Diet and exercise can prevent progression of prediabetes to type 2 diabetes. Read this article to know more about workouts for prediabetes.
Prediabetes is a condition where the blood sugar level is higher than normal, but, not as high that it can be termed as diabetes. Prediabetes is a very common health condition in several countries in the world today, including the United States. The cause of prediabetes is not known, however, factors like obesity, age, family history, high blood pressure, etc. can increase a person’s risk of suffering from this condition. Prediabetes is fairly mild than diabetes itself, and can even be reversed. If you make changes in lifestyle, follow a proper diet and undertake regular exercises, you can prevent the advancement of prediabetes to type 2 diabetes.
Benefits of Exercises for Prediabetes
If you take a look at the prediabetes risk factors, you will find that obesity and lack of any physical activity or sedentary lifestyle are the common yet prominent causes for developing diabetes in older people as well as young adults. Therefore, in order to prevent type 2 diabetes, one should undertake some physical activity or exercise regularly.
The following are some more reasons why undertaking regular exercise can help in prevention of type 2 diabetes.
- Exercise helps in burning off excess fat from the body and also helps in weight loss.
- Exercising regularly lowers high blood pressure.
- Exercises improve bone density and muscle strength.
- Reduction of stress and relaxation is also possible by certain exercises like yoga.
- All kinds of exercises help in maintaining healthy body and muscles.
- Exercises are also believed to reduce the blood sugar level in the body.
Best Workouts for Prediabetes
Although exercise forms a major lifestyle change that one needs to follow, there is no systematic workout plan for people suffering from prediabetes or diabetes. There is no need to take a gym membership or undertake severe workout routine when suffering from prediabetes. One can simply perform any exercise of his choice and do it regularly for 20-30 minutes.
Aerobic and cardiovascular exercises are considered as the best exercises for prediabetes, as they increase the heart rate and also help in proper functioning of the heart. Aerobics and cardiovascular exercises are designed such that different sets of muscles or nearly all the muscles in the body are affected at the same time. For e.g., when you swim, it affects the muscles of your hands, legs, abdomen, etc.
Cardio exercises for prediabetes such as brisk walking, jogging, running, cycling, swimming, etc. are some of the best and most effective exercises to prevent type 2 diabetes. You can perform either of these exercises for 20-30 minutes every day. You can also try a combination and go for two different exercises on alternate day to avoid monotony. If you are comfortable with rigorous workouts, you can also try weight training as it leads to weight loss as well as enhances metabolism.
However, one should note that weight training should be done only under the guidance of the trainer (at least in the initial days). Secondly, a warm-up is also essential before every exercise to relax and prepare the muscles for workout. Lastly, when talking about the most effective exercises for prediabetes, you should also consider yoga as they are the best exercises to reduce stress and also enhances flexibility of muscles. Yoga consists of several asanas or poses which can be performed everyday.
Lastly, we can conclude that aerobics, cardio and yoga are the best workouts for prediabetes. Along with the exercise, you also need to follow the prediabetes diet in order to prevent type 2 diabetes. One should remember that prediabetes can be and should be reversed before it progresses to the incurable type 2 diabetes! Take care!
