Simple tips to start exercising with diabetes

There's little excuse for those with diabetes to skip exercise. The fact is, people with the disease have scaled mountains, trekked across nations, won professional tennis matches and more. That said, it does pay to play it smart when you're exercising. Start with these tips:

• Don't let limited use of your legs or unsteadiness on your feet stop you from getting fit. Buy an exercise video designed for people sitting in a wheelchair or chair.
• A good one will give you a heart-healthy aerobic workout and build your upper-body muscles as well. Such videos work well for people who are new to physical activity, even if they have full use of their legs.
• To get maximum enjoyment out of your sessions, find a video with an engaging host and upbeat music that will keep you moving.
• Ease up if you're strugglingIf you find yourself breathing heavily or you otherwise feel uncomfortable, you might be overexerting yourself. It's time to ease up.
• Give yourself the "talk test." Speak one complete sentence aloud. If you have trouble doing it, slow your pace. You should not feel pain, extreme fatigue or shortness of breath.

• When you challenge yourself by quickening the pace of your walking or running, move faster by increasing the number of steps you take in a given time — not by increasing the length of your stride.
• It's more efficient, and if you lengthen your stride, the motion could injure your feet, knees or shins.

• Because people with diabetes are at such a high risk of cardiovascular disease, it's important to tune in to what your body is telling you while you exercise.
• Stop exercising immediately if you experience chest, arm or jaw pain; nausea, dizziness or fainting (which are also signs of heat exhaustion or hypoglycemia); unusual shortness of breath; or an irregular heartbeat.
• All are signs of heart problems and should be checked out right away.

• For unknown reasons, people with diabetes are particularly prone to a condition called "frozen shoulder." To test the mobility in your shoulder, try this: Lie on your back on the floor with your arms at your sides.
• Raise your arm in an arc, as if you were doing the backstroke, and try to touch the floor behind your head. If you can come within a few centimetres (an inch or two) of the floor, your range of motion is normal. If not, call your doctor.
• Early treatment increases your odds of regaining full use of your shoulder.

• This advice applies particularly to people who are prone to hypoglycemia and who have type 1 diabetes.
• Your muscles will continue to pull glucose out of your bloodstream, so taking a reading right after a workout won't give you the full picture of your activity's effect on your glucose levels.
• You might think your blood sugar is normal while it's actually plummeting. Also, physical activity can speed up how fast insulin goes to work.

If you find that you often have to compensate for hypoglycemia by eating a snack during physical activity, see if you do better exercising an hour or two after a meal.

In the two hours before you start working out, drink at least 500 millilitres (two cups) of water.