Gym training with Type 1 Diabetes

[Paddyjoe13]

Hi
I am a 19yr old Type 1 Diabetic.
I go to the gym 5/6 times per week but am struggling to control my diabetes.
I use Omnipod pump and Libre Sensors.
My sensor very rarely works when I get to the gym saying try again in 10 mins.
My blood sugars spike when I haven't had anything to eat, they come down and then spike again.
Any advice anyone - finding it so frustrating.

 

[ert]

It is worth talking to your specialist and asking for help. For weights, I tend to eat protein before my workout and take a small correction dose which stops the spikes. For cardio, I need to take less background insulin at breakfast, less short acting at lunch time, eat fruit beforehand and during exercise to stop my blood sugars from crashing.

 

[In Response]

It depends what you do in the gym but if your blood sugar reaction to exercise is predictable, you can use your OmniPod to adjust your basal prior to exercise.
For example, I find my Spin class causes me to be more insulin sensitive so I suspend my basal for 30 minutes before the class start. In contrast, climbing makes my levels rocket so I increase my basal by 40% half an hour before I get to the wall.
Adjusting my basal on my pump means I have no need to adjust my diet prior, during or after exercise. It is the reason I was able to get s pump so I am keen to use it.

 

[Dianemacfaden]

It takes a bit of trial and error. There is a lot of good advice on the Dafne website. Not sure if you have done this training. I find it best to stick to my normal background dose and have some slow release carbs like oats for breakfast and stick to my normal short acting with a 20% reduction or have a carb free breakfast and take insulin after exercise.

 

[Haydnmckenna]

Hi
I am a 19yr old Type 1 Diabetic.
I go to the gym 5/6 times per week but am struggling to control my diabetes.
I use Omnipod pump and Libre Sensors.
My sensor very rarely works when I get to the gym saying try again in 10 mins.
My blood sugars spike when I haven't had anything to eat, they come down and then spike again.
Any advice anyone - finding it so frustrating.

Hi

I struggle with controlling my bloods when exercising but mine tend to go low.
My advice would be start fresh with a new routine. Eat and bolus say 2 hours before exercising (not sure when you gym, is it the same time everyday, if so that's good - routine makes everything easier). And monitor what your bloods are doing every 30 mins after eating and at the gym. Do this for a week. Then you can see what your trends are like while exercising. It is important to monitor your blood after working out too.
I take a bottle of water and a sugary drink with me as my bloods go low. I only use water during my workouts as I dont like bolusing during workouts and only have the sugary drinks if I am trending down.
I am on the Medtronic 780G pump so I have to set a temp target, not sure if this is the same as omnipod.

Start fresh for a week, Get a good idea of your trend and you can make adjustments from there.

 

[NicoleC1971]

I am a pt and also type 1 so know where you are coming from although I am 51 yo female so I think my goals may be different to yours!
If you are trying to gain muscle then avoiding high blood sugars on s sustained basis is important as your body can't build muscle if energy isn't being delivered to your system so worth cracking this one.
I think there's something wrong with the way your sensors are working so talk to the support people at Abbott about why it might not be picking your readings up/
As others have noted your blood sugars spike when doing resistance work and that's very logical then they will drop again in the hours afterwards so that may be a good time to start up a temp basal rate if you can do that? If they go a little high during the actual exercise you could use temp br or follow some food suggestions I am making below but personally I would not worry about going to anything below 12-15 if it is coming down after. Can you add a swim/walk/slow cycle to help your body do that naturally if you are concerned?
HiiT does the same as resistance (stress hormones cause your liver to get glucose to the muscles) but any low intensity cardio is more likely to drop your blood sugar.
I'm lucky to have a pump that adjusts me as I go (Dexcom and tandem basal iq) but also find that eating less carb has helped me have a smoother ride blood sugar wise.
I should add that I am not trying to bulk up and want to keep the muscle I have and you may need to eat more carbs for energy purposes as overall you will need a calorie overload to create those muscles but how about eating more protein with fat and a little less carb just to make dosing a bit easier? You could also train fasted if that suits you.
Also when I say eat more protein I am not talking about pricey protein shakes or added protein Mars bars etc. as these will be pretty disruptive to your blood sugars. Whey isolates without the fat it should come with let alone the chocoate etc. will spike you!! Love them for treats only though...