Exercise Advice for the Type 2 Diabetic
Once diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, one is advised to include an exercise regimen in order to properly manage diabetes. Depending on the overall health of the individual together with the degree of diabetes complications, exercising needs to be properly planned and monitored. The following are some general exercise advice for the Type 2 diabetic.
Warming Up
The body needs to be warmed up before hard exercise. This is done through an easy and gradual increase in intensity of the exercise being done. Often, warm ups are done to about ten minutes into the activity by the movement at low intensity. Warming up also has the commensurate cooling down. Similar to warming up, the intensity is lowered over a period of ten minutes. The warm up and cooling down prevents any heart issues and hypoglycemic attacks during the exercise program.
Clothing
Many would recommend buying a full workout outfit for your exercise program. This may not be applicable to the diabetic. Do wear lightweight loose fitting cotton clothing. This would prevent chafing because of the repetitive movements. Cotton is also a good absorbent as sweat cools the body. This is important as diabetics sweat profusely and when the body loses too much fluids, the problem of heatstroke and dehydration can occur.
Blood Sugar Check
Before doing the exercise, it is important to have a blood sugar check to prevent any issues of having too low blood sugar levels. As the individual exercises, blood sugar is used up as fuel for the exercise program. With too low levels, one can suffer from hypoglycemia resulting in dizziness and even cardiac arrest. Thus, checking before and after the exercise program is necessary to be safe. During the exercise, you would also need someone to help out in case a sudden hypoglycemic attack occurs. This person must have an insulin pen ready and know CPR to prevent any problems if the risk occurs.
Impact
Because diabetics heal much slower compared to normal individuals, exercise may result in injuries to the individual. Simple things such as blisters or even chafing can result in wounds that can result in infections for the diabetic. Thus, depending on the severity of the diabetes, the exercise should provide manageable impact on possible injury areas. In doing this kind of prevention, the diabetic is kept safe from further complications of the condition.
Nutrition
Part of the diabetes management program of an individual is nutrition. Eating the right things at the right time can help the individual properly control the effects of diabetes. When exercising, it is important to manage the nutritional intake to properly provide energy during the exercises for the individual. This must be done under the guidance and auspices of a medical professional to prevent any sudden blood sugar spikes in the future.
In doing exercises as a diabetic, one needs to be properly prepared before doing the program. One needs to warm up, wear the proper clothing, check blood sugar levels, study the impacts and have proper nutrition in order to keep the Type 2 diabetic healthy while exercising.
Bobby Castro is the online editor at the Diabetes Forum, where he has published a number of articles about diabetes treatment and many other topics.