Diabetes and gym

[Edibles]

Hi, can someone please help me? When you have diabetes, what precautions do you have to take when going to the gym, if any at all? Thank you

 

[EllieM]

Well, basically you have to watch out for hypos. So I always have glucose (or equivalent) with me, and if I'm feeling really paranoid I do a blood sugar test before starting and have a meter with me so I can do a blood test during the session if I feel low.

At my previous gym (I recently moved to New Zealand) I used to share a personal trainer with my husband. Our trainer was also a T1 so he always understood if I had to do a blood test!

But really, if you're confident about recognising hypos, you can just go with the glucose. (Though it can be hard to differentiate between exhaustion and hypoglycaemia sometimes. Do I want to die because my trainer wants me to do more push ups or is it because my blood sugar is low.... Hmm?)

 

[Tophat1900]

I lift weights at home. Not that it matters where you workout imo. I do monitor BG levels, before and after and sometimes during.. Always have glucose handy, same with going for a walk, I take my testing gear with in a small container in my pocket along with glucose. Hydration is important also.

 

[Juicyj]

Hello and welcome to the forum @Edibles As it's already been said glucose and a meter are the 2 most important things to have to hand, so keep a bag with you at all times with these in. I would aim to start with a blood glucose level above 6 and ideally having a small snack before I start too of about 10g of carb, no insulin and test every 30 mins to check you don't drop, it is trial and error but your confidence will grow when you realise the effect on your blood glucose levels and by avoiding going low.

 

[Deleted Account]

The immediate affect of exercise on your BG depends on the type of exercise, how long you do it for, how fit you are, what your BG is to start and how much insulin you have "on board.
For example, resistance training, like weights, typically raises BG.
Cardio training for a "reasonable length of time", such as running on the treadmill for 30 minutes will reduce BG.
If you are not used to an exercise, it is more likely to affect your BG. For example, if exercise for you is walking out of the house to your car on the drive, a 15 minute walk to the shops is likely to have a bigger impact on you than someone who runs marathons.
If you start exercising with a high BG, you may find it harder going and this stress may raise your BG.
Finally, exercise makes your insulin more effective/absorb quicker. Therefore, if you exercise an hour after eating (and taking your insulin), your BG is likely to fall quicker than if you exercised 4 hours since your last insulin dose.

And then ... you have the medium term affect for the next 24 to 48 hours: your liver is likely to dump more glucose than usual whilst exercising so afterwards, it will need to build up the reserves again. As a result, you may have less glucose dripping from your liver (needing less basal insulin) for the next 24 - 48 hours.

And then ... there is the long term affects: regular exercise is great. All the health benefits you get from exercising without diabetes are gained from exercising with diabetes.

For someone with diabetes going to the gym first time, this may all sound a bit daunting. As @Juicyj suggests, it will take some trial and error but it is worth it. Personally, I feel grumpy if I miss my gym/walking/climbing/cycling for a couple of days.

 

[There is no Spoon]

For example, resistance training, like weights, typically raises BG.
Cardio training for a "reasonable length of time", such as running on the treadmill for 30 minutes will reduce BG.

Hi Helen,
Can I pick your Brain on this one?
Is this specific to type 1? Is this personal experience, anecdotal evidence or scientific fact?

I've got a friend who thinks if you put the milk in first to a cup of tea it stops the tea coming out of the tea bag properly.
Although this is utter nonsense it is also scientific fact the milk raises the viscosity so there is a way to prove what she is saying is true but the difference is so small that it dose not count.

All exercise should absorb bg from the blood stream therefore lowering it, while at the same time releasing energy from stored fat in to the blood stream therefor raising the bg again, with the understanding that it will be syphoned of to the muscles even when the exercised has finished. The resistance training should trigger a quick release of stored energy is this were your saying the bg goes up as the body has a delayed effect in knowing when you have stopped exercising.

I have no idea of the physiology in Type 1 or anyone on medication I am just trying to learn.

 

[Deleted Account]

Hi Helen,
Can I pick your Brain on this one?
Is this specific to type 1? Is this personal experience, anecdotal evidence or scientific fact?

I've got a friend who thinks if you put the milk in first to a cup of tea it stops the tea coming out of the tea bag properly.
Although this is utter nonsense it is also scientific fact the milk raises the viscosity so there is a way to prove what she is saying is true but the difference is so small that it dose not count.

