Bodybuilding with T1?

mrtn.pllr

Active Member
Messages
33
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello everyone!
I'm a newly diagnosed diabetic. I still have a lot to learn :D
I know that diabetic people should work out regularly, but I heard? read? somewhere that running, cycling, swimming, these kind of activities are recommended, and "classic" body building workouts are not really advised. I really liked going to the gym, I was not a Schwarzanegger level body builder, but I really liked the instruments there.
What do you think, can I go back to the gym to work on a six-pack or should I just get light exercises?
Does any of you have any experience on body building with diabetes? :)
 

johnpol

Well-Known Member
Messages
919
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I competed in strength sports with my diabetes, there's nothing to say that you can't do it. Monitor your blood sugars before and after exercise, and you will be fine. train like you used to do, eat a healthy diet and train, check your levels. Good luck
 
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ClairedeMort

Member
Messages
12
Hello,
I’m new too.
But have medication induced T2 .

I do lots of exercise and monitor my sugars.
What I’ve found is that my BMs don’t change immediately with exercise as id hoped. 1000cals exercise over 2hours reduce my sugars by between 0.1-0.4 in the few hour after. BUT the effect over a few days was to smooths out the high and lows keeping them in the 5-6 rather than 7-9.

If I do 300-400cals (zone 2-3 training) 6/7, with a blast of 1000clas on the day before the recovery day, the sugars are much better.

But I also keep an eye on my temp, BP and HR. Even a small increase in temperature (37.5C ) with a boring snotty cold made the sugars go up and then drop suddenly.

Pre diagnosis I would have still trained with just a snotty nose, as in ‘get on with it’ but I’m being more cautious. Still exercising but not pushing it, and letting my freinds step in to say ‘easy’ when the ‘go go go’ in me goes GOOOO for ItT’. ie pace moderation - ouch that’s hard.

Let me know what you find.

Is there a forum to talk about training?
Claire
 

Antje77

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
19,284
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
You can do whatever sports you like!
Any sport can have an impact on your bg, so test often to see what it does to your diabetes and enjoy!

Does any of you have any experience on body building with diabetes? :)
I did a quick google search on 'diabetic bodybuilder', as you made me curious, and it turned up with lots of results!
 

Juicyj

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
9,018
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Hypos, rude people, ignorance and grey days.
Here's a website you might be interested in: http://www.runsweet.com/ some very useful information for insulin dependent diabetics, no sport should be off limits with the right tactics :)
 

DCUKMod

Master
Staff Member
Messages
14,298
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
@mrtn.pllr - I've not got anything to say on the diabetes front, as others have made comment.

The only thing I would ask you to think about is how many change and adjustments you might be making at any one time, when your body is only just coming out of the immediate post-diagnosis time.

You have commented already how volatile some of your blood glucose numbers can be. Introducing strenuous exercise could bring on a situation where you have further rapid changes to your numbers. So, maybe it's about timing?

All I could be thinking in your shoes is that I might want to get a bit of a handle on the basics of the condition, before introducing another variable, that would mean probably additional testing and treating of hypos and maybe even hypers?

Just the thought of a observer.
 

Antje77

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
19,284
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
@DCUKMod has a good point, but a lot depends on what works for you.
For me, when I was newly diagnosed it worked best to dive in head first to prove to myself that I could do anything I could before. It did take lots and lots of test strips but it made me feel better than if I had waited. Mind, waiting for a bit would probably have been smarter but it would have made me feel deprived and depressed too, which would have been worse than diabetes.

It really is about personal preference, one is not better than the other :)
 
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I've been diagnosed for over 2 years now with type 1 and continued gym as normal.
However I noticed when I work on back or legs that my sugar drops a little mid session I'm not sure if it's intensity or just because their big muscle groups but I haven't had any problems while in gym.

A little advice is careful with the protine shakes and timing of insulin as the workout will probably drop your sugar a little later after gym so try to adjust as best you can.

Gl Bro
 
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Muneeb

Well-Known Member
Messages
428
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
You can do anything, just monitor and BSL regularly and see how they are affected. The diabetic muscle and fitness website by Phil Graham, his book and the facebook group have a wealth of information on. Loads of diabetics with six packs, competing and bodybuilding.

The info along with this website honestly changed my whole outlook on life after 18 years of being a type 1 diabetic. Now nothing stops me! Best BS management I've ever had, fittest I've ever been, healthiest I've ever been (mentally and physically), strongest I've ever been etc etc.

Can't miss the libre, one of the greatest technological advances for diabetics in my life time so far.
 
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Diakat

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
5,591
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
The smell of cigars
I’m not Arnie level but I like the weights room waaay more than cardio. I’m still alive.
 
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therower

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,922
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
@mrtn.pllr . Welcome to the forum. Along with what others have said I would also add that a YouTube search for Phil Graham may offer you some advice, inspiration and insight.
 
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Joe C

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello everyone!
I'm a newly diagnosed diabetic. I still have a lot to learn :D
I know that diabetic people should work out regularly, but I heard? read? somewhere that running, cycling, swimming, these kind of activities are recommended, and "classic" body building workouts are not really advised. I really liked going to the gym, I was not a Schwarzanegger level body builder, but I really liked the instruments there.
What do you think, can I go back to the gym to work on a six-pack or should I just get light exercises?
Does any of you have any experience on body building with diabetes? :)

Yes, you can engage in bodybuilding with T1D. I am a T1D bodybuilder. I also do high intensity interval training (HIIT) classes.

