How Strength Training Prevents and Reverses Pre-Diabetes

Join us for this replay from the archives to learn more about life-changing advice and details about pre-diabetes…

Amy and Brian break down the science behind pre-diabetes and how strength training is the most efficient and effective way to escape the negative feedback loop of insulin resistance, systemic inflammation, and weight gain. If you or someone you know has been diagnosed as pre-diabetic, this information could change your life.

• Approximately 1 in 3 Americans are pre-diabetic, which increases their risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, and most people don’t even realize they are at risk.
• Pre-diabetes also increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, problems with vision, and amputation later on in life.
• There are two leading factors to pre-diabetes: exercise and nutrition. As we lose muscle as we age, we develop insulin resistance which exacerbates the problem. High blood sugar levels over time lead to the wearing out of the body’s ability to even produce insulin.
• The good news is that pre-diabetes is a very modifiable condition that can be positively affected by exercise and proper nutrition.
• When we condition our muscles, we improve insulin sensitivity. Fast twitch muscle fibers store sugar in the form of glycogen, which removes it from the bloodstream.
• When muscles resist the effect of insulin, the insulin remains in the bloodstream at elevated levels and leads to systemic inflammation.
• Systemic inflammation is the root cause of all the health issues mentioned. Unlike acute inflammation, you don’t feel systemic inflammation except for the symptoms of the diseases and the effects of aging.
• The most important lifestyle recommendations are to start eating a whole food diet, eliminate high carbohydrates and refined sugars, and then begin strength training.
• A1C is the measurement of how saturated your red blood cells have become over a 90 day period. Whole food and whole effort strength training are how to keep that number in the safe range.
• Only strength training can target the fast twitch muscle fibers which are directly related to A1C levels in your body. People can experience tremendous improvements in their A1C levels over a short period of time just by implementing a strength training program in their life.
• If your doctor has diagnosed you as pre-diabetic, they are going to recommend exercise, and whole effort strength training is your best bet.
• Research shows that losing the first 5% of your body weight confers the majority of the health benefits, which is good because that means it’s easier to see results in a short period of time.
• Diabetes predisposes you to weight gain, but the reverse is also true. Elevated insulin levels, weight gain, and insulin resistance act on each other, which leads to a dangerous feedback loop. The best way to break the cycle is smart and brief strength training sessions.