1. Exercise is one of the most important things you can do to keep your blood sugar levels in balance and to decrease your risk of diabetes complications. 
2. Exercise makes you more fit. It also makes you feel better, look better, and boosts your self-esteem. 
3. Exercise can strengthen your heart, lower your blood pressure, and reduce your stress. 

• Visit your doctor for a complete physical examination. Your current health and fitness will help in deciding what kind of exercise program will be right for you. 
• Set realistic exercise goals. If you set difficult goals too soon, you may become frustrated and give up. 
• Choose activities that you enjoy. The more choices and interests you have, the less likely you are to become bored with exercise. 
• Make sure you have the right equipment, clothing, and shoes. This includes medical identification - a wallet card, necklace or bracelet. 

Keep track of your progress. Record each exercise session in your diary or log book. 

 
I find for myself that I need to take exercise as fast as I can take it for myself.  Because I have chosen TaeKwonDo as my main method of exercise, I can't expect myself to be able to do the same things a 20 year old who has been doing gymnastics.  I'm not going to be doing the same things that the Instructor is doing until it is my time to do so for exercise is a personal thing not a competition with others.  Although even I sometimes forget that, there are always a reminder, like sore muscles where I didn't know one existed before, finding out that trying to kick someone in the head lands me quickly on my butt, it's the little things that are the best reminders.. 

It's important to judge progress on HOW YOU FEEL, not on how others are doing.  The major part of exercise for me is so I can feel energetic, do the things that I need to do with out dying because I walked to the refridgerator and back to the computer.

• To begin, start slowly. Don't try to do too much at once, no matter how enthusiastic or fit you feel. Then, as you improve your physical fitness, you can increase your exercise. 
• Ideally, exercise should begin about 1-2 hours after a meal, so the food will balance the exercise to keep your blood sugar from going too low. 
• If possible, plan your exercise for the same time every day. Or, have a plan for food and medication on days when activity varies. 
• Carry a fast-acting sugar food like commercial glucose tablets, real sugar, or raisins. 
• Test your blood sugar before you begin to exercise. Eat a snack first if your blood sugar is 70-150 mg/dL (3.9 - 8.3 mmol/l). Discuss with a member of your health care team if you should exercise if your blood sugar is above 240 mg/dL (13.3 mmol/l).

 

Take off your shoes and socks to carefully inspect your feet. Look for blisters, splinters, or rubbed places. People with diabetes can get skin infections easily, so take care of any irritation immediately. Call your health care team or foot doctor if you have broken skin or blisters that do not begin healing within 24 hours. 

Test your blood sugar to see how the activity affected you. Testing will tell you if you need to increase or decrease your snack next time. Remember, your blood sugar level can go down hours after exercise, so test immediately and then again an hour later. Also test at bedtime and increase your snack if your blood sugar level is low. 

Rewards

When you see you have reached one or more of your exercise goals, reward yourself with a non-food treat - a new book, a movie, or maybe that "special" outing. Plan your rewards ahead of time so you have something exciting to work towards. 

I find for myself, that the greatest reward for  a good workout is a soak in the hottub (when the stupid thing is working at the dojang, I think the hottub is cursed at my TaeKwonDo School).

There is another reward though, and that's how I feel after working out.  I feel energized, alive, and just wonderful.  Some say this is endorphines, and it probably is because fat people actually attain endorphines quicker than those silly skinny people.  At least that is what I have found anyway.

To give your body the full benefits of exercise, it is best to begin with five to ten minutes a day three to five times a week. Since it takes six weeks to turn an activity into a regular habit, it may be best to begin with a three-day program and work your way up after the close of six weeks. Once you have worked up to a five-day program, your body will benefit from both exercise and rest/rebuild time. 

As you are making exercise a priority part of your treatment plan, do not be discouraged if you miss an exercise period here and there. Even if you miss a week or two, just pick yourself up and begin again. Even a little exercise is better than none at all.
 

I found that as I continue to workout that I miss those days I do not go.  I know that starting out slow is the MOST important part, because it will allow you to increase your activity over time.  In the TaeKwondo classes, I walked in at 325 pounds (big student) and it took me a few weeks, but I found myself going to class 4-6 times per week.  Sometimes just completing the warmups, then doing the warmups and full class time.  Of course my fellow students all think I am nuts for this schedule, but it works for me, and that's the most important part of it all, that it work for me, fits into my schedule and the top of the list

That I want to continue to do it!
 

1. Warm-up

Stretching, flexing, and rotating exercises get your body ready for a work-out by slowly increasing your heart rate and loosening up your muscles and ligaments, which also help to prevent dizziness and injury. 

2. Work-out

The type of exercise you choose will depend upon your fitness and health. In order to start an exercise plan that will become a lifestyle change, you should begin with an activity you can really enjoy. The goal of a work-out is to get your heart rate up and your muscles and ligaments loosened. You should be able to carry on a conversation. If it is difficult to speak or catch your breath, you need to slow down. Over time, you will be able to gradually increase the pace. Whatever activity you choose, breathe deeply and try to exercise your whole body - when walking, swing your upper body and arms. 

If your health care team approves, you may gradually build to aerobic activity - which is continuous, steady, and rhythmic exercise that increases your heart rate to 70-85% of your maximum heart rate for 15-20 minutes minimum. (This level of work-out will likely cause you to perspire.) Your health care team can help you determine the best target heart rate for your age and fitness level. 

3. Cool-down

To bring your heart rate back to normal, slow your activity gradually. Begin this process before you become too tired. Your cool-down activity may be continuous slow walking or the stretching, flexing, rotating exercises you used during warm-up. 

 
I find that with this, before class even begins for TaeKwondo, when the hottub is working, I do some stretching before I put my uniform on.  This helps to loosen the kinks and makes the workout to follow a bit easier.  Usually about 10-15 minutes of light gentle stretching helps a lot.

In class, we stretch, do pushups, situps, and such.  That is the Warmup.  After the Warmup is the class itself, the fun kicking, punching, and yelling.  It's really fun thing to do if you have just driven home in Seattle.

After the class, or just the warmups, it's back to the hottub, when it works, for some light stretching. 
 

Whenever possible, increase the amount of light activity in your daily routine. For example, park in the back of the parking lot and walk to the office; or climb the steps instead of taking the elevator.

Frequency

To give your body the full benefits of exercise, you need both aerobic work-out and rest time to allow muscles and ligaments to rebuild. To do this, you will need to exercise consistently three to five times a week. If your goal is to lose weight, you should exercise five times a week and follow a weight-loss plan prescribed by your health care team. Have patience - losing weight takes time and determination. If you stray from your plan, get back to it as soon as possible. 

Duration

When you begin your exercise program, do not over-work yourself. You may feel like only five to ten minutes of activity with two minutes each for warm-up and cool-down. To lose weight, it is better to increase the length of time you exercise than the level of intensity. 

As you become more fit, you can gradually work out for longer periods of time. Once you become fit, you won't need to limit your exercise to short sessions - exercise is to be enjoyed! As long as your blood sugar is under control and you are injury-free, exercise as long as you want. Eat extra snacks as needed to balance long periods of exercise.