Weight Lifting for Type 2 Diabetes

Benefits of Weight Lifting for Type 2 Diabetes

• Weight training can help lower blood sugar levels and potentially reduce health complication risks
• A 2023 study showed that individuals with type 2 diabetes who engaged in strength training alone experienced greater improvements in blood sugar levels compared to those who did cardio alone
• Optimal blood sugar control arises from combining strength training with aerobic exercise.
• The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends adults with type 2 diabetes perform strength training at least two to three times per week, in addition to at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise weekly.
• Consulting a doctor is important before starting a new exercise routine, especially due to potential complications like heart disease, peripheral neuropathy, diabetic retinopathy, blood pressure issues, and osteoporosis.

How Weight Lifting Eases Type 2 Diabetes Management

• Strength training can help the body process glucose and use insulin effectively.

Burns Up Blood Sugar

• Strength training utilizes the glycolytic, or glucose-using, metabolic system for energy.
• Strength-training workouts use stored muscle glycogen for fuel, and once depleted, the body mobilizes glycogen from the liver and blood, which decreases blood glucose.
• This process depletes stored muscle and liver glycogen, making space for blood glucose after eating.

Improves Glucose Storage

• Trained muscles have a higher capacity to store blood glucose as glycogen, which lowers blood glucose levels and improves glucose management.

Spurs Weight Loss

• Losing 5 to 10% of body weight can improve A1C scores
• Strength training aids fat loss by increasing lean muscle mass, which burns calories even during rest.

Targets Harmful Belly Fat

• Abdominal fat can worsen insulin resistance and complicate blood sugar management
• Visceral fat cells produce chemicals and hormones that inhibit effective insulin use.
• High-intensity resistance training, combined with moderate endurance training and diet, reduces visceral fat levels in people with metabolic syndrome.

Protection Against Diabetes Complications

• Strength training improves insulin health and reduces high blood sugar levels

Improves Heart Health

• Strength training increases HDL ("good") cholesterol and reduces LDL ("bad") levels, also helping lower high blood pressure

Boosts Bone Density

• Weight-bearing strength training, especially from a standing position, strengthens bones in the legs, spine, and hips, reducing fracture risk.

Prevents Age-Related Muscle Loss

• Strength training combats muscle loss that occurs with age.
• Type 2 diabetes is an independent risk factor for accelerated muscle strength decline.
• Sarcopenia (severe age-related muscle degradation) is linked to loss of physical function, increased risk of falls, hospitalization, and early death.

Reduces Risk of Peripheral Neuropathy and Vision Loss

• Chronically high blood sugar can cause glucose molecules to attach to red blood cells, impeding healthy blood flow in small vessels, like those in the eyes and nerves of the hands and feet.
• Strength training improves blood flow, reducing the risk of peripheral neuropathy and diabetic retinopathy.

Tips for Starting Strength Training

• The ADA advises people with type 2 diabetes to have two or three strength-training sessions weekly, on nonconsecutive days.

Talk to Your Healthcare Team

• Checking with a healthcare team before starting a weight-training regimen is crucial, especially to discuss blood sugar management.
• Monitoring blood sugar levels before, during, and after exercise, and consuming carbohydrates around workout times may be recommended to prevent hypoglycemia.

Ask for Help

• Supervised training programs can offer greater health benefits than unsupervised programs.
• Consider working with a certified trainer or joining a weight-training class in person or online.

Focus on the Body’s Largest Muscle Groups

• Concentrate on working the glutes, hamstrings, quads, lats, traps, and chest.
• Effective exercises include compound, multijoint movements like squats, lunges, deadlifts, hamstring curls, rows, lat pull-downs, chest presses, and push-ups.

Follow a Plan

• Mapping out workouts helps in maintaining a routine.
• Total-body workouts are recommended two or three times per week.
• More frequent training (four or five days per week) can alternate between upper- and lower-body, or push-and-pull workouts, to allow muscle groups recovery time.
• Vary exercises or adjust sets and reps to keep workouts progressive.

Prioritize Recovery

• Allowing one or two days between working a muscle group aids repair
• Great options include foam rolling, stretching, and low-intensity cardio like walking or cycling.

Consider Multiple Tools

• Useful strength-training tools include barbells, dumbbells, and weight machines.
• Effective at-home alternatives include resistance bands, filled duffle bags, and household items.