Steady-State Cardio? NOT the Answer for Steady-State Blood Glucose!

Whether or not you struggle with insulin resistance, maintaining consistent blood sugar control is vitally important. One primary strategy for improving blood sugar control is through exercise, as exercise stimulates the release of insulin. Not familiar with the term “insulin”? Insulin is an anabolic hormone that promotes uptake of blood glucose into the body’s cells. Not familiar with the term “anabolic”? It refers to muscle building; aka- our goal. 😊

Challenging strength training workouts and interval-style cardio sessions have been shown to have the greatest effects on release of insulin. However, for those of you who love steady-state cardio, this does not mean that you have to go without. Rather than simply conducting steady-state cardio on its own, choose to sandwich that style of cardio in between periods of interval training. For example, rather than just doing 30 minutes of steady-state cardio on the stationary bike (or treadmill, elliptical, etc.), opt to break this 30 minutes of cardio up in the following manner: 5-10 minutes interval training, 10-20 minutes stead-state cardio, 5-10 minutes interval training. This pattern will more effectively stimulate a release of insulin into the bloodstream, thus helping to regulate our levels of blood glucose. Unsure how to conduct cardio-based interval training? I’m your girl. 😊 Contact me today to learn more!