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I have been doing some more research for TeamBG (www.teambloodglucose.com) recently around using exercise to manage Type 2 diabetes. We all know that in theory it's a good thing, (I'm currently putting together a video to explain exactly why and how exercise helps manage blood glucose control). There has always been a bit of a debate around what sort of exercise you should do to get maximum effect and particularly what level of intensity you should exercise at though - so yes it's right to say that any exercise is good, but is it better to cycle full blast for ten minutes, or go for an hour's walk?.
Well I dug up this piece of research that I just had to share (and I'm terribly sorry if this has already been posted somewhere and I'm only just catching up!), because personally I think it is pretty groundbreaking in its implications.
The research tests exercise intensity and it's impact on various measurements such as blood glucose levels, VO2 max (so aerobic fitness), fat composition etc. What's interesting though is that the exercise focusses on WALKING.
I've perhaps been under the misconception that to really see the benefits of intensive exercise you need to get your running shoes on, take the mountain road on your bike, or get pumping iron until you're gasping for air. Apparently not - and this is what I find so exciting!
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/36/2/228.full
This study took individuals and put them in a walking program - the notable comparisons for me are the 'Continuous walking' group, verses the 'Interval walking' group. Interval walking involved walking at a fast pace for three minutes, followed by slow pace walking for another three minutes.
I won't go into the detail of the number of hours walked, how long the study lasted etc, because in many respects it is irrelevant. The important thing to note is that just by combining fast and slow pace in a walk, the health benefits over just maintaining continuous moderate activity are nothing short of staggering!
Take a look at these charts:
Black denotes Interval Walking
Diagonals denotes Continous walking group
White denotes 'Control' group
Fat mass is reduced, insulin sensitivity goes up, more weight is lost, VO2max improves by 16.1 (that's huge!).
The thing I think that we can all take away from this is that we don't have to get running shoes on to get the benefits of intensive exercise. Just by varying the pace of our walk, our swim, our cycle on the exercise bike, our arm lifts etc and by mixing things up a little bit, we should actually enjoy more of the benefits from the exercise that we do.
Happy Days!
Well I dug up this piece of research that I just had to share (and I'm terribly sorry if this has already been posted somewhere and I'm only just catching up!), because personally I think it is pretty groundbreaking in its implications.
The research tests exercise intensity and it's impact on various measurements such as blood glucose levels, VO2 max (so aerobic fitness), fat composition etc. What's interesting though is that the exercise focusses on WALKING.
I've perhaps been under the misconception that to really see the benefits of intensive exercise you need to get your running shoes on, take the mountain road on your bike, or get pumping iron until you're gasping for air. Apparently not - and this is what I find so exciting!
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/36/2/228.full
This study took individuals and put them in a walking program - the notable comparisons for me are the 'Continuous walking' group, verses the 'Interval walking' group. Interval walking involved walking at a fast pace for three minutes, followed by slow pace walking for another three minutes.
I won't go into the detail of the number of hours walked, how long the study lasted etc, because in many respects it is irrelevant. The important thing to note is that just by combining fast and slow pace in a walk, the health benefits over just maintaining continuous moderate activity are nothing short of staggering!
Take a look at these charts:
Black denotes Interval Walking
Diagonals denotes Continous walking group
White denotes 'Control' group
Fat mass is reduced, insulin sensitivity goes up, more weight is lost, VO2max improves by 16.1 (that's huge!).
The thing I think that we can all take away from this is that we don't have to get running shoes on to get the benefits of intensive exercise. Just by varying the pace of our walk, our swim, our cycle on the exercise bike, our arm lifts etc and by mixing things up a little bit, we should actually enjoy more of the benefits from the exercise that we do.
Happy Days!
