Intense Workouts Help Type 2 Diabetics Lower Blood Sugar
Researchers say high intensity workouts of less than 30 minutes reduce blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetics.
The results for the short two-week study were published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.
"These findings are intriguing because they suggest that exercising very strenuously for short periods of time, may provide many of the same health benefits as traditional exercise training," says Martin Gibala, professor in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster and supervising author of the study.
Participants had three sessions of high intensity exercise per week. Each session was 25 minutes long.
In the sessions, participants rode on stationary bike for 60 seconds at a time, repeating the process 10 times. There was a one minute break between each burst of exercise. The session included warm up and cool down periods.
Researchers found the new method of exercise for type 2 diabetics, lowered blood sugar spikes after meals and reduced 24-hour average blood sugar levels.
National exercise guidelines consists of scheduling 30 minutes of moderate physical activity five days per week or 150 minutes of exercise per week consisting of brisk walking, swimming, jogging , according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
"This is the first study to show that intense interval training may be a potent, time-efficient strategy to improve glycemic regulation in people with type 2 diabetes."
Researchers point out that larger studies are needed to examine the potential benefits of the high intensity exercise, especially compared to traditional exercise guidelines.