How does lifting weights improve my blood sugar?

You wonder, does lifting weights lower blood sugar and help prevent type 2 diabetes? Yes, it can! Here’s how and what you can do.

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So, a small bucket and a giant bucket go in the backyard before a rainstorm.

Which collects more rain?

And what does this have to do with your blood sugar?

After you eat wholesome foods with carbohydrates like blueberries or quinoa or less nutritious carb-rich foods like donuts or cookies, your digested food turns to sugar (aka glucose) and enters your bloodstream.

Does lifting weights lower blood sugar?

Muscle is your greatest storehouse for blood sugar after eating. Just like a big bucket collects more rain during a storm than a small bucket, having lots of muscle means there’s more space to store blood sugar.

This is one reason I (politely) nag folks to lift weights or engage in other resistance training. When you use weight machines at the gym, lift dumbbells, lift your own bodyweight doing squats and pushups, or use elastic bands, you’re doing resistance exercise.

Resistance exercise builds muscle. More muscle means more storage space for blood sugar. And when muscle takes up the flood of glucose from your blood, you’ll have better blood sugar control.

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Lifting weights lowers blood sugar levels in another way too.

Weight lifting boosts your insulin sensitivity, which means your body responds better to insulin and better controls your blood sugar. In fact, strength training boosts insulin sensitivity (improves insulin resistance) at least as well as aerobic exercise like jogging does.

When you do both strength training and aerobic exercise regularly, you help your body use insulin better than just picking one type of exercise.

{Here’s what you need to know about exercise and weight loss.}

Other reasons to pump up

You’ve probably heard that building muscle boosts metabolic rate, causing your body to burn more calories. While this is true, the impact is tiny. Many people hugely overestimate the role of strength training on metabolic rate. You’ll reap many other rewards, however. Here’s what lifting weights does for you.

• Increases bone density and strength
• Boosts insulin sensitivity
• Lowers blood pressure
• Improves cholesterol levels
• Puts a smile on your face 😊 (good for mental health)
• Alters body composition favorably
• Aids in daily activities (so, so important with each birthday!)
• Improves blood sugar control for people with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes
• Reduces the risks of developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Check out the 5 numbers you need to know to prevent heart disease and what’s the best diet to prevent diabetes.

Lifting weights lowers your risk of disease

In a recent review, researchers looked at 14 studies involving 668 people at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. They report that resistance training was associated with a triple win:

• greater blood sugar control
• reductions in body fat percentage
• better cholesterol levels

Another study looked at the exercise habits of more than 35,000 healthy women. Those who engaged in strength training were 17% less likely to develop heart disease and 30% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes over an average of 10 years.

Words of caution

1. Lots of people get hypermotivated and take on too much exercise too quickly or start before thinking about safety. For a quick review of safety guidelines, check out NIH safety tips and the National Institute on Aging’s section on physical activity. It’s always smart to check in with your healthcare provider.

2. If you have diabetes, and especially if you take medications that might cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) or if you have complications of diabetes, you’ll need extra guidance before you start strength training or any exercise program.

• Some people experience high blood sugar with resistance exercise.
• Some people with diabetes may get low blood sugar during exercise or even many hours later.
• And some people with certain complications of diabetes may harm themselves by doing specific types of exercise.

Always take the advice of someone on your diabetes management team.

Strength training guidelines

Lifting weights lowers blood sugar + boosts health

The American Diabetes Association offers these guidelines. Be sure to check with your own healthcare provider.

• Begin with moderate-intensity training.
  • Lift weights (or perform an exercise like pushups) 10 – 15 times. This is one set of exercises. You’ve got the right weight if you can perform the exercise properly 10 – 15 times (repetitions), but reach the point of failure after that.
  • Moderate-intensity training is lifting a particular weight about 15 times and being unable to perform the 16^th repetition in good form. Vigorous intensity is lifting a heavier weight 6 – 8 times before failing.
• Aim to perform 8 – 10 exercises targeting different body parts each exercise session.
  • Some ideas: triceps, biceps, shoulders, upper back, lower back, chest, abdominal muscles, glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves
• Strength train 2 days each week without targeting the same muscle groups two days in a row.
  • In other words, if you exercise your shoulders on Monday, wait at least until Wednesday to do shoulder exercises again.
• Progress to heavier weights only when you consistently exceed your target number of repetitions. Here are other ways to advance your training – one step at a time.
  • Increase the number of sets to 2 or 3.
  • Finally, add an additional strength training session for a total of three sessions on nonconsecutive days.

Be certain you are performing the exercise correctly. Lifting a weight that is too heavy will impair your form. It is prudent to work with a skilled certified personal trainer.

Some of my favorite ways to strength train

From going to a gym to working with a personal trainer to doing bodyweight exercises in your bedroom, you have so many options for strength training. Here are 3 of my current favorite ways to lift weights or strength train at home. Before starting your exercise plan, get the advice of an expert.

• Push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, and squats: These require nothing but shoes, a few minutes, and a good attitude.
• TRX suspension straps: Suspension straps are an initial investment of at least $150, but there’s no more cost after that. I enjoy this form of exercise because it requires lots of balance, which works the core even while I’m exercising my legs or my triceps.
• Peloton app: You don’t need a pricey bike or treadmill to make good use of the Peloton classes. I take several on-demand strength classes each week from a variety of instructors. They range in length from 5 to 45 minutes. I pay $12.99 monthly, but Peloton usually offers free or discounted memberships to new subscribers.

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