Diabetes Australia

Home | Login or Become a Member

Latest News
Latest Research

06 July 2010

Diabetes Awareness Week 2010

Diabetes Australia-NSW will be spreading the message across the state about the link between diabetes and kidney disease this Diabetes Awareness Week from 11-17 July.

25 June 2010

Congratulations to Jimmy Little on success at APRA awards

Diabetes Australia-NSW would like to congratulate Jimmy Little after he was recognised on Monday for his achievements in music.

07 July 2010

New type 2 diabetes medication may help in type 1

A new medication for type 2 diabetes may also benefit those with type 1, reducing the rise in blood glucose levels following a meal and possibly lowering insulin needs.

29 June 2010

Insulin pump prevents night-time hypos

A special insulin pump which uses continuous glucose monitoring to predict hypoglycaemia and stop delivering insulin can help reduce the number of overnight hypos, according to a new study.

Home > Living well with diabetes > Physical activity...

Resistance training

Diabetes Australia-NSW advises that exercise training and specifically, resistance or strength training, can help improve insulin sensitivity and diabetes control.

Resistance training is any activity that involves working against a weight, force or gravity, says Bronwyn Penny, Exercise Physiologist.

Regular resistance training changes the way in which muscles work to store and use glucose. Resistance training can also increase the body’s total muscle mass. These changes improve the body’s ability to store glucose, improve glucose uptake and improve insulin sensitivity.

Resistance training increases production of a protein called GLUT-4 in people with diabetes and insulin resistance. GLUT-4 is a protein, stimulated by insulin that helps to transport glucose from the blood into the muscles and cells of the body.

Resistance training also increases the size of muscles and the body’s total muscle mass. This is helpful for people with diabetes as muscle is actually the body’s biggest ‘storage tank’ of glucose.

Resistance training can be as simple as lifting cans of food, performing exercises using your own body weight and gravity as resistance, such as push-ups, sit-ups, squats or sitting, using machine based weights or elasticised resistance bands.

There are a number of general guidelines:

• try to lift weights or do some form of resistance training two-three times a week;
• include exercises that target all of large muscle groups including arms and legs;
• aim to do each exercise eight to 12 times (repetitions), and perform one to three lots (sets) of each exercise;
• start with no or light weights till you learn the correct technique;
• as you improve, lift heavier weights;
• ideally, aim to lift a weight that only allows you to do eight to 12 repetitions each time; and
• heavier weights have the biggest impact on improving insulin sensitivity.

Changes in blood glucose levels should occur within four to six weeks of beginning a resistance training program, provided the weights are at a reasonably heavy enough resistance.

Resistance training has been shown to be safe and effective for everyone including the older people and those with heart disease.

Always consult a doctor before beginning a new exercise program.

If you are unsure of what to do or how to go about beginning a resistance training program safely, seek professional advice from an Exercise Physiologists, Personal Trainers, Physiotherapist or call Diabetes Australia-NSW.