Whether you live with type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, prediabetes or any other type of diabetes, you can benefit from improving your insulin sensitivity.
The four workout videos in this post can help you do just that.
Your insulin sensitivity is how effective your body is at using the insulin it produces (if you have insulin production) or you inject. The better your insulin sensitivity is, the less insulin, Metformin, or other diabetes drugs do you need to manage your blood sugars.
Improving your insulin sensitivity can make your overall diabetes management easier in both the short and the long run, and exercising is one of the most effective ways of improving your insulin sensitivity.
The workouts in this post are resistance training workouts. Resistance training simply means that you put your muscles under tension. This can be done using your own body weight or external resistance such as dumbbells or resistance bands.
If you’re new to resistance training, I suggest you start with the home bodyweight workout (video 1). When that’s no longer challenging, move on to using resistance bands or weights.
Instructions
I will demonstrate each exercise and tell you how many sets and reps to do, typically 3 sets of 10-15 or 12-15 repetitions (reps) for each exercise.
That means that you’ll do one exercise for 10-15 or 12-15 reps, rest for 30-60 seconds, do 10-15 or 12-15 more reps, rest again, and then do the last set of reps.
The reason why I’m giving you a range is that you should pick a weight that really challenges you but still allows you to do the target reps. For example, If you can only do 9 reps, the weight is too heavy, and if you can easily bang out 15, it is too light.
Of course, you probably don’t have dumbbells of every different weight at home, so use whatever you have. If you only have light dumbbells and 15 reps feel too easy, just keep going for as many reps as you can.
When you do resistance workouts, please remember that you may see an impact on your insulin sensitivity 24-36 hours after your workout, so be diligent about watching your blood sugars. If you aren’t used to resistance workouts, I really recommend you read my post about how resistance training affects your blood sugar before you do this workout.
And always listen to your body and stop if you feel pain. If you’re not used to exercising and doing a whole workout in one go is too much, just break it up into smaller sessions.
4 sessions of 5 minutes are just as effective as one session of 20 minutes.
The Workouts
Home (Low Impact) Bodyweight Workout
Home Resistance band Workout
Home Dumbbell Workout
Gym Workout
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Christel, what type of dumbells are you using?
Those are called NuBells. They’re not as widely available anymore but I liked them
This is so helpful – I just got diagnosed with PCOS (also some insulin issues) and these techniques have been helping me feel less stressed/more in control throughout the week! I’m trying to eventually get off Metformin – fingers crossed.
Thank you so much for posting!
Glad it’s helpful
I am 70 years old diagnosed as diabetic and am on tablets do you think I will be able to do the excercises as shown in the home video without injuring my muscles?
You should always consult with your medical team before starting a new exercise regime. If you do the workouts I would suggest starting with the low impact or resistance band workout and adjusting them to your fitness level. That means do it in your own tempo, skip exercises or adjust exercises if needed, and take all the breaks you need
Thank you for sharing this wonderful article. These workouts are really super and different.
How can I save these workout?
You can’t save them to your computer but you can bookmark this page in your internet browser so you can watch them whenever you like.
Thank you for writing about exercises that increase your sugar levels. I have been boxing for two years now, four to six times aweek. After each hour long session I would come home to find my sugars at 150. If I ate anything my sugars would go up. Usually my sugars are at 80-110. I didn’t understand how my HITT like work outs were making my sugars higher, and how my low intensity jogging work outs were doing the opposite. Male 36 type 2 since I was diagnosed at 10 yrs old. I am not on any medication. I had the gastric by pass surgery in 2010 and my a1c went down to 5.2 after that medical surgery.
Congratulations on all you have achieved!
What you describe is very typical blood sugar responses to anaerobic versus aerobic exercise. You could try and eat a small snack prior to your boxing sessions to see if that helps with the increase. It could be predominantly protein.
But I personally wouldn’t worry too much a about the 150 mg/dl reading and your blood sugar most likely comes down quickly after you’re done
Cristel, I just wanted to say “thanks for your generosity and love” I have had T1 for 17 years and have been battling alone. Your challenge has been great and reading your posts and emails. I will buy your book soon, it’s totally worth it. Blessings and happiness always!!!
Oh my gosh, you’re very welcome! I’m so glad the challenge has such a positive impact. I didn’t find the diabetes community until relatively late in my “diabetes life” and I agree that it’s a gamechanger. No one should have to do this alone
How can I save these workout?
You can bookmark the page. We won’t delete them any day soon so you can always come back and watch them again