Exercise techniques and examples

Exercise and Type 2 Diabetes

Posted on 21/02/2021

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” hundred_percent_height=”no” hundred_percent_height_scroll=”no” hundred_percent_height_center_content=”yes” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” status=”published” publish_date=”” class=”” id=”” link_color=”” link_hover_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”0px” padding_top=”0%” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”0%” padding_left=”” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_blend_mode=”none” video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” video_preview_image=”” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ spacing=”” center_content=”no” link=”” target=”_self” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” hover_type=”none” border_size=”0″ border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” box_shadow=”no” box_shadow_blur=”0″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”” box_shadow_style=”” background_type=”single” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_image_id=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_blend_mode=”none” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_type=”regular” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″ first=”true” last=”true”][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=””]

How can exercise help with Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes is a condition that affects the level of sugar in the blood, but can easily be managed with the correct medication accompanied with a healthy diet & exercise. A healthy diet is a great way of managing your blood sugar level, as well as aiding in controlling your weight & improving overall mood. Being type 2 diabetic doesn’t restrict what foods you can and can’t eat but limiting certain foods such as sugar, fats & salt can definitely help.

Physical activity helps to lower your blood sugar level by increasing insulin sensitivity, allowing your muscles to use the glucose (sugar) in the blood for energy. Furthermore, Sheri Colberg-Ochs, founder of the Diabetes Motion, states that physical activity actually helps to lower blood sugar for up to 72 hours. Overall, the NHS recommends you should be aiming for at least 2.5 hours of activity a week, but activity doesn’t always have to mean exercise, this can be anything that causes you to get out of breath. For example, walking slightly faster than normal, going up & down climbing stairs, or even doing some strenuous housework. However, if you are looking to add more exercise into your daily routine the activities below have been found to be beneficial for people with Type 2 diabetes.

Cardio – Exercises such as walking, jogging, cycling or swimming are great cardio workouts. If you’re fairly inactive at the moment going out for a little walk each day will have amazing benefits on your body. As well as helping with insulin sensitivity & blood sugar levels doing cardio will also improve lung health & fitness. Meaning over time you will be able to get a little further or even progress a walk into a fast walk or light jog.
Resistance training – Building muscle mass allows a higher capacity of blood sugar to be stored within the muscle, lowering the amount of sugar in the blood. Therefore helping to manage blood sugar levels while storing energy.
Balance Training – Sometimes type 2 diabetes can lead to loss of sensation in the feet, known as neuropathy. This condition can lead to trips & falls, so improving your balance can help to prevent this. This doesn’t have to be anything strenuous simply standing on one foot for a certain amount of time can help to improve overall balance.

If you are currently quite inactive please make sure to consult with your healthcare professional before adding any intense exercise into your routine. Also make sure to stay hydrated & to keep check of your blood sugar levels before & after exercise.

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

3 Simple steps to achieve your resolutions

Posted on 22/01/2021

Christmas is the time for us all to eat as heartily as we’d like whilst pretending to ignore both the scales in the bathroom and the nutritional information on all those boxes of mince pies.

And then January is the time to make the resolutions that you are absolutely going to stick to no matter what: go to the gym twice a week, cut out sugar, stop drinking wine on weekdays…all that good stuff that inevitably gets abandoned after the reduced Quality Street tins start to line the shelves of supermarket. Whilst well-intended, only one in ten of us can actually stick to our New Year’s resolutions for longer than a month, and this is because many of us set unrealistic goals while trying to perform ‘damage control’ after the Christmas dinner.

The easiest way to stick to your resolutions is to make your goals more achievable in the first place – and believe it or not, you can start from December. New Year’s resolutions may be made with the ‘new year, new me’ idea in mind, but if you’re already signed up to and paying for a gym membership in December, chances are that you’re going to find a lot more motivation to continue these habits into 2017.

Step 1: Don’t let Christmas become ‘an excuse’.
This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself at Christmas. You are allowed to make a beeline for the yule logs and indulge in the roast potatoes on the big day. But many of us use ‘oh, whatever, it’s Christmas’ as an excuse to justify out-of-control eating habits. Treat December like any other month (and therefore pretend that you have a pine tree in your living room and tinsel around your lampshades all year round), and it means you can afford to go all out on the 25th.

Step 2: Start making changes.
There’s no unwritten rule that says you can’t join your local gym halfway through December. Spoiler alert: if you sign up and start paying for it, you’ll be far more inclined to use it since you’re already paying for it. And if you’re already motivated to use it, it’s going to make ticking the box next to ‘lose weight’ or ‘get fitter’ on your resolution list far easier. This also applies to food habits: if you’re going to try and eat healthier in the new year, why not start now and slowly work more vegetables and fruit into your diet to make that change easier?

