How 2 Minutes of Exercise Decreases Risk of Diabetes

no time to exercise

What’s your excuse for not exercising? “No time” I bet.  Forget that excuse! Two recent studies show that exercising as little as 2 minutes a week can significantly improve your health, especially your risk of developingno time to exercise2 diabetes.  This is great news for people who are at risk for diabetes or who have insulin resistance (prediabetes).  BTW – insulin resistance affects  approximately  40% of the population … so this may include you.  The current guidelines of exercising 30 minutes a day five days a week are not attainable for many people. But who doesn’t have 2 minutes a week??  But here’s the catch … not just any exercise will have this effect! It has to be High Intensity Training (HIT).

 

Study #1: What Two Minutes a Week of High Intensity Exercise Can Do
In this study, overweight middle aged adults (who are at risk for developing diabetes) took part in a High Intensity Training (HIT) regimen for a period of eight weeks. This involved completing twice-weekly sprint series on an exercise bike, with each sprint lasting just six seconds. Ten sprints were completed in total during each session, amounting to just two minutes of exercise per week. Dr. John Babraj, head of the high-intensity training research team at Abertay University, explains “We found that not only does HIT reduce the risk of them developing the disease, but also that the regimen needs to be performed only twice a week in order for them to reap the benefits. And you don’t have to be able to go at the speed of Usain Bolt when you’re sprinting. As long as you are putting your maximal effort into the sprints, it will improve your health”.

Summary: This short, high-intensity regimen was enough to significantly improve cardiovascular health and insulin sensitivity in the participants, and is the first time that so little exercise has been shown to have such significant health benefits.

Study #2 How 6 Minutes of High Intensity Exercise Before Meals Can Decrease Risk of Diabetes
This study was titled “Exercise Snacks for Insulin Resistance”.   That caught my eye as I love snacks and specialize in insulin resistance.  Well, the study is not about food snacks – but rather little” bites of exercise”. The study showed how small amounts of intense exercise – 6 minutes to be exact – before a meal can significantly lower blood sugar. man on bike The aim of this study was to investigate whether small doses of intense exercise before each main meal (‘exercise snacks’) would result in better blood glucose control than a single bout of prolonged, continuous, moderate-intensity exercise in individuals with insulin resistance. The researchers compared 3 groups: – Group A (“continuous”) walked on a treadmill at a moderate pace. Total time: 30 minutes – Group B (“exercise snack”) alternated 1 minute of intense exercise with 1 minute of low intensity exercise. Repeated 6 times. Example: Speed walk or run on treadmill x 1 minute then slow down x 1 minute. Total time: 12 minutes. – Group C (“exercise snack”) alternated 1 minute of intense exercise with 1 minute of resistance bands. Repeated 6 times. Example: Speed walk or run on treadmill x 1 minutes then use resistance bands (or weight machine in gym) for 1 minute. Then back to treadmill. Total time: 12 minutes

Summary: While all types of exercise helped to lower and regulate blood sugar, the “exercise snackers” (group B and C) had a lower blood glucose throughout the day. The higher intensity exercise (HIT) had a greater effect than moderate intensity exercise.

Bottom line:  Exercise is a major component of good health. The problem is that most of us don’t exercise enough due to lack of time or motivation. The good news is that we can get health benefits in a lot less time than originally thought. This is especially important if you’re at risk for developing diabetes which much of this country is as diabetes has become an epidemic ( and most people with prediabetes don’t even know it!) So here is what you can do:
– If you are lucky enough to have a treadmill or any other exercise equipment in your home,  hop on that for 5 minutes or so before a meal. Speed walk or run for a minute then slow your pace down for a minute. Repeat a few times. Remember, everyone has a different fitness level. Walking at level 3.5 might be as intense for you as running at 7.5 is for someone else!

– Or climb several flights of stairs. The trick is to get your heart rate up. So alternate walking up 2 flights quickly, rest for a few seconds, then do 2 more flights. Aim to do this for a few minutesclimbing stairs

– If you are heading out to a restaurant, speed walk a few blocks, then slow your pace down. Repeat. And even if reducing risk of diabetes isn’t your goal, more and more studies are finding  HIIT to be one of the most effective forms of exercise for losing body fat and getting fit. Read more here. I  know I’ve had some of my best workouts in 30 minutes or less where I super set fast jump-roping for a minute followed by squats, back to jump-roping then push-ups and so on. Maybe 10 sets of this.


But
… don’t think  that 2 minutes of exercise a week is all you have to do! We still spend too many hours a day on our butts. And we need more aerobic type exercise for heart health and strength training to preserve muscle mass. But this quick HIIT exercise is a great way to decrease health risks if you are short on time! *Disclaimer: please check with your doctor prior to starting any exercise program and/or ask if HIT is appropriate for you. This type of exercise may be to strenuous for some people.

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MEET MARTHA

I especially love problem-solving, whether it’s helping women defeat issues plaguing them for years, helping a busy executive find practical ways to get heart healthy, or providing tips to help you reverse diabetes. That’s why I’m on a constant quest to expand my knowledge by staying on top of the latest research.

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