Swimming
Swimming is an aerobic full-body
workout, strengthening all of the
major muscles of the body. It is also
a gentle workout, putting less stress on
the feet than most forms of exercise.
The buoyancy of the water also puts
less stress on joints, which is important
for preventing injury in people who
are overweight or have arthritis. Many
YMCAs offer swimming lessons as well
as aerobics classes in the pool.
Strength training
Strength training is beneficial to every-
one, but it has the added benefit of
helping to control blood glucose levels
in people with diabetes. As muscles use
glucose, and the more muscle mass you
have, the better your blood glucose con-
trol. It is ideal to strength train at least
three times a week, but it is important
not to work the same muscles two days in
a row—they need time to rest and repair.
A good place to start strength train-
ing is your local gym or YMCA. There
are usually staff members who can
show you how to train safely. The safest
way to begin is with weight machines
using pulleys, but you might eventu-
ally move on to free weights, such as
barbells and dumbbells.
Functional fitness exercises are
designed to give people the strength
needed to perform real-life day-to-day
activities rather than tone muscles and
look good on the beach. For example,
squats mimic the motion of getting
in and out of a chair. Lunges mimic
such activities as vacuuming, mop-
ping, raking and shoveling. Typically,
functional fitness exercise uses only a
person’s body weight, at least to begin
with, and then sometimes weights are
added. YMCAs and other gyms may
offer functional fitness classes or may
incorporate functional fitness into their
workouts, sometimes using fitness balls,
medicine balls and kettle balls.Yoga
Yoga refers to a number of related men-
tal and physical practices that originated
in ancient India. Some types of yoga,
such as Iyengar yoga, emphasize healthy
posture, while others, such as powerand Ashtanga yoga, emphasize build-
ing strength, endurance and flexibility.
What they have in common is an empha-
sis on coordinating movement with
breath. The potential benefits of yoga
include relaxation as well as improved
sleep, posture, balance, strength, flex-
ibility and concentration. Yoga is offered
in most gyms, YMCAs and yoga studios.
Ask ahead of time what type of class
might be best for you. If you take a
class that is either too challenging or
not challenging enough, you can try
another one.Staying safe
Shahar recommends getting a thorough
medical assessment before starting a
new exercise routine to make sure a
given exercise doesn’t make any medical
conditions worse. For example, some
exercises may be harmful to people with
diabetic retinopathy (eye disease), and,
for people with knee pain or flat feet,
walking or running may make it worse.
People on insulin or certain oral agents
may need to learn to make adjustments
to avoid hypoglycemia.
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