In general, there are 4 areas of safety to consider with exercise. Exercise precautions are designed to help people with diabetes avoid problems which can result from unwise exercise choices:
 

• Eaten too little carbohydrate (fruit, milk, starch) relative to the exercise
• Taken too much medication relative to the exercise
• Combined effect of food + medication imbalances relative to the exercise

If your blood sugar level is less than 100 mg/dl prior to exercise, take a carbohydrate snack prior to beginning the exercise. 

 
I find for myself that a protein snack works better for me.  Carbs are okay, but they are usually burned up pretty fast. 

Since I used to do TaeKwonDo as a workout (hurt my knee and had to stop), it consists of 45 minutes of warmups and stretching, and then 45 minutes to an hour of class activities.  And if I'm feeling especially masochistic, another hour of sparring.  All that activity is actually an intense "low impact" aerobic workout. 

• Too little insulin is available to counteract the liver's production of sugar which is stimulated by exercise hormones
• Too little insulin is available to assist glucose enter muscle cells quickly during exercise
• Too much fat is utilized for exercise because sugar is unable. Ketones levels rise in the blood.

Do not exercise if: 

Your blood sugar is above 300 mg/dl, especially with positive urine test for ketonuria. Follow your doctor's advise to lower blood sugar before restarting exercise. You are sick with a flu, infection, or other illness which is worsening blood sugar control.

 
I haven't ran into too many occasions where my sugars have been this high, thanks to watching what I eat, and taking my meds.  Although I do know that when my sugars are this high, I'm usually passed out and sleeping.

After Exercise Blood Sugar Rise

What I do find though, and this is important to me:

When I exercise through a full workout, if I have eaten too close to my workout time, the workout will go very well, HOWEVER, I will have a large increase in blood sugar levels about 30 minutes AFTER the workout has ended.  What I have discovered for myself is this:

When I'm working out, my body uses all it's easily available sugars during the workout.  Along the way, when the sugars are gone, the body will run off and grap a fat cell and dump it into my blood stream along with all the sugars related to that.  So there is a balancing act with the sugars, and it takes much longer for sugars to go DOWN than they do to go UP. 

I have yet to do some blood testing around the exercise times to get a clear idea of what they are actually doing.  According to what they doctor told me, right after my TaeKwonDo class I will most likely find my blood sugar a bit low, but it takes time to select the right fat cell and process it, so I also need to test about 30 minutes after the end of the class.  Then adjust what I need to to make it work better for me.

• Shoes fit poorlySocks are not worn or are not absorbentFriction or pressure points develop on feet 

• Inspect feet daily for signs of friction or pressure sores. 
• Speak with your physician, podiatrist or diabetes educator about proper foot care procedures.
• Buy shoes which are well-made for the type of exercise you do and which fit you.

Consult a shoe retailer who specializes in exercise foot wear.Buy cotton, absorbent socks.

 
• Excessive strain or exertion causes blood pressure to rise
• Quick, jarring, jerking movements cause sudden, sharp head motion

• Avoid isometic and heavy weight lifting exercise.
• Avoid exercise with jarring movements such mountain biking, sky diving, gymnastics, martial arts, boxing, etc.

 
Ah, the only thing that I would probably NOT stop is the Martial Arts.  I'm not sure why they put that on the list. 

For me Martial Arts (TaeKwonDo in particular) has been the best exercise that I could find for myself.   I spend 5 years looking for a place to go and exercise where I would WANT to go back and do it again.  I joined 5 different gyms during that time, with the year membership and each of them lasted about 2-4 weeks.  And the process of selecting a gym was embarrasing when I would walk in and some skinny, rude employee of the gym looked at me and either didn't have the time to help me or was condescending because I'm fat.  The attitude, "You're Fat!!  You won't look good in here, you'll scare the skinny people clad in spandex!"  At least with TaeKwonDo (and from what I can tell so far about any martial art and any martial art school) they accept you as you are, are supportive, and the most wonderful thing, they can get uniforms that can house a family of 4, and there is no fashion show competition.  It's what helps me to go back to it.
 

• Excessive strain or exertion causes blood pressure to rise
• Hydration is poor due to perspiration, heat and poor water intake.

• Drink plenty of water before, during and after exercise to stay well-hydrated.
• Avoid heavy weight lifting. 

 

• Cardiovascular disease exists but is undiagnosed and precautions are not followed. Cardiovascular disease is diagnosed but precautions are not followed

• Before beginning a new exercise program, or advancing a previously light exercise program, have a medical evaluation which includes medical history, physical exam, and, if over 40 years old or if you have had diabetes for 10 years or more, exercise tolerance testing.
• Start exercise training slowly, 3 to 4 times per week have a 15 to 20 minute exercise sessions. Build exercise tolerance and endurance gradually.
• Over 4 to 6 weeks, build up the frequency and length of your exercise periods. While not exactly correct for everyone, a general guideline for an effective exercise program is 5 to 7 times per week, 30 to 60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise (brisk walking, biking, swimming). 

 

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