EXERCISE FOR PEOPLE WITH TYPE II DIABETES: TYPES OF EXERCISE
• Aerobic: Walking, biking and swimming are types of exercise that are called aerobic. These exercises help you improve your cardiovascular fitness (heart, blood vessels and lungs).• Strength training: Weightlifting is a form of strength training. This type of exercise helps you improve your muscle fitness and will also help you fight fatigue and lower your risk for exercise-related injuries.• Flexibility exercise: Stretching and bending activities are flexibility-improving activities. Such activities are recommended as part of the warm-up and cool-down sessions you should have before and after you do your regular exercise programme. Flexibility exercises help you develop a good range of motion in your joints and muscles.Your doctor can advise you as to what type of exercise might be good for you and what may be harmful.If your blood glucose is in poor control, your doctor may tell you to try to get the blood glucose into the normal range before you start on an exercise programme. When blood glucose is high, certain types of exercise tend to make it go even higher – the opposite effect of what happens as the result of exercise when the glucose is in the normal range.Your doctor also may suggest that you take an exercise stress test. The results of this test will help him or her prescribe specific activities that will be safe for your heart.Once you get your doctor’s okay and recommendations, the world of exercise is open to you. You can choose from a number of exercises that can help make your life better. You can choose bicycling (outdoor or stationary indoor), walking, aerobic, dancing, low-impact aerobic exercising, jogging, running, swimming, skipping, or a combination of these.The main thing to keep in mind is to choose exercises you like to do and one you feel you can do on a regular basis. You can alternate exercises – walk one day, bicycle the next – to put variety into your exercise programme. You can vary exercise by the season, doing outdoor things during the good weather months and indoor things during inclement weather.Some types of exercise are sort of solitary activities; others are group events that are social as well as physical. Jogging is solitary. Aerobic dancing is group. You need to choose how and with whom you want to exercise. Some types of exercise require investment in special equipment such as exercise machines or stationary bikes, or use of this equipment in a health club, which could involves fees. Most exercise requires the purchase of exercise clothing. You do need the right kind of shoes when you walk, jog, play tennis, or cycle. You do need loose-fitting, protective clothing for hot or cold temperatures and sun.Most exercise requires that you know the basics about firs aid. Sooner or later you will develop a muscle cramp or ache a bruise, or a strain. Learn how to treat these and when to seek professional help before you start to exercise.Most people with Type II diabetes don’t have to be concerned with exercise-related low blood glucose attacks as does a person with Type I diabetes. But if you take an oral anti-diabetes medication or inject insulin, you should be prepared for the possibility that exercise will send your blood glucose levels down and you may need to have a sugar source available to handle this emergency.*24/210/5*