You should not embark upon an intensive fitness regime until you have adjusted to living with T1D. This is because bodybuilding requires a lot of attention to diet and various metrics that you shouldn't be fiddling with until you know how to handle T1D. If you're serious about bodybuilding you have to understand it's not some side thing you do: it becomes a major part of your life, hence my point that you don't want to try and juggle too much at once. You're going to have to live with T1D forever, so get used to that reality first, then introduce some other major life impacting thing like bodybuilding later.

Once you feel satistied with your knowledge of T1D, then you may embark upon a strength training regime. Before you can have six pack abs you need to bulk up and gain muscle. You need to eat. A lot. All of the time. You need a caloric surplus. This is where knowledge of T1D and how to appropriately respond to food (e.g. carb counting) comes into play. I had a 1150 calorie protein/mass gainer shake after a workout the other day (currently bulking); 25 units of insulin delievered in two separate doses successully stopped that from going too high or too low.

Hopefully that illustrates why it's improtant to have a strong grasp on insulin dosing before starting body building, because the biggest element in bodybuilding is in fact the food you eat, and when you're a diabetic, the food you eat impacts your glucose levels. Working out is the easy part. You can of course still weight train without bulking but that is not bodybuilding: you will not change your body shape through weight lifting that isn't accompanied by a caloric surplus.

You mention six-pack abs. Once you're satisfied with the gains you made through bulking then you move onto cutting, where you "cut out" the excess fat while retaining lean muscle. You still lift but you do more cardio, or like me you can do a HIIT class if that interests you. As a T1D switching from bulking to cutting involves reviewing your diet again, carb to insulin ratio, etc.

Regardless of how intense you train, for anyone with T1D the number one work out rule that can never be breached is you always have to be aware of your glucose levels immediately before and immediately after a workout. A CGM is your best friend in that regard.

If you have any questions let me know.
 

mrtn.pllr

Active Member
Messages
33
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Yes, you can engage in bodybuilding with T1D. I am a T1D bodybuilder. I also do high intensity interval training (HIIT) classes.

You should not embark upon an intensive fitness regime until you have adjusted to living with T1D. This is because bodybuilding requires a lot of attention to diet and various metrics that you shouldn't be fiddling with until you know how to handle T1D. If you're serious about bodybuilding you have to understand it's not some side thing you do: it becomes a major part of your life, hence my point that you don't want to try and juggle too much at once. You're going to have to live with T1D forever, so get used to that reality first, then introduce some other major life impacting thing like bodybuilding later.

Once you feel satistied with your knowledge of T1D, then you may embark upon a strength training regime. Before you can have six pack abs you need to bulk up and gain muscle. You need to eat. A lot. All of the time. You need a caloric surplus. This is where knowledge of T1D and how to appropriately respond to food (e.g. carb counting) comes into play. I had a 1150 calorie protein/mass gainer shake after a workout the other day (currently bulking); 25 units of insulin delievered in two separate doses successully stopped that from going too high or too low.

Hopefully that illustrates why it's improtant to have a strong grasp on insulin dosing before starting body building, because the biggest element in bodybuilding is in fact the food you eat, and when you're a diabetic, the food you eat impacts your glucose levels. Working out is the easy part. You can of course still weight train without bulking but that is not bodybuilding: you will not change your body shape through weight lifting that isn't accompanied by a caloric surplus.

You mention six-pack abs. Once you're satisfied with the gains you made through bulking then you move onto cutting, where you "cut out" the excess fat while retaining lean muscle. You still lift but you do more cardio, or like me you can do a HIIT class if that interests you. As a T1D switching from bulking to cutting involves reviewing your diet again, carb to insulin ratio, etc.

Regardless of how intense you train, for anyone with T1D the number one work out rule that can never be breached is you always have to be aware of your glucose levels immediately before and immediately after a workout. A CGM is your best friend in that regard.

If you have any questions let me know.


Thanks, Joe C! Your post is a great help for me, so much info! I'm still at the very beginning, I'm on fixed basal-bolus regime. I'm wondering about these CGM's lately, how do they work? Aren't they too expensive at the time? Would love to see my BG's continuously. I still have a lot of hypos as I'm in the honeymoon period. I fear that it's kind of too late to start to work on a sixpack? Going to be 30 next year, scary stuff, man!
 

Joe C

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Thanks, Joe C! Your post is a great help for me, so much info! I'm still at the very beginning, I'm on fixed basal-bolus regime. I'm wondering about these CGM's lately, how do they work? Aren't they too expensive at the time? Would love to see my BG's continuously. I still have a lot of hypos as I'm in the honeymoon period. I fear that it's kind of too late to start to work on a sixpack? Going to be 30 next year, scary stuff, man!

Yes they are expensive to independently finance but the Freestyle Libre is available on NHS (or so I've read). I use a Dexcom, it has a sensor that is inserted/attached to the stomach and I can see the readings on the app. The sensor has to be replaced every week. I ration out supplies, so it's not used all the time, only when I feel I need to. Freestyle is similar but you place it on your upper arm and place a reader over it whenever you want a reading.

Never too late to work towards a goal in the gym!