15 Scientific Reasons On The Benefits Of Resistance Training In People Living With Diabetes

15 Scientific Reasons why we love prescribing resistance training for people living with diabetes (or people wanting to reduce their chances of developing it)

If you have diabetes and are not doing at least 2 days a week of resistance training you are missing out on so much!

In this blog we have sifted through all the current evidence base and showcased to you our nerdy reasons as to why.

Based on the current position statement from Exercise and Sport Science Australia, it is recommended that patients with T2D or prediabetes accumulate a minimum of 210?min per week of moderate-intensity exercise or 125?min per week of vigorous intensity exercise with two or more resistance training (RT) sessions per week included into the total time.

1. Increased skeletal muscle mass means greater glucose and triglyceride uptake into cells and clearance out of the blood (aka think of your muscles like a glucose sink for the sugar in your blood to empty through)
2. Increased muscle mass also increases metabolic rate (leading to better and more sustained results with weight loss)
3. Even a single bout of resistance training can reduce a chemical called VLDL-TG by 26% more than at rest (which normally interferes with your insulin signalling and makes you more insulin resistant) through the action of LPL released by your muscles during recovery
4. In each session of Resistance training, you increase the transporter of glucose(GLUT4) to cell membranes independent of insulin (ie when you are resistance training you can bypass the need for insulin to help sugar get into your body cells)
5. 3 months of Resistance training also increases the density of the GLUT4 transporters at the cell membrane and improves insulin sensitivity.
6. Resistance training improved mitchondrial function in the muscle (people with diabetes have 40% lower mitochondrial function which affects glucose uptake and increases fat stored in cells.
7. The above mechanisms all reduce with age as well as obesity/T2DM and Resistance training counteracts the normal loss of muscle that is related to ageing.
8. Resistance training is a beneficial treatment for people with diabetes independent of whether they lose weight, increase their fitness (VO2max) or change their body composition. Also you don’t need to change what you eat to see an improvement in your glycaemic control from resistance training alone! The intrinsic changes that happen during resistance training to the muscle itself are enough to see change. Your muscles don’t even have to increase in size!
9. Resistance training reduces visceral (intraabdominal fat) and inflammatory markers
10. Resistance training can improve glucose transport in both normal and insulin-resistant skeletal muscle by enhancing the activation of the insulin signaling cascade
11. A resistance training program using weights of 55-60% of 1RM is enough to improve insulin sensitivity. Ie you don’t even need to work that hard! You only need to train with about half of the maximum load you can lift to see a benefit.
12. The benefits are lost when you stop training. Maintaining a consistent routine is important. Supervised gym programs are more effective than home based resistance programs for maintaining long term results.
13. Your Hba1c (long term marker of how well you can control your blood sugars) improves with about 12-16 weeks of resistance training.
14. Resistance training remodels the muscle and induces a shift in the muscle fiber type distribution from low-oxidative type muscle fibres to moderate-oxidative, more insulin-sensitive type muscle fibres
15. Hyperinsulinaemia (high insulin levels often seen in diabetic clients) reduces the body’s ability to burn fat. The insulin-sensitizing effect of resistance training releases the brake on fat-oxidation and contributes to improved metabolic flexibility and a more balanced utilization of fatty acids as substrates ie more fat loss!