Kettlebells can be the answer to controlling your type 2 diabetes.
Photo by Ambitious Studio* | Rick Barrett on Unsplash
Patients tell me they don’t have the time to go to the gym. Or they tell me they can’t afford to pay monthly for a gym. Or they don’t even know what kind of exercise to do.
Getting into an exercise routine can be hard. The best routine for a type 2 diabetic combines aerobics with resistance training.
You need to protect your heart like everyone else. But as a diabetic, you need to hang onto the muscle mass that you have.
And you could even build some more muscle in the process!
Having more muscle mass is healthy for your body. Muscle tissue helps improve your sensitivity so your insulin works better and you get better blood sugar control.
The better your natural insulin works, the fewer meds you need. So, you get better blood sugar control with fewer meds. Kettlebell exercise can help you get better control of your type 2 diabetes.
What’s a kettlebell
It’s an old piece of exercise equipment from Germany or Russia in the late 1800s in its current form. But similar devices were even used earlier in India!
It’s a cannonball with a handle!
They come in various weights and sizes. But in bigger jumps in weight than free weights.
Usually, you can find them at 15 or 20 lbs., then 30 to 35 lbs., then 40 or 50 lbs., even up to over 100 lbs.
Why kettlebells?
Kettlebells are inexpensive
You can buy them at almost all sporting goods stores and even some department stores. And they’re a steal compared to an ongoing gym membership.
You only need two sizes to get started. A 15 or 20 lbs. one and a 30 or 35 lbs. one are a good place to start. You can always get heavier ones as you progress.
They take up little space.
You can get a great workout in a six-by-four-foot area.
You can use a single kettlebell for a long time by varying sets and reps for an exercise.
What exercises are the best?
A squat
What’s a squat? Well, it’s a common movement, but your form is important. I want you to be safe, and get the most out of the exercise without injury.
- You need to take a deep breath in and hold it.
- You need to keep your back arched to protect your spine.
- You need to use your hips more than your knees by sticking your butt back first to start the squat. Your hips are stronger than your thighs.
- You should keep your heels on the ground
- You should prevent your knees from going past your toes as you squat down.
- You then squat down to a point where the top of your thighs are parallel to the ground and then stand back up. Again start the movement up with your hips first.
- And that’s one repetition or rep.
- You want to concentrate on keeping the kettlebell over your mid-foot during each rep. This keeps you balanced as it’s your center of gravity.
These steps will allow you to squat with much less risk of injury for many years.
You can hold the kettlebell with both hands by the handle against your chest to do a goblet squat.
You can clean it up to one shoulder, hold it on your shoulder, and then squat doing a clean and squat.
But, the easiest way to squat is to hold the kettlebell between your legs. You’ll grasp it with both hands on the handle and straight arms. Then you squat.
A hip hinge
The hip hinge movement is like a squat, but there is even more bending at the hips. The deadlift is the most common movement.
In the deadlift, you again need to have great form.
- You need to take a deep breath and hold it.
- You must arch your back throughout the movement to protect your spine.
- You start the movement by moving your hips back (stick your butt out).
- You bend over at the hips, not the lower back with less bend in your knees than in a squat.
- You pick up the kettlebell with both hands by the handle.
- You keep your arms straight downward between your knees.
- You then stand up by moving your hips forward keeping your lower back arched.
- You drag your arms against your body to keep the kettlebell over your mid-foot during the whole rep.
- You then lower the kettlebell to the ground by moving the hips backward.
- You keep arms close to your body to keep the kettlebell over your midfoot until it gets to the ground
That’s one repetition. Repeat the steps above for each rep.
Do each rep with excellent form to prevent injury.
There are other hip hinge movements like kettlebell swings. These are a bit more complex than a deadlift so better attempted when you’re more practiced. You can learn other exercises by Googling videos about the proper form.
A press
A press is a movement where you push the weight away from the body with your upper body.
The easiest press is a floor press.
- You lie on your back, on the ground with the kettlebell beside you at lower chest level.
- You bend your knees and keep your feet flat on the ground for stability.
- You grab the handle with the hand next to the kettlebell.
- You then push the kettlebell straight toward the ceiling.
- So, for example, use your right hand to press the kettlebell over the right side of your chest.
- Push the kettlebell to arm’s length and slowly bring it back down.
That’s one rep. Again, maintain excellent form to avoid injury.
An overhead clean and press is another press that you can learn with videos online.
For all the exercises described above, choose a kettlebell that you could easily do 10 reps.
- You will be using a lighter kettlebell for the press than for the squat or deadlift.
- Only do 5 reps for your first session to get used to the movements.
- Do one set of each movement for your first session.
- Do 2 to 3 sessions per week depending on your fitness level.
- At the next week add a set.
- Rest 2 to 3 minutes between sets.
- You may not be able to complete all 5 reps in each of the sets. Keep adding reps each workout session until you can.
- When you can do 5 reps in each set, add another set.
- Continue to add sets as you can up to 5 sets total.
- When you can do 5 sets of 5 reps for an exercise, go to the next heavier kettlebell.
- With the heavier kettlebell start again at 1 set of 5 reps and build up again.
- You can make the workout shorter as the number of sets
This program will make you stronger, build more muscle, and get better blood sugar control.
Will you become a powerlifter or bodybuilder? Nope!
But you don’t need to! You’ll get the health benefits that you desire with a small time commitment.
What will a kettlebell program like this do for your type 2 diabetes?
This kettlebell program will give you both aerobic training and muscle building. You’ll be breathing hard and getting your heart rate up as well as getting stronger!
As a diabetic, you need both.
You need aerobic exercise like everyone for good cardiovascular health.
But, you also need to increase your muscle mass! This leads to better insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control.
Look at the kettlebell as a tool to better blood sugar control.
Maybe, look at the kettlebell as a better medicine, a cheaper one in the long run!