Want to Achieve a Normal Blood Sugar Level? Then, Walk!
Heart Rate
Hi Emilia,
Can you really consider walking a sport?
Dear Susannah,
You bet you can! In fact, walking is one of the best ways for diabetics to achieve a normal blood sugar level. I may sound like a broken record, but I’ll say this again: keeping your blood sugar level as close to normal as possible is the key to prevent diabetes complications. Walking appropriately can also allow you to reduce or even eliminate your medication requirements.
Remember that as any sport, walking also has a technique and requires a period of preparation, so, let us get you ready.
Where to walk
- Choose a flat, smooth walking course: Start with a route that will not challenge you with steep hills so you can walk uninterrupted for as long as possible.
- Seek firm footing: Find a paved, graveled route that let you set a brisk pace and maintain it safely. Uneven surfaces can disrupt the steady rhythm you want to establish with your movements.
- Put personal safety first: Choose a walking route where you feel safe. For me that route is in my neighborhood. Take into consideration the length of the walk, the intensity, and the difficulties of the ground.
How Far? 
Make it your goal to walk at least thirty minutes and include about five minutes of warm-up and cool-down both at the beginning and at the end of your walk. If you don’t feel like walking by yourself, invite a friend or a neighbor to go with you.
How Fast?
An average starting pace for beginners would fall between 2.5 and 3.5 miles per hour –a mile in about 17 to 20 minutes. Brisk walking is defined as 3.5 to 4 miles per hour.
Set a pace that pumps up your heart rate and your breathing. Strive for a speed that gives you an aerobic heart rate, which is usually 70 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. Check my article diabetes exercise: take a few precautions for guidelines to how establish a safe heart rate.
Monitor your heart rate by counting your pulse on your neck or wrist for then seconds. When you feel you are exercising at an aerobic level, pause for ten seconds and take your pulse.
If your heart rate is lower than the target, increase your effort. If it is higher, slow down. Your pulse rate during exercise measures your body’s fitness and readiness to handle stress.
At 85 percent of maximum, you get physical benefits in 30 minutes. People with limitations that prevent them from getting a pulse rate of 70 to 80 percent range can achieve the same physical benefits by walking longer. The American College of Sports Medicine tells us that you need ninety minutes of sustained exercise to produce aerobic fitness when you walk at 60 percent of maximum heart rate. Adding a vigorous arm swing is also a way to elevate pulse rate and increase the aerobic benefits of walking.
How often?
Checking the pulse rate
Minimum three days a week. Increase the number of days if you want and if you are physically ready. Check with your doctor if you have questions about how much walking you can do. Stay with it and I guarantee you will get hooked on the mental and physical boost that comes from brisk walking.
I don’t want you to get confused with too much information at once, so tomorrow we will talk about what equipment you need for walking such as shoes, wrist monitors and pedometers.
In the meantime, have a good evening.
Emilia Klapp, RD, BS
Your Diabetes Coach
www.TheDiabetesClub.com
www.MediterraneanDietForTheHeart.com
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