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High Intensity Interval Training to improve blood glucose levels

MichaelBurt77

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I recently saw a video add about using HIIT to improve blood glucose levels and gave it a try.
After one 4 minute HIIT session at the gym my blood glucose level dropped 40 points and maintained low into the next day.
My questions: how often should I do a HIIT sessions and for how long to maintain the improved levels and what are the
possible negative effects of too many or too long HIIT sessions in a given time frame?
Thank you,
MichaelBurt77
 
Hi MichaelBurt77, i do hit training with weights too,i was doing them before breakfast,now i eat first then do them , seems to be working better longer,
 
Clivethedrive said:
Hi MichaelBurt77, i do hit training with weights too,i was doing them before breakfast,now i eat first then do them , seems to be working better longer,
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Clive - Thanks a lot.
I do have a couple of questions if you don't mind: How long are your HIIT sets and how many times per week, also how positive are your results.
Thanks MB77
 
Clivethedrive said:
Hi MichaelBurt77, i do hit training with weights too,i was doing them before breakfast,now i eat first then do them , seems to be working better longer,
Click to expand...

Sure you're not confusing hit (one i) with HIIT (two i's)? As high intensity in cardio regards to heart rate and in weight training to % of 1RM.
 
I would have thought HIIT would be self-limiting?

I do some very intense endurance weight sessions that last about half an hour to 40 mins, wouldn't really be going much longer than that.

One problem with HIIT, is that if you are not well trained you get a very good initial response but that soon plateaus, so HIIT alone is not the answer to improving fitness. I tend to limit those kind of sessions to once a week.

Overall, that is what will help improve BG control, better fitness, lower body fat and higher muscle mass, and you're going in the right direction. You don't say much else about your current level of fitness, whether you are overweight, any injuries etc so it's difficult to give more of an answer. Also of relevance is your drug regimen - are you on insulin as that may affect the answer.
 
qe5rt said:
Sure you're not confusing hit (one i) with HIIT (two i's)? As high intensity in cardio regards to heart rate and in weight training to % of 1RM.
Click to expand...

Hi, what I am referring to is "Tabata" HIIT (name after Izumi Tabata) workouts that generally consist of (for example) 20 seconds of all-out cycling followed by 10 seconds of low intensity cycling repeated for four minutes (8 sets without rests).

The reason I am interested in this form of high intensity interval training is that I read some research that indicated significantly lower BGLs for t2 diabetics. For myself - I did the mentioned HIIT workout in the morning for two days now and my results have been a consistent 40 points lower so far (165 before hiit = 125 with HIIT).

This is not much of a test so far.
MB77
 
 

Thanks for your post re my question - a little about me:

My workout training currently consists of 3 days per week of: 15-20 min cardio (treadmill usually) and 40 min weight work alternating muscle groups each day.

I am in good shape overall and have about 14% body fat.

My diet is also good - mostly low to medium glycemic index carbs etc.

MB77
 
MichaelBurt77 said:
14% body fat.
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this is really enviable and commendable achievement. So you must have 6-pack abs then? curious about how you are able to bring your BF to 14? also curious to know your personal info, like age, bmi etc. How and when you got T2D?
 
After some searching i found the following: The impact of brief high-intensity exercise on blood glucose levels. If you don't feel like reading:

Conclusion
Some people recorded up to 3 days of better BG levels after a single session of 4-6 minutes.
 
It's not just with HIIT, also applies to other forms of exercise.

If I do nothing for two or three days, I see a worsening of control/higher insulin needs.

I maintain that the best thing you can do is a mix of different types of sessions.
 
Well, in terms of insulin sensitivity as a type 1 diabetic, I have to say that nothing is more effective than a *small* dose of HIIT for improving it.

I do no more than one or two high intensity sessions a week, with HIIT it seems you get a lot of benefit from only a little of it. Do too much and I find either my fitness goes backwards, or I don't get the full benefit of the session because my effort level is more moderate than high.

