Newsgroups: misc.fitness
Subject: Re: Weight training with diabetes ?
From: yeager@sc2a.unige.ch (Mark Yeager)
Date: 28 Jul 92 12:13:22 +0200
Organization: University of Geneva, Switzerland

In article <92203.105908IA00078@MAINE.MAINE.EDU>, Robert Cryan Jr.
<IA00078@MAINE.MAINE.EDU> writes:

> I am trying to get in touch with people who have diabetes to relay some
> information to my training partner.  I know very little about diabetes
> and cannot help as much as I like.  Are there any weightlifters out there
> that can lend support through personal experiences or maybe the name,
> number or address of a Doctor/health professional that specializes in
> weightlifters with diabetes?

I'm a diabetic, and at the time I started serious weight training I was a
freshman in college. I was always exercising (long distance running) which
took some diet and insulin juggling, but at that time the standard
treatment was ONE shot of long-acting insulin a day, maintaining high BG
levels (around renal threshold) so that hypoglycemic reactions were not
much of a problem. I started weight training and running, increased my food
intake a bit, and found that I was losing weight the more I trained. After
about two years puzzling about this, I realized that I was OVERtraining. I
soon discovered that I had to let each muscle group rest at least 3 days
before I saw muscle mass increase. Now I do wt. training just 3 times a
week: Mon) arms, shoulders; Wed) legs; Fri) chest, back. Just once a week
for each major muscle group -- sort of maintenance. To bulk up I do a
Mon/Thur, Tues/Fri split routine. This gives sufficient rest and recovery
to grow. On off days I ride an exercise bike and do abs. I am still slim,
but I am much stronger and have good muscle definition. I like the way my
physique looks now after years of being really "scrawny".

I also improved my weight gains when I went to an intensified regimen of 4
shots a day: Reg insulin before each meal, and NPH before bed. This entails
much blood glucose testing, but it is worth it! The flexibility is great:
I'm not forced  to eat and exercise on such a tight schedule. And the
testing and multiple injections allows for more physiological corrections
of the blood glucose, e.g. if you can't exercise you increase your insulin,
and vice versa, and get rapid feedback of how your BG responds. Or if you
eat a big meal you can cover for it before and after.

Most of all, I think your friend will find that he simply has to eat more.
It was psychologically difficult for me to get over the hurdle of tampering
with my diet to match my bodily needs, but in the end I increased my
calorie intake 50-100% (primarily vegetarian) during high training, saw my
control get better, and my insulin needs stay the same or even decrease.
Your muscles become a sponge for glucose when you deplete their glycogen
stores during exercise. Of course, everyone responds differently, but your
friend may respond the same, I predict, barring any other problems. He
should see a doctor before changing his regimen, but there should be no
need for him to consult a doctor during his diet and insulin adjustments,
as long as his control stays fine. I basically see my doctor once or twice
a year. No doctor I've seen has a very good idea of how to manage
physically active diabetics. I basically did all this myself, and by
reading diabetes journals (DIABETES, DIABETES CARE, etc.).

I think your friend could try increasing calories and spreading out his
workout schedule to get enough rest using his present insulin regimen. I
experimented with supplementing my diet with extra protein -- cooked egg
white: break 12 eggs and spoon out all but one or two yolks, scramble with
salt and pepper, onions if you like, then bake in a lightly
greased/"Pam"-sprayed casserole dish at 250-300 F for 20 minutes or so. Cut
out a slab to eat with meals or snacks. Cheaper than powders, no sugar, and
just as effective. Also drink a liter or two of skim milk a day. It helped
early on to make fast gains and allow for better muscle recovery (I think),
but I don't do it now with my less intense schedule since it appears that I
get enough protein in my normal diet. Increase carbohydrates: pasta, rice,
beans, etc. I recommend ultimately changing the insulin regimen to 4 times
a day. I use a fantastic little device (NovoPen) that looks like a pen, and
allows quick and accurate injections, no need for a loading a syringe.

I wish you luck in gathering more info. I never could find good advice, and
the doctors were pretty useless to me. Treatment has changed dramatically
over the last 10 years and I believe it's possible for diabetics to be much
more physically active than it was safe to attempt years ago. I hope this
advice does the trick for your friend, and please keep me posted since I am
really interested to see how things turn out. Any other questions feel free
to ask anytime.

--   -.-
Mark Yeager  ->  yeager@cgeuge52.bitnet     yeager@sc2a.unige.ch
 University of Geneva, Dept. of Biochemistry, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland