Re: [diabetes_int} to & others: lift weights

[Guest guest]

>The

>workout that truly helps diabetics is weight lifting. Body fat (except

>for

>that pesky abdominal fat I call our " diabetes fat " ) is inert ... nothing

>but

>dead weight our bodies must drag around. Replace that fat with muscle and

>suddenly you have a fat-burning engine.

Hi Susie,

I want to start weight lifting but I don't really know where to begin. I

remember reading somewhere that mucsles burn 17 calories an hour and fat

burns 2. I do think that cardio is good too, walking especially. I have

built very good mucsles in my legs from walking daily, but the belly and the

arms are a different story. I was laughing really hard the other day and my

stomach started jiggling like Stanta Claus. LOL! Good grief. Can you

recommend a good video or book?

Thanks,

Jelly belly Santa

[Guest guest]

>MANY top body builders started with a piece of pipe and two cans filled

>with

>cement!

>

I have some 8 lbs. weights, but I don't really have a routine with them. I

just pick them up and do a few exercises occassionally. So as you would

expect I really haven't seen any results. The only way with my walking that

I got results was doing it 7 days a week and walking for at least 40 minutes.

30 minutes 5 days a week never changed anything. I know with weight lifting

that they say to work out only a few times a week so the mucsles can rebuild.

But I am wondering if maybe I need to do it everyday to see results. What

have you all found to work?

Thanks,

[Guest guest]

>They are talking about body builders who lift weights so heavy that they

>constantly tear their muscles

That is what I figured. Thanks for all the advice.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 00-07-03 14:07:12 EDT, you write:

<< But I am wondering if maybe I need to do it everyday to see results.

What

have you all found to work?

Thanks,

>>

, I do weights (and weight machines) 3x a week and walk 40 minutes the

other four. I don't have a weight problem but I find the gym stuff

definitely lowers my BGs more than the walk. Even though it's a brisk walk

involving a few small hills. Vicki

[Guest guest]

I wrote:

<< The

>workout that truly helps diabetics is weight lifting ...Replace that fat

with muscle and

>suddenly you have a fat-burning engine. >>

And wrote:

<< I want to start weight lifting but I don't really know where to beginb

.... Can you

recommend a good video or book? >>

Bypass the videos and books and cut to the chase! I've worked out a bunch at

the " Y " , and I would recommend that you investigate programs at your local

YMCA or community center or health club if you would like pointers, as well

as the group cameraderie. But once you have the " hang " of floor exercises

like " crunches " and weight lifting, I would suggest that if you cannot

continue a club membership, due to time or financial constraints, that you

buy a few weights and throw a mat or some cushiony material on the floor and

work out your own routines. What I like to do is pick some of my favorite

upbeat music and blast it on the stereo. (I bought a metronome, and I prefer

a beat around 120 per minute.)

Guys generally buy regular barbells and weights, ranging from a few pounds

up to very heavy weights. You can get short bars to grip with your hands for

upper body work, as well as the long bars, for bench presses, etc. There's

also home equipment going by many brand names. (I think " Consumer Reports "

has tested home exercise equipment several times and could give you their

excellent ratings on the best equipment for you.) One of the best bargains

out there is USED home exercise equipment. Check out those garage sales!

If you don't feel yet ready for the regular barbells, discount stores sell

relatively inexpensive hand weights. They are color-coded, according to

weight. I bought the heaviest ones they had - black ones. I thought they

were 10 lbs. each, but now I think they are 8. From my experience working

out at the " Y " with weights and doing floor exercises, I was able to crank

up the music and go right into it. But if you have any doubts, please do

check out some books or videos. Or, as I mentioned, join a group program for

a few months to learn the basics. And then, if you find you cannot continue

that formal training, you can use what you learned to design your own

at-home program. Once you buy the basics (remember to check the garage sales

and classified ads), working out at home costs you nothing - and you can

work it into your busy schedule.

Susie

[Guest guest]

Susie

You wrote:

> I read posts by Thornton and others regarding

> exercise and diabetes and weight loss. Forget the

> aerobics classes; lose the exercise bikes. The workout

> that truly helps diabetics is weight lifting. ..... Replace

> that fat with muscle and suddenly you have a fat-burning

> engine. Pump that iron! Hit those Nautilus machines!

