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BG levels and the gym

Sobo82

Well-Known Member
Messages
114
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Update
When I started the gym I was concerned about my BG levels going up and down why training as they say strength training can make them rise and cardio training make them drop so I did some research which lead to quite a lot mentioning going to the gym in fasting mode (some can get away with a black coffee i put a dash of milk in mine I getaway with it
)as this keeps your levels pretty stable if anything you may get a bit of a rise in levels I’ve been doing this for a couple of weeks and it’s definitely working for me I do strength and cardio and my BG levels stay stable throughout the session
Hope this helps anyone thinking of doing the same
 
You're lucky, I wish I could do cardio!

I used to go running quite a bit and I would love to be able to get back to doing it. I think personally that the problem is that lantus really doesn't like me and I have started sliding it around from morning to evening. I was taking it at 8am and moving it an hour a day so now I'm doing it at 3pm... it sort of works in that I can now do a bit more in the morning but by 5pm I feel like someone has beaten me up with a mallet. Hopefully if I can get it round to 10pm then I can sleep through the worst of it but then will I end up waking up at 4 in the morning with problems. I don't know. Right now I am a complete couch potato which is not good.
 

Thanks this is good to know, I am thinking a of joining a gym as the weather is so bad at the moment I have stopped walking for a few days now
 
Have you considered using a pump?
You will not need a long acting insulin and it makes exercising much much much easier because you can adjust your basal at different times of the day.
Exercise (and hypos) were the main motivation and justification for my pump and it has helped a lot.
 
Don't panic, @NoKindOfSusie - I'm sure you'll be able to get back to it with confidence. As someone who's only very recently been diagnosed you may be 'honeymooning', which can make things rather unpredictable.

I had avoided exercise for decades as I just didn't have the confidence to cope with how to deal with it from a diabetes point of view. For the last couple of years though I've been busy turning this aspect on its head - I now have a pump and as @helensaramay says it does make things a little more straightforward in terms of minimising hypos. That might be worth a thought in the future.

But in the meantime, and armed with plenty of glucose tablets, see how you go with exercise. There's some good advice on the forum here, plus www.runsweet.com is really really helpful.

 

I’ve just finished moving my long lasting insulin round from 8am to 8pm work better for me
 
I think the likelihood of anyone giving me a pump is about nil, they won't even discuss changing basal times so the idea of them doing that is pretty hilarious. I'm sort of torn as the last thing I want is to have some bit of circuitry plugged into me like some sort of scary star trek alien cyborg, on the other hand this seems like quite a good idea and one would need a pump for that so...

And snapsy I am not panicking I am just ****** off that I used to spend a lot of time running and trying to stay in decent shape and now I can't, and before I get a lecture I really cant, especially a couple of hours after taking lantus, I would just be lying in the gutter. Who wouldn't be ****** off.
 
I'm so sorry, @NoKindOfSusie , I wasn't trying to put words into your mouth. I was just feeling that it's early days given that you were diagnosed so recently, and therefore things are still settling down, and that in time you might feel able to get back to exercising.

I love the image you posted! I do like a nice bit of diabetes tech.

Love Snapsy-scary-star-trek-alien-cyborg
xxx
 
@NoKindOfSusie . Sorry to hear about your struggles.
Has anyone mentioned the option to split your lantus.
I spent a lot of time having lantus once a day in one big hit ( 30+ units )
I attended a DAFNE course and one stipulation was that I split my lantus. Two injections a day approx 12 hrs apart.
Although I wasn't having problems like you regarding exercise, I can say that splitting made a huge difference. Control was easier, hypos fewer and ultimately over a 24 hr period was injecting less lantus.
This is only a suggestion but there is a solution out there,you have just got to find it.
 
I just got home from lifting. Bg was 5.4 before I went. Now it’s 8.9 I’ve only had 25g of carbs today. I need more water.
 
Stupidly started at 5.6, cross trainer, leg press, chest press, dips, ball rotations, core, bike and stretch. Down to 3.4 - jelly babies!
 
The idea of a gym fills me with horror.
The idea of exercise brings me out in a rash.
43 years a type 1 and fit as a fiddle.
No secret I just keep busy...............My car is clean my garden is tidy as is my neighbours and I rarely watch TV.

Please don't think me rude I'm just saying that's what I do and it works for me.
Gym types seem to advertise themselves as gym types as though its the answer to something.
Its that "something" I haven't got to grips with yet......

Tony
 
@Tony337 I’m far from the gym type. I spent close to 30 years doing hard physical labor. I now do building maintenance and rarely use elevators. My tool bag weighs 40+ lbs. that said, I started to lift as I noticed I didn’t feel as strong as I should/wanted to. I “try” go 3x/week but that rarely works.
Everyone has to do what works for themselves. If they rent and don’t have access to a garden or work in an office setting, the gym is a perfectly acceptable alternative. I don’t think the thread is about showboating the fact people go to the gym but really just a statement of what certain types of exercise does to bg levels.
 
@Tony337 . As a " gym type" I don't find your post rude in anyway.
I would however question your interpretation of " exercise "
Exercise isn't just a case of changing into shorts, T-shirt and trainers.
Mental exercise can be as taxing as any gym workout. Learning, reading, crosswords, card games the list is endless and all require the brain to be exercised.
A casual walk of an afternoon for an hour could easily burn more calories than a stint up the gym.
Cleaning your car will raise your heart rate, is that not exercise?
Gardening a great pastime but very physically demanding, somewhat like a gym workout.
I'm saying this in the hope that you can see that exercise comes in many shapes and forms and as your post suggests you do a lot of exercise without the rash.
 
Diakat said:
Stupidly started at 5.6, cross trainer, leg press, chest press, dips, ball rotations, core, bike and stretch. Down to 3.4 - jelly babies!
Click to expand...
Can't beat a few jelly baby treats after a good workout.
 

Oddly... That's how I set myself up for my gigs..? I will have nothing after lunch prior to a show in the evening.
It can be a full on show!

... Yeah, I know. What's this got to do with "strength training?" I "roadie" my own gear too...
 
 
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