Any diabetics practise martal arts?

[A_mind_like_water]

im diabetic and i want to develop muscle and stuff so that it will bost my hitting power but you see when i excersise I end up getting low blood suger and have to top it back up with sumthing to eat (ie, bar of chocolate) and im worried that i just keep burning the same snickers over and over again and am getting nowere!

 

another thing how much sit ups do you need to do a day to get a six pack? and how long till i start to notice it?

 

thanx

[ninjanurse]

First of all SNICKERS are a NO NO !!!! Shame on you !!!!

 

Secondly, good nutrition will do more for your blood sugar levels than you may realize. You may even be able to reduce your insulin dose as you get more fit. The human body is amazing and when fed the proper nutrients it will start to heal itself and balance out it's chemisty. You should be able to build muscle with proper protien intake and balanced COMLEX carbohydrates. I suggest you do some research on the subject or contact a nutritionist.

 

Personal anecdote: A very good friend of mine who was insulin dependant with peripheral neuropathy in her feet started MA just because her son did. After a few months her insulin requirments decreased and last I heard-she was off!! Of course, she was very deligent about her diet and I never saw her eat a snickers!

 

Do crunches (not situps) until the muscles are fatigued and begin to fail..it will vary depending on the condition of the muscles and you will be doing more and more as you get in shape. You should be able to feel new definition in your abs in a few weeks but will need to get rid of all the subq fat in order for you to see them.

 

[A_mind_like_water]

OH MY GOD!!! some one replyed THANK YOU!!!

 

but wot the hell are "crunches"

 

so your saying that the fitter i get the less insilin i will need, now im not thinking of changing my insulin but i REALLY hope you know wot your talking about, if you dont then you can really mess someone up

[WhiteBelt]

The 6-pack is more affected by low amounts of fat on your belly than muscle developement. In any case, crunches are very much like situps except you only want to raise your shoulders off the ground basically. Think of bringing your ribs into your hips. You want to breath out when you crunch in, and hold it there for a couple seconds, and then breath in and slowly lower back down. Do it slowly; fast crunches are ineffective.

 

Well, that's how I do 'em. I could be wrong...

[SaiFightsMS]

It sometimes takes a while to get a response to a newly posted thread because not everyone checks in every day.

 

A while back there was some discussion here about blood glucose levels while training. It may take a bit of time before those who were interested in that topic check in.

[hobbitbob]

One of the instructors at the university club in MD. where I trained had NIDDM. He usually managed his glucose levels quite well, but if he was overtired, or in the beginning phases of a URI or something similar, he would start "petereing out" about half way through. Usually he was on top of the situation and managed to gulp a quick orange juice. He also had CAD, and had undergone bypass in 1984 (the CAD was due to the diabetes). This brings me to a question I've often wondered about: is Karate training effective as cardiac rehab?

[ninjanurse]

Mind,

 

What I am "implying" is that with proper nutrition and exercise some diabetics can decrease their blood glucose levels enough to be able to reduce their insulin or oral hypoglygemic needs. Diet is a BIG factor in diabetes and exercise helps your metabolism better utilize the nutrients you give it. NO ONE should ever change their medication regimines without consulting their doctor however you can always have control over what goes in your mouth. Assuming you check your blood sugars frequently and use a sliding scale of insulin coverage, you will be able to see a change in your blood sugar trends as you change your diet and increase your physical conditioning. This information will help you and your doctor make appropriate decisions about your health care. A registered dietitian can teach you about appropriate carbohydrates (NOT SNICKERS BARS!) and proteins to acheive muscle building and maintain "normal" blood glucose levels. There are many professional athetletes out there with diabetes that can be an example for you. By the way, a lot of them are vegetarians.

 

Hope this clarifies my previous post a bit...Good luck !

 

[SaiFightsMS]

I have hesitated about giving my opinion here but here goes. I am severely hypoglycemic. Feed me sugar all day and my blood sugar will not rise out of an accepted range. But too much activity or an inadequate carb intake and I can crash like you wouldn't believe.

 

I learned over time through trial and error how far I could push my physical activity taking into account what kind of caloric or carb intake I had before the activity. I did a lot of glucose testing and kept fairly detailed records.

 

I think everyone has different foods their system metabolizes and uses more effectively than others. It may take a trial and error process to find them.

 

My opinion is to just have at it consider it a learning process and accept that crashes may happen and plan ahead of time on how to deal with them. And it helps to let sensei know ahead of time what will be going on.

[pcam16]

NOBODY can say that being a diabetic stops you from doing what you wanna do!!! I kno sumone that has diabetes and is the instructoer in a lkarate club and it doesn't change anything! The only reason diabetics can't do as much as other people is because they have it in their mind that they CAN"T do stuff but they can really do everything that everyone else can!!!

[karate_woman]

NOBODY can say that being a diabetic stops you from doing what you wanna do!!! I kno sumone that has diabetes and is the instructoer in a lkarate club and it doesn't change anything! The only reason diabetics can't do as much as other people is because they have it in their mind that they CAN"T do stuff but they can really do everything that everyone else can!!!

 

True, but as the posters above indicated, they have special considerations when exercising so they can avoid getting into either a hypo or hyperglycemic state. I'm a borderline hypoglycemic, and for me I have to make sure I eat regularly, I also generally avoid eating sweets (like we are all supposed to, frankly), and I notice that whenever my exercise levels increase, so do my food intake needs - so do everyone's, but I'm more apt to notice a low blood sugar feeling or even black out than someone who isn't hypoglycemic. The original poster (a_mind_like_water) seems to have been noticing hypoglycemic episodes when exercising, and as suggested above, needs help from their doctor, dietician, or both - to make some adjustments - especially (as noted) the snickers bar part .