>That's what revs up our metabolism, promotes weight

> loss, and improves our sense of well-being without

> putting us on a glucose rollercoaster ride.

Somehow I miss your usual objectivity in that posting, Susie. At least, I

don't think that kind of exaggeration helps me very much. I have been doing

weightlifting on a small scale for many months now and measuring my pulse,

blood pressure and glucose from time to time. Although I have done as much

as I can manage (2 x 3 kg/6.6 pounds) for 30 minutes every day, 7 days a

week, I have not been able to detect any significant effect on my weight or

my BG. I just continue in the hope that it will give me the extra arm

muscles that I need to carry those big supermarket bags over to my car

without wheezing.

> There are many studies showing the benefits of weight

> lifting for type 2 diabetics. Here is just one of the latest:

>

http://www.healthscout.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Af.woa/7/wo/MX5000sx300GC000mc

> /21.0.17.1.8.1.20.1.1.2.1.1.1.3.1

I went there, Susie, but found nothing about the benefits of weightlifting.

Quite the contrary, in fact! Most of the contributions I found were like the

quote below (at least the reference to the USDA should get you going!):

>> The right thing, says Ellen Simpson, the epidemiologist

at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who

compiled a study on exercise habits, is anything that gets you

on your feet and burning calories. " A brisk walk is a good

example of an activity that most people can do, " says Simpson,

but only " if you do it for 30 minutes a day at least, most days of

the week. " Simpson says, .... " Physical activity alone will not let

you lose a lot of weight. What is best and what we recommend

is a two-pronged approach, a low-calorie diet based on the

U.S. Department of Agriculture food pyramid guide and exercise, " .

>>To consume 150-200 calories in 30 minutes:

- Walk at a brisk pace.

- Golf, pulling your own clubs.

- Rake leaves.

- Ride a stationary cycle with light to moderate effort.

- Cut grass with a power walk-behind mower.<<

Nothing there about 'workouts', 'fat-burning engines', 'pumping iron',

hitting Nautilus machines', 'reving up metabolism', or 'glucose

rollercoaster rides'. Stay in the ball-park, Susie - you are not going to

help very many overweight sufferers by promoting a sudden switch from couch

potato to Arnold Schwarzenegger!

Thanks for all the other references you have given us but this one was not

quite in the same class.

Regards

Thornton

[Guest guest]

wrote:

<< I know with weight lifting that they say to work out only a few times a

week so the muscles can rebuild. >>

They are talking about body builders who lift weights so heavy that they

constantly tear their muscles. The days off allow the injured muscles to

regrow - hopefully, stronger. That advice wouldn't apply to ordinary folks

like us. Try lifting regularly, and see if there is a way to supplement your

light workouts at home using your 8-lb. weights with something heavier at a

gym, health club, " Y " or similar.

Susie

[Guest guest]

, you wrote:

<< Although I have done as much as I can manage (2 x 3 kg/6.6 pounds) for 30

minutes every day, 7 days a

week, I have not been able to detect any significant effect on my weight or

my BG. >>

I had in mind heavier weights (although those light hand weights can be good

to warm your muscles up) - weights that actually build muscle, and weights

that work more muscles on the body than just the upper arms. (I used to lift

300 pounds on my shoulders using Nautilus equipment, and worked my calves,

thighs, abs, etc.)

Nothing you quoted was at the web site I sent the link to. And I can't get

back to the right site, because SafetyAlerts has an annoying problem where

it says you " timed out " if you try to paste a URL in two steps. Here are

some others (although you may well have the same problem with them):

http://www.healthscout.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Af.woa/11/wo/qz2000us000ng6008

m/11.0.7.5.64.3.3.7.1.3.1

http://www.healthscout.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Af.woa/11/wo/qz2000us000ng6008

m/11.0.7.5.64.3.3.7.2.3.1

http://www.healthscout.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Af.woa/11/wo/qz2000us000ng6008

m/11.0.7.5.64.3.3.7.3.3.1

http://www.healthscout.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Af.woa/11/wo/qz2000us000ng6008

m/11.0.7.5.64.3.3.7.4.3.1

http://www.healthscout.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Af.woa/11/wo/qz2000us000ng6008

m/66.0.7.5.64.3.3.7.3.3.1

If the above don't work, you can go to http://www.healthscout.com and type

in weight training in the Search box.

Susie