What I find is, I actually do need to take insulin before a HIIT session to prevent an unacceptably high blood glucose spike due to stress hormones, however the benefit comes after the session as I then reduce my overnight insulin to prevent a 2am hypo.

So for every 1u of bolus I have to inject for an evening HIIT session, I then find I have to reduce the basal by 2u, and the next day I notice that I'm more sensitive to the meds, so I'm reducing meal time insulin dosing there too.

Now this next part is just my experience, but I've noticed I get injured less frequently with distance running by including a few high intensity sessions. Doing too much mileage (for me that means more than 20 miles a week), even at very slow paces, and especially when excluding HIIT gives me injuries which is frustrating, but by doing HIIT at least I can include a harder session which allows me to just push as hard as I want without overdoing it, while improving fitness more than I would otherwise be able to.

Long story short, it's better than nothing.
 
ElyDave said:
It's not just with HIIT, also applies to other forms of exercise.

If I do nothing for two or three days, I see a worsening of control/higher insulin needs.

I maintain that the best thing you can do is a mix of different types of sessions.
Click to expand...

What I have found regarding diet for loosing fat is: 40% low to medium carbs, 30% good clean protein, 30% fat mostly omega 3 of good quality olive oil, almonds, avocado etc - the percentages are of calories, To get more detail check out "http://www.zonediet.com/resources/food-blocks/"

For my sixpack to show my fat % has to get below 12% as I carry my bf in my stomach area - I understand people who carry their bf there are the most likely to get t2.

I was diagnosed with t2 in 1999 - I expect I had t2 a good amount of time b4 that. I did not start to get into shape until 2013 - the 40-30-30 diet led to a lot of weight/fat loss (about 38 pounds and from 29% bf to 12%). my wife thought I was too skinny so I added some bf back. I am pretty sure I'm going back to 12% as I like it better there.

Soon after I started regular workouts I began doing "super sets" - do a set for one muscle group and then immediately do a set for another muscle group then rest for 60 seconds and repeat 2 more sets each - I believe that enhanced my fat loss. I also focused on major muscle groups (chest one day, back the next and legs the next - always doing cardio b4 working out and core work at the end. I don't super sets very often now but I still focus on the largest muscle groups to build more muscle weight.

Regarding HIIT and lower bgl 's: I have tested by practicing a 2 minute HIIT workout each morning and measured my bgl's throughout the day with out taking any metformin or novolog flex pen injections my bgl's are so far 40 points lower.

The reason I am doing just 2 minutes HIITs is the doctor in the video I viewed indicated that just 60 seconds of HIIT each morning is all that is needed to get results. His presentation was aimed at t2 diabetics in general (most of whom would not be in very good physical condition).

I am trying to see if this works consistently or fades after some time, or if a problem develops like what Josh Bryant indicates below. What Josh is talking about much longer HIIT workouts - to see Josh's whole article go to bodybuilder.com/HIIIT.

Josh Bryant, MS, CSCS makes the point: "interval training is not without its downfalls, of course. Just because I'm suggesting it to build a lean, mean physique doesn't mean you should incorporate it into your routine on a daily basis. In fact, you shouldn't.

True interval training isn't a rushed jog—it's balls out. The central nervous system (CNS) is primarily affected by this high-intensity work and takes a minimum of 48 hours to recover. The late Canadian sprints coach Charlie Francis described the CNS like a cup of tea—everything pours into the cup until things start to overflow.

Overtraining leads to overflow. If you're overtraining, intervals can tax your CNS and cause muscle damage, mechanical tension, and metabolic stress. Like lifting heavy iron, interval training must be allotted sufficient recovery time."

This may be a lot more about me than you wanted to know.

MB77
 
MichaelBurt77 said:
Regarding HIIT and lower bgl 's: I have tested by practicing a 2 minute HIIT workout each morning and measured my bgl's throughout the day with out taking any metformin or novolog flex pen injections my bgl's are so far 40 points lower.
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It sounds like it is working for you, which is great. Really it boils down to what your goals are and how much time you wish to spend training to achieve that.