Step 3: Don’t stress about it.
Your resolutions are not law. You won’t be doing anything wrong by taking a break from them, or not doing exactly what you intended to when you first wrote them. Congratulate yourself on your progress and don’t make it into a very black-and-white, “I either succeeded or I failed” thing.

Those who post their updates publicly on Facebook are more susceptible to feeling bad or stressing about them due to everyone else knowing that they’re trying to achieve something – so when it turns out that you might not be able to do it, the shame of confessing it on social media can make you feel worse. But here’s the thing: social media doesn’t have to know. Tell everyone when you’ve achieved something, not when you plan to. Of course, not having to publicly admit defeat can be a source of motivation for some, but for others it may just increase the stress of it all, thus leading to a bigger ‘crash’ when you give up.

Above all, enjoy Christmas. Eat, drink, be merry, and don’t worry too much, because everyone all over the world is doing just the same as you are. But if you feel like you do need a little kick to help you recover after the Christmas dinner, why not try LiveWell Health’s personal training services to keep you on track? For more information, contact us on 07939 212 739 or drop us an email at info@livewellhealth.co.uk.

The secret benefits of HIIT

Posted on 22/01/2021

The Secret Benefits Of HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) That You May Not Have Known About

The mere mention of the word ‘high-intensity’ may make even the most hardcore exercise enthusiasts recoil in fear, but this specialised type of workout has incredible benefits that some don’t have any idea about.

The workout itself consists of fixed periods of low-intensity exercise (or even resting) followed by shorter bursts of a higher intensity. The term can apply to any workout that follows this pattern, from walking for two minutes and running for one to lifting weights for two minutes and resting for five. They are designed for you to put all or most of your energy into the ‘bursts’, ensuring that your heart rate stays raised and burning fat as you work.

However, burning fat is not the only good thing about HIIT; there are many science-proven health benefits that sound almost too good to be true.

– It boosts your metabolism.
When your heart rate increases, your breathing speed does too, so it makes sense that you consume way more oxygen during this particularly intense method of exercise. This oxygen excess leads to your metabolic rate boosting itself for over two hours after your workout, which not only means that you burn more calories during the exercise alone, but also…

– …you’ll burn calories even after leaving the gym!
Many people would agree that this is a serious plus to intense exercise. In trying to repair your muscles, your body’s recovery systems will work faster and more effectively, meaning you could still be burning fat and calories for up to 24 hours after your workout. (That means you can have that jam doughnut.)

– It’s free.
Forget expensive treadmills and cross-trainers – all you need for a good session of HIIT is an open space and motivation. HIIT relies on utilising your own body weight to burn calories and fat, so even something as simple as high knees or jumping jacks can end up more effective than weights or other costly equipment. This is because you’re focusing more on your heart rate during these workouts, rather than building muscle or toning a particular area as you may do whilst lifting weights or using an exercise bike.

– It keeps your heart working well.
Interval training makes it easier for people to hit the point of heart-pounding anaerobic activity; this is due to the rest periods between bursts giving your body time to recover whilst keeping your heart rate up. It also improves your circulation and maintains a healthy rate of blood flow, something which keeps your mind sharp and focused, and can help you to better deal with stress.

– It builds up your endurance levels.
This means that you’ll be able to exercise for longer in pretty much anything, from running to cycling and swimming to hiking, and you’ll have more energy to use for everyday activities too. Not only does that make HIIT great ‘in the moment’, but it means that you’ll be seeing the benefits of it no matter what you do or when you do it.

And finally…

– It’s fun!
With no specialised equipment or fitness levels needed, HIIT provides beginners with a great way to see fast results and experts with different challenges that they’ll never get bored of. Similar to a dog or a good pair of jeans, this kind of workout will stick with you for life.

If you’re interested in trying out HIIT but don’t know where to begin, why not check out LiveWell Health’s personal training scheme? Including a nutrition plan for beginners and a personalised scheme that works to fit you, our programs are designed to help you become the best that you can be. For more information, contact us on 07939 212 739 or drop us an email at info@livewellhealth.co.uk.

Category: Exercise

Exercise and Type 2 Diabetes

How can exercise help with Type 2 Diabetes?

3 Simple steps to achieve your resolutions

The secret benefits of HIIT

Company

Key Services

Head Office

Socials