The next step in making a significant improvement in how you feel is to get up, get moving, build muscle. Muscle helps regulate blood sugar by absorbing glucose from the blood. This results in lower amounts of insulin needed to remove glucose from the blood. I never quite got why exercise was always suggested to help lower blood sugar until one day I read how building muscle helps remove sugar from the blood. That was definitely a light bulb moment. The more muscle you have, the less glucose floating through the blood causing damage to the body and the less insulin that needs to be produced to remove the glucose.
Exercise releases feel good chemicals like serotonin in the brain which improves mood. Exercise increases heart rate which improves blood flow to the brain, increasing oxygen to the brain which improves memory and helps reduce inflammation. Muscle burns more calories than fat. Muscle also burns calories long after you are done exercising. Exercise also helps improve sleep which will help improve brain function.
It is hard to get yourself to exercise when you are comfy sitting on the couch watching tv or on the computer. One way to overcome it is to pick the same time everyday and exercise. I like to exercise first thing in the morning after breakfast. That way I get it done and over with. If I get busy later on, I don’t have to worry about fitting it in.
If you are just starting out exercising, take it slow. Start with something simple like jumping jacks for 10 seconds Then gradually increase the time. You don’t need equipment to build a workout routine. Bodyweight workouts are just as effective. One of the best exercises is pushups. They work the entire body. Start out doing 1 on your knees, gradually adding more repetitions. Transition to regular pushups when you are stronger. You could also do planks. Start out with 5 seconds and increase by 5 seconds every few days or once a week. A simple way to get started with cardio is to walk in place. You can even do that while watching tv. Also, check out YouTube. There are a lot of free workout videos. There are even walking videos, such as Walk at Home by Leslie Sansone.
I also like to do a short burst of exercise in the afternoon. I do a quick set of pushups, jumping jacks, squats and dumbbell exercises. It’s just a 5 minute routine, but is enough to get the blood flowing.
The important thing is to get started with an exercise routine. Once it becomes a habit it will be easier to build it up to more advanced workouts.
Challenge:
HIIT workouts are high intensity interval training workouts. They are one of the best workouts. You do short bursts of intense exercise followed by short low intensity rest periods. A 20 – 30 minute HIIT workout is pretty effective.
Give this HIIT workout a try:
Do 10 – 20 seconds of each exercise listed below, with 15 – 25 seconds of rest in between. If you are a beginner, start at 10 seconds with 25 seconds of rest and work your way up. If you are intermediate, start at 15 seconds with 20 seconds of rest. If you are more advanced, start at 20 seconds with 15 seconds of rest. Start slow, do what you can and work up. If you can, repeat the entire sequence 2 – 4 times depending on your fitness level.
1. Jumping jacks
2. Sit ups
3. Push ups
4. Side lunge
5. Squats
6. Run in place
7. Plank
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