So, what about exercise?
Preparing the individual with diabetes for a safe and enjoyable exercise program is as important as exercise itself. The young individual in good metabolic control can safely participate in most activities. The middle-aged and older individual with diabetes should be encouraged to be physically active. The aging process leads to a degeneration of muscles, ligaments, bones, and joints, and disuse and diabetes may exacerbate the problem. Before beginning any exercise program, the individual with diabetes should be screened thoroughly for any underlying complications as described above.
A standard recommendation for diabetic patients, as for nondiabetic individuals, is that exercise includes a proper warm-up and cool-down period.
A warm-up should consist of 5–10 min of aerobic activity (walking, cycling, etc.) at a low-intensity level. The warm-up session is to prepare the skeletal muscles, heart, and lungs for a progressive increase in exercise intensity.
After a short warm-up, muscles should be gently stretched for another 5–10 min. Primarily, the muscles used during the active exercise session should be stretched, but warming up all muscle groups is optimal. The active warm-up can either take place before or after stretching. After the activity session, a cool-down should be structured similarly to the warm-up.
The cool-down should last about 5–10 min and gradually bring the heart rate down to its pre-exercise level.
Diabetes: Exercise as medicine
Some expert advise ….