Steps for Safe Exercise with Diabetes – Part 2

This is continued from the previous blog.

Remember, you don't need a gym membership to exercise. Any exercise that gets your heart pumping and makes you break a sweat will do. You don’t need a health club membership or a personal trainer. And here is a little secret: You don’t have to do 30 minutes all at once. Ten minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the afternoon, and 10 minutes after dinner is just fine.

Here are some easy daily activities that count toward your daily goal.

• Walk the dog. If you don’t have a pet, walk with a friend or neighbor. Or get some work buddies to join you in a lunchtime stroll.
• Rake leaves, mow the lawn, or dig in the dirt to clean up your garden.
• Play tag with your children or grandchildren.
• Ballroom dance. You can also take dance lessons, modern, ballet, or hip-hop. It doesn’t matter what type of dance you choose, as long as you get moving.
• Roller skate. It burns about 225 calories per hour and uses muscles that may be rusty. Make sure the area you do this is safe.
• Play tennis or any team sport. You’ll make some new friends and stay active.
• Swim. It's a great total body workout and helps you relax. It’s also a low-impact workout that is easy on your joints.
• Take an evening after-dinner walk. Walking at the end of day can help you unwind and feel less stressed after a busy day. Challenge yourself with plenty of hills and new routes. Just make sure that the area for walking is safe.
• If it is difficult to find an area safe for walking, consider a mall for walking as they are air conditioned and you can do your walking during the day instead of early morning or late evening when it is cooler out. Also, malls are great during the winter.
• Wash your car or clean the house. Even if you get your closets in order instead of doing a deep cleaning, you’re still moving.

Try to sneak activity into your day when and where you can:

1. When doing work around the house, pump up some fun music and make all your movements bigger. Squat while you work. Bend from the hips and knees like you're sitting down in a chair. Make sure your knees don't go farther forward than your toes.
2. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, if possible. If you’re going to a high floor, get off a couple of floors below and climb the rest of the way.
3. Don't call or email your colleagues at work. Walk over to a co-worker’s desk for a face-to-face.
4. Walk or pace when you're on the phone, at home, or at work.
5. Park your car at the far end of the parking lot when shopping unless there will be a lot of packages. At the grocery store, they will normally let you walk to the car and drive up to have the groceries put in your car.

The list does not include all the possibilities, so don't think because your favorite dancing or a form of exercise that you can do is not listed, you get a pass. Far from this, if you can do it, get moving.

Steps for Safe Exercise with Diabetes – Part 1

Authors on WebMD seem to always leave out important points when they write. The topic is safe exercising, yet they do not mention the blood glucose levels for safe exercising. This author did advise patients with diabetes to talk to their doctor and receive an okay before starting an exercise program. Make sure your doctor reviews your diabetes drugs also.

You may have heard exercise helps you burn extra glucose in your body and that it can make your body more sensitive to insulin, which is a good thing. It’s true! Exercise can also bust stress and boost your mood and overall health. Here’s how to get moving, ideally 30 minutes a day. Many people do not start out gradually and overdo exercise at the beginning. Unless you have been a person that has exercised on a regular basis, always start out slowly to not injure yourself.

Exercise Safely:

• Generally, the blood glucose guidelines for exercising for all types of diabetes are 100 to 250 mg/dl (5.6 to 13.9 mmol/L). For most people, this is a safe pre-exercise blood glucose range. See my blog here.
• Carry at least 15 grams (or more) of a fast-acting carbohydrate in case of low blood glucose. It might be a half-cup of fruit juice, five hard candies, or glucose tablets, or gels that equal 15 grams.
• Wear well-fitting shoes that are for the activity you’re doing, and choose athletic polyester socks. They dry quicker and cause less friction than all-cotton socks. This is good advice unless you are swimming.
• Inspect your feet before and after exercise. Check for blisters or sores.
• Drink plenty of fluid before, during, and after exercise.
• Wear a medical ID bracelet or a medical ID on a necklace, or carry a medical ID in your pocket.
• Check your blood glucose level before and after exercise to make sure it’s in your target range. Your doctor can tell you what it should be before you start exercising or use the guideline above. This is very important if you take insulin. After an intense workout or exercising for a long time, you may want to eat something with at least 5 grams of carbohydrates within 2 hours. This will help you avoid low blood glucose.
• If you become shaky, anxious, or more sweaty than usual, or feel a change in your heartbeat, stop exercising right away and check your blood glucose. If it is low, follow your doctor’s advice about how to treat it.
• Always warm up for 5 to 10 minutes at the start of your workout. For instance, walk or bike slowly. Do 5 to 10 minutes of cool-down and gentle stretching at the end.

Continued in the next blog.