Just to make my earlier post clear, my standard HIIT sessions are 5x5 reps of weight lifting with long recoveries, covering several body parts using compound exercises, which typically takes me 45 minutes to complete. Less frequently I do a true speed workout, which is 8x400m on a running track, at least 1 min/mile faster than my 5k pace (sub-90s per 400m).

I agree with Dave though that you get to a point where a mix of sessions is best, rather than just adding more and more HIIT sessions. Ultimately, it's nice to have a heroic finishing kick in the last 200m of a 5k running race, but I'm relying on endurance to get a good time in the earlier 4.8k. Without the endurance to keep a certain speed up, the speed is about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
1.) "Overtraining" is a term invented by lazy people to give them an excuse not to go to the gym each day.
2.) Anything more than 10 reps is cardio, and cardio should not be done in the weight room.

In all seriousness, it's important to mention that HIIT probably isn't a good idea for many people on this forum. I'm aware of the Zone diet and used to follow a 40/30/30 split myself. HIIT is a perfect example of the (rare) type of activity that favors carbohydrates rather than fat as an energy source. Those of us who low-carb are going to have serious difficulties with high-intensity exercise after we deplete our glycogen stores (and that's assuming we even have any).

In my (unprofessional) opinion, HIIT is advantageous for two main reasons: it's a form of exercise which promotes insulin sensitivity, and it requires significantly elevating your heart rate which means burning a much higher percentage of carbohydrates.

Maybe it's the powerlifter inside me talking, but I'd rather have the best of both worlds: low-carb so I don't have to worry about burning extra glucose, and lift heavy weights (which I enjoy doing) to gain lean mass. HIIT sounds like a lot of work for something that comes across as nothing more than cardio to me. Then again, most people probably think I'm an idiot for putting 700 pounds on my back, hurting myself, and then trying to do it again.
 
TorqPenderloin said:
2.) Anything more than 10 reps is cardio, and cardio should not be done in the weight room.
Click to expand...

You're probably right, I see you lift a lot more than me so you are probably far more experienced. I'm just a relative beginner.

By 5x5 I mean 5 sets of 5 reps. I have found it to be beneficial as it actually helped me fix a knee injury that persisted with rest. Guess most people would think I'm an idiot for running as the injury rate is unfortunately high.

The way I look at it, not doing these activities is a risk too. We wouldn't get the health benefits by going down that route.
 
HI, great posts Zicksi and Torq.

I was hoping to get these kinds of responses. As a 69 year old t2 I think 3 weight workouts a week suits me about right.

My experiment with HIIT is just basically for the insulin sensitivity / getting and maintaining lower bgl's. So far so good with 2 minute HIIT sessions (which are indeed all cardio) first thing in the morning each day. As things progress I may have to up the session time to more like 4 minutes (or the positive results will just diminish over time) but 2 minutes is still working for now and the results are surprisingly stable.

MB77
 
I was being silly with my two comments about overtraining and 10+ reps per set. Those aren't actual rules to follow (although I do personally).

To me, "overtraining" means not allowing your body to properly recover between workouts. To that extent, I would agree that overtraining is a very bad idea as it can lead to injury. Again, that's the joy of having a routine that focuses on specific muscle groups on different days. If my legs are still sore, I may do an arms day. If my arms and legs are still sore, I may do a shoulders/upper back day.

Basically, I don't have a set weekly routine where I do legs on Monday, arms on Tuesday etc. I have 6 basic routines and rotate between them based on how my body feels.

I say this from experience, injuries are one of the most frustrating things to overcome. That's why it's important to push yourself, but you need to know your limits.

Long story short, if HIIT is working for you, that's fantastic. Just don't try to do too much at once. Gradually allow yourself to build on your workouts and don't be afraid to give your body a rest when it's needed.
 
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