We know that insulin is a vital part of how our body works. But we do not know his real implication in it. The sensitivity or resistance of our body to insulin often makes the difference between gaining fat or burning it. The goal of this article is to help you understand how exercise dramatically improves your insulin sensitivity.
Let's start at the beginning, understanding the role of insulin in our body, why we have to fight insulin resistance and how exercise improves insulin sensitivity.
Insulin and its role in our well-being
Insulin is a hormone whose main function is to regulate the level of glucose in the blood (glycemia) , the element that our cells require to generate enough energy to carry out their processes.
Let's not forget that we get that glucose from food, and it is in digestion where these are converted into nutrients, among which is glucose.
This is how insulin works
Insulin is "activated" when there is hyperglycemia, that is, our blood has a lot of glucose. Something that usually happens after eating. After eating food, our body digests it into protein, carbohydrates and fat.
For now we ignore proteins and fats, and focus on carbohydrates , since it is these that are transformed into glucose , which reaches the bloodstream to be the energy of the body.
Most of this glucose is stored in liver cells, muscle cells and fat cells until it is time to be used, and it is stored in the pancreas.
The problem occurs when these cells are full: they begin to become resistant to insulin , do not respond to insulin, and therefore force the pancreas to overexert itself to cleanse the bloodstream of glucose toxicity. When they cannot find accommodation, they choose the fat cells turning into saturated fat .
Therefore, we need our liver and muscle cells to be as sensitive as possible to insulin in order to receive the maximum glucose, be stored and used in the most efficient way.
False myths about insulin
Therefore, it is a mistake to think that the presence of insulin in our body is the cause of us accumulating more fat . Therefore, it is also a mistake to think that by reducing carbohydrate intake, we will keep insulin levels low and lose fat.
This mistake is dangerous for our health. Without this reserve of energy, our body will not perform its function correctly and we will notice that we lack energy. In addition, there is a real risk of stagnation of body fat and that, even, a rebound effect is generated by which we gain more fat.
The solution, then, is not to reduce the intake of carbohydrates until eliminating them , but to lead a healthy and balanced life. Only in this way will we make liver and muscle cells as sensitive to insulin as possible. Which is precisely what we are going to analyze in today's article: how exercise improves your insulin sensitivity when you eat a balanced diet.
Sensitivity Vs Resistance
Insulin resistance is one of the main factors behind diseases such as type II diabetes, obesity, or metabolic syndrome. In these cases, the person gets more and more fat because his hormonal system, with insulin in the lead, works badly . And one of the main causes is insulin resistance, which, as we have explained, "converts" energy glucose into saturated fat.
This resistance is fueled by physical inactivity, and the abuse in the consumption of foods with saturated fats and carbohydrates.
Why is it important to have good insulin sensitivity?
Exercise improves insulin sensitivity, and this allows you to consider more balanced and efficient diets , in which carbohydrates are present.
With this improvement in the insulin processing capacity, our body will be able to use energy more efficiently , expending less protein, which implies, in turn, that said proteins are destined for the muscle, improving its power and gaining muscle mass. .
Collaterally, we will be preventing heart problems and improving our cardiovascular health. Likewise, we will also increase fat burning , since the body should not force the generation of insulin.
This is how exercise improves your insulin sensitivity
Keep in mind that training activates the proteins that transport glucose to the tissues and muscles. In this way, a storage of glycogen is created in the muscle, to which a greater blood flow in the area is added.
If this happens, the body will be able to access insulin when it needs it , since glucose uptake can occur even after training. And for this to be so, regular, constant and varied physical exercise is necessary, as we will see below to explain how exercise improves your insulin sensitivity.
Improve insulin sensitivity with anaerobic strength training
Anaerobic training is highly recommended to improve insulin sensitivity , since it acts as a blood glucose control by activating metabolism.
The recommended thing in this case is to guide at least three sessions of anaerobic exercises a week . These exercises should work the main muscle groups .
In this way, these muscles are required to have a high glucose requirement, which encourages it not to adhere to areas of adipose tissue and become fuel to gain muscle mass. The greater the muscle mass , the greater the glucose requirement, the more metabolic activation, and the greater the sensitivity to insulin.
It is important that those who start do it in a regular way, without overloading the routine, performing series of between 10 and 15 repetitions with medium intensity. And, at most, two series.
As we gain strength and burn fat, and consequently the movements are freer, we can add weights and increase the number of series and repetitions.
Basic training routine to improve insulin sensitivity
Next, we suggest an anaerobic exercise routine to improve your insulin processing capacity.
- Squats : With these exercises, we mainly activate the lower muscles.
- Dumbbell Shoulder Press or Ballast : In this exercise, the focus is on the upper muscles.
- Lower back extension : thanks to these exercises, we will also activate the lumbar muscles, thus getting the whole body involved and managing a uniform glucose demand.
- Abdominal crunch : we cannot forget about the core area.
Remember: between 10 and 15 repetitions of one or two sets maximum. As you acquire endurance and strength, you can try not only to increase weights and repetitions, but also convert this dynamic e EXERCISES HIIT.
Aerobic training and diabetes
In the case of diabetics, one of the groups that most requires this improvement in insulin sensitivity, priority should be given to an aerobic training base with at least 2 and a half hours of aerobic exercise a week , which will go to between 4-7 hours a week when weight and insulin sensitivity have been controlled.
Why? The benefit of these exercises does not lie in their execution but in the subsequent consumption of glucose that they imply: it can remain high for several hours after sports practice.
In fact, shorter high-intensity sessions are recommended than long training routines. Also because it is a formula to give confidence to those who start and have no resistance for sessions beyond 10 minutes. In any case, as in anaerobic exercises, those who begin will have to regulate the intensity of the exercise and increase it over time.
Another aspect that the diabetic must specifically control is how this progression occurs . It is not positive for your well-being that it increases above 20%.
On the other hand, priority should be given to increasing the volume of exercise and not its intensity to improve endurance and turn the tables.
Basic aerobic training routine for people with insulin resistance problems
These are examples of aerobic exercise recommended to improve your insulin sensitivity:
- Cycling , outdoors or on a stationary bike
- Dancing is a very interesting sport to start in physical activity and strengthen resistance
- Swimming or practicing water aerobic exercise routines
- Playing tennis or racket sports
- Running at a low intensity, either outdoors or on a treadmill
- Walking fast in 30 minute sessions. In case of rain or bad weather, you can also use treadmills to increase the speed of the exercise
