to slow, stop, and in some cases, even reverse the long-term effects that occur due to the progression of type 2 diabetes.

Here are some of the main ways that physical activity combats insulin resistance-related complications: Improving Vascular Health When you exercise, your muscles release a host of compounds that benefit vascular and circulatory health, Occhipinti says.

RELATED: 7 Tips to Help You Stick With Exercise When Managing Diabetes Lowering Inflammation Inflammation throughout the body is believed to be a primary cause of the progression of type 2 diabetes and its related conditions such as arthrosclerosis arterial plaque buildup , cognitive decline , and joint deterioration , according to one article.

RELATED: The 7 Best Low-Impact Exercises for People With Diabetes Restoring Nerve Function In one study , men and women significantly reduced diabetes-related pain and neuropathy in just 10 weeks of exercise.

RELATED: 6 Great Exercises for People Living With Diabetes 6 Tips to Get Started with Exercise 1. RELATED: How a Marathoner With Type 1 Diabetes Uses a CGM to Control Her Blood Sugar 3.

RELATED: 8 Ways to Sit Less and Move More Each Day 5. Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking. Resources MacDonald CS, Johansen MY, Nielsen SM, et al. Dose-Response Effects of Exercise on Glucose-Lowering Medications for Type 2 Diabetes: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Mayo Clinic Proceedings. March Long-Term Effects of Lifestyle Intervention or Metformin on Diabetes Development and Microvascular Complications Over Year Follow-Up: The Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study.

November Prediabetes — Your Chance to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. December 30, Lifestyle Management. Diabetes Care. January 1, Church TS, Blair SN, Cocreham S, et al. Effects of Aerobic and Resistance Training on Hemoglobin A1c Levels in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

November 24, Bassin SR, Srinath R. The Impact of Physical Activity in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes.

Sticking to an exercise program for even just eight weeks can lower blood sugar levels to points that are on par with diabetes medications, studies show. And blood sugar control is important for people with diabetes, a common condition in which our bodies either fail to produce insulin or do not use it properly.

Insulin is a hormone that helps the cells in our bodies absorb the glucose sugar in our blood, which we use for energy. And exercise is a good way to accomplish that goal. In addition to moderate-to-high intensity cardiovascular exercise that elevates the heart rate significantly such as brisk walking, jogging, swimming, and cycling , resistance training such as body weight exercises, free weights, and gym machines is also crucial, she adds.

Duah says. Visit the Yale Medicine Diabetes Content Center for more diabetes-related articles and videos. Some workouts, such as heavy weightlifting, sprints, and competitive sports, cause you to produce stress hormones such as adrenaline.

Adrenaline raises blood glucose levels by stimulating your liver to release glucose. The food you eat before or during a workout may also contribute to a glucose rise. Eat too many carbs before exercising, and your sweat session may not be enough to keep your blood glucose within your goal range.

Now that you know what causes a blood glucose rise after or during exercise, you may expect and accept it during your next workout session because you know the benefits of exercise outweigh the rise in glucose. Physical activity is important for everyone with diabetes.

Managing glucose levels with any form of exercise is possible once you understand your personal patterns doing regular blood glucose checks and keeping a workout log can help and making adjustments that make sense to you and your lifestyle.

Breadcrumb Home You Can Manage and Thrive with Diabetes Fitness Why Does Exercise Sometimes Raise Blood Glucose? Adrenaline Can Raise Blood Glucose Levels Using your muscles helps burn glucose and improves the way insulin works.

Strategies to Keep Blood Glucose From Rising During Workouts Now that you know what causes a blood glucose rise after or during exercise, you may expect and accept it during your next workout session because you know the benefits of exercise outweigh the rise in glucose.

Practice relaxation techniques such as paced breathing, visualization, or meditation before and during your workout to minimize the adrenaline effect.

Consider moving your workout to later in the day if you usually exercise in the early mornings. The dawn phenomenon, a natural rise in blood glucose that occurs between about and a.