All exercise should absorb bg from the blood stream therefore lowering it, while at the same time releasing energy from stored fat in to the blood stream there for raising the bg again, with the understanding that it will be syphoned of to the muscles even when the exercised has finished. The resistance training should trigger a quick release of stored energy is this were your saying the bg goes up as the body has a delayed effect in knowing when you have stopped exercising.

I have no idea of the physiology in Type 1 or anyone on medication I am just trying to learn.

I was told once and can't remember all the details but I *think* it is related to resistance training stressing the muscles and, as we all know, stress increases BG.
But there is also something about short sharp exercises also increasing BG so if you did a cardio HIT (high intensity training) session, you may also see an increase in BG. Hence my comment about the length of time having impacting the affect.

All this matches my personal experience. My usual resistance training is climbing which is short (5 - 10 minute) climbs with definite resistance (provided by my body) with the result of very high BG if I do not manage my insulin correctly.

 

[There is no Spoon]

I *think* it is related to resistance training stressing the muscles and, as we all know, stress increases BG.

You may have picked that up wrong there, When talking about "stressing the muscles" it means making them work, contract. Not releasing cortisol the stress hormone.

But as you said you have personal experience of this and I am not questioning your results, this works for you.
I just think your explanation to yourself of why it works, is wrong.
But who care about explanations it if gives you the right results.


P.s. My keyboard is set up in such a way, that everything I say sounds like sarcasm, its not.

 

[Jovifreak]

Hi, can someone please help me? When you have diabetes, what precautions do you have to take when going to the gym, if any at all? Thank you

Always test before the gym and have fruit juice handy in case of hypos. Test again when done and before driving home....dont go just after eating or correcting....basically test a lot and youll work it out for yourself...everyone is different

 

[Deleted Account]

have fruit juice handy in case of hypos.

"Other hypo treatments are available"

Personally, I prefer something easy to carry and will not spill like GlucoTabs.
But I appreciate some people prefer to have something to drink.

 

[Rylando88]

I’ve been training 6/7 days a week for around 6 years now and from my experience resistance training and HIIT training increases my blood sugars FAST (unless they were already dropping before hand in which case i don’t start exercising until I’ve managed to bring them back up to a reasonable level). Any LISS or steady state training e.g. long run, bike ride my blood sugars will drop but usually at a slow rate so it’s much more manageable and if I work things out right before I start I can avoid having hypos!

Might also be worth mentioning that after training my blood sugars tend to drop quite a bit, usually a couple of hours afterwards due to the body recovering and replenishing what it’s used, so just keep an eye out to avoid any issues there!

Really though, everyone is slightly different so you’ll be best just trying a few things and working out how your body reacts personally and tailoring your exercises to suit I love my training it’s what gets me out of bed in the morning (not that I train of a morning though, I wait till after work ha!)

Hope you get going and enjoy it, it’s a great thing exercise! Can’t recommend it enough!!

 

[Broomthebeast]

Hi Helen,
Can I pick your Brain on this one?
Is this specific to type 1? Is this personal experience, anecdotal evidence or scientific fact?

I've got a friend who thinks if you put the milk in first to a cup of tea it stops the tea coming out of the tea bag properly.
Although this is utter nonsense it is also scientific fact the milk raises the viscosity so there is a way to prove what she is saying is true but the difference is so small that it dose not count.

All exercise should absorb bg from the blood stream therefore lowering it, while at the same time releasing energy from stored fat in to the blood stream therefor raising the bg again, with the understanding that it will be syphoned of to the muscles even when the exercised has finished. The resistance training should trigger a quick release of stored energy is this were your saying the bg goes up as the body has a delayed effect in knowing when you have stopped exercising.

I have no idea of the physiology in Type 1 or anyone on medication I am just trying to learn.

Steady state cardio lowers blood sugar. Strength training and HIIT workouts release more glucose into the bloodstream: blood glucose (from glycogen breakdown) is elevated for exercise fuel. BUT afterwards (and sometimes up to 24-36h later) blood sugar levels come tumbling down (very quickly), and insulin sensitivity is dramatically improved (if you do these workouts regularly you can actually maintain a better level of insulin sensitivity even on days you don't work out). Win-win!