Mikey - you ever heard of Doug Burns? He's a Mr. Universe bodybuilding champ with Type 1! It can be done :)
Also, check this out: Type 1 diabetes and gaining muscle.
-Ginger
Don't women in general gain weight faster/easier than men?
Noo! There's no proof to that. It's kind of a myth that we've created in our society, but it's not true.
Men gain muscle easier because they have more testosterone but in the end, it comes down to bodytypes.
Women and men on a poor diet and no exericse will both gain weight.
What kind of cardio can I do that won't cause me to lose muscle? I have a history of heart problems in my family so I want to stay as fit as possible but don't want to sacrafice muscle for too much running. I heard that doing sprints isn't that bad, but I'm not really in to that so much. Does Taebo or other programs like that work?
Hey Brian,
The best cardio TO burn muscle is jogging and long-distance running. This is because your heart rate is high for a prolonged period of time.
The reason that sprints and intervals are good for burning fat without burn muscle is because the high intensity but short duration of the exercises causes you to use fat and glycogen for fuel, not muscle.
TaeBo isn't sprinting, but it's definitely not going to do the damage of long-distance running, and it will help you burn fat because you would, I imagine, do certain routines and rounds, with a few breaks thrown in. Boxers and MMA fighters want to retain a decent amount of muscle and they're endurance training is often simply sparring rounds and jumping rope.
-Ginger
Hey guys,
I just wanted to thank you guys again for all of your help. I also wanted to let you know that I finished my paper! If anyone is interested in seeing it I would be more than happy to email you a copy or just post it here. It's only about 3 pages.
[quote user="Marlee"]
Hey guys,
I just wanted to thank you guys again for all of your help. I also wanted to let you know that I finished my paper! If anyone is interested in seeing it I would be more than happy to email you a copy or just post it here. It's only about 3 pages.
[/quote]
Great work! I think you should post it on here for us to read(maybe in a new thread though so people who weren't involved in this thread don't have to go through all these pages!) :)
I'd love to see it posted on here!!
Post, post away!!!
sorry i didn't post in a new thread... I'm feeling a tad too lazy. Also, keep in mind this wasn't for an english class or anything so it's not the best piece of writing ever. However, the topic itself is very interesting. Hope you enjoy it!
Type 1 Diabetes and Weight Lifting
Exercise is an important part of any diabetics health regiment. However, the effects of weight lifting on diabetes, and for that matter, the effects of diabetes on weight lifting, are not specifically known. In general aerobic and anaerobic exercise decreases blood sugar. Yet, blood sugar may increase due to the adrenalin that anaerobic exercise creates. To get a better look at this relationship I asked members of a diabetes social networking site, Juvenation.org, what they knew about the relationship between diabetes and weightlifting.
There are varying opinions about the relationship between diabetes and exercise in general. Many diabetics believe that it is harder in general for diabetics to lose weight. But is it harder for them to gain muscle? While there are some who believe this, it appears to be a huge misconception. Doug Burns, a body builder and Mr. Universe contest winner has also been a diabetic since the age of 7. While diabetes may not make it harder to gain muscle, diabetes did create complications for Burns. When Burns was first diagnosed with diabetes there was no such thing as home blood glucose meters, making it very difficult to keep his blood sugar in range. When blood sugar is extremely out of range, which Burns’ often was without the ability to monitor it often, it is often dangerous to exercise. Due to this, Burns had to start off very slowly. Burns got lucky when not long after he began his exercise regimen home blood glucose monitors became available and the rest is history. While Burns had to work very hard to achieve all he has, his success does show that it is just as possible for diabetics to gain muscle mass as it is for anyone else.
While all diabetics are different, and therefore react to exercise differently, there is a general consensus about exercises affects on blood sugar and insulin sensitivity. First of all, because anaerobic exercising, such as weight lifting, does create adrenalin, blood sugar levels usually increase directly following the workout. However, anywhere between 2 to 12 hours later, the effects of the exercise itself begin to kick in and the exercisers blood sugar often drops. This is probably a combination of the adrenalin wearing off and the fact that those who do lift weights generally burn more calories while resting than those who do not. At first, this may appear to be a reason for diabetics not to lift weight. However, most diabetics will notice a pattern in how their blood sugar reacts to weight lifting and will be able to adjust insulin and carbohydrate intake accordingly. While blood sugar is mainly affected by exercise in the short term, insulin sensitivity is often changed long term. Exercise and weight loss in general increases insulin sensitivity and, therefore, decreases the amount of insulin a diabetic needs. This is an excellent thing because the more insulin a diabetic takes, the easier it is for a diabetic to gain weight. Going along with this, the more a diabetic weighs the harder it is to control blood sugar. Insulin sensitivity also increases and then a vicious cycle is created.
Weight lifting, as well as other exercise, has also been known to alleviate stress and depression. While this is not just true for diabetics, the effects of stress and depression are especially harmful to diabetics. Stress is likely to increase blood sugar and with weight lifting alleviating stress as well as positively affecting blood sugar, it is easier for a diabetic to have tight control over their disease. While depression does not necessarily increase blood sugar on its own, it does often lead to diabetic apathy or diabetic burnout. This is when diabetics become lax when it comes to taking care of themselves the result of which is poor carbohydrate counting, higher blood sugars, and therefore, more insulin. Depression has been known to be common in diabetics and weight lifting is an excellent way to combat it because it not only decreases the depression itself, it also decreases the effects of the depression.
Weight lifting is extremely beneficial to a diabetic lifestyle. Not only does it make diabetics look better on the outside, it keeps them healthier on the inside by keeping blood sugar readings more stable overall and increasing insulin sensitivity. While it may be slightly harder for diabetics with poor control to gain muscle initially, over time the effects of weight lifting on diabetes will alleviate this complication. In conclusion, weight lifting can lead a diabetic to have healthier diabetic life and, therefore, a better life in general.