Exercise for type 2 diabetes isn’t as complicated as most people may think. And there really is no excuse for not getting it done. And in this article, I’m going to show you 2 shockingly easy ways to stay fit, that you may have never considered.
I’m sure you’re probably trying to figure out where I’m coming from with this one. So I’ll get right to it. Two creative forms of exercise for controlling your blood sugar are mobile applications and video games.
Now I’m sure you’re probably saying to yourself, “really?” But the truth is data has shown that mobile phone apps and video games offer great benefits by way of exercise.
Exercise For Type 2 Diabetes With Mobile Apps
Just about everyone has a smart phone these days. Even my niece has one and she’s only 7. The technology these days is incredible.
There are apps out there that you can download on your smartphone that will help you get moving and exercising. The nice thing about this is most of these applications make it fun and allow you to track your progress.
Here are some great resources for some of the top free health and fitness apps:
- https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-health-and-fitness-apps-for-iphone/
- www.appstoreapps.com/top-50-free-health-and-fitness-apps/
And if you don’t have a smartphone it’s OK. Here are some resources that you can still use:
- Lose It www.loseit.com
- Daily Burn www.dailyburn.com
- My Fitness Pal www.myfitnesspal.com
- Online Fitness Log www.onlinefitnesslog.com
Exercise For Type 2 Diabetes With Video Games
Have you ever tried playing the Nintendo Wii or the Xbox Kinect? Not only are these video gaming platforms so much fun, but they are also physically engaging.
One of my favorite games on the Xbox Kinect is Dance Central. In this game, you dance and you’re scored. You can compete against family and friends. After a few minutes of playing it’s not long before you’re breaking a sweat while getting exercise.
Experts from the American Council on Exercise (ACE) conducted studies on video games to see if they really helped people get exercise and promoted weight loss.
The ACE also studied video game play versus actual exercise and the result were quite astounding. Below is a chart that shows in calories burned per minute by a 150 lb. person who used the Nintendo Wii Game versus the Actual Sport.
| Wii Game | Actual Sport | |
| Golfing | 3.1 | 3.9 |
| Bowling | 3.9 | 7.2 |
| Baseball | 4.5 | 7.3 |
| Tennis | 5.3 | 8.1 |
| Boxing | 7.2 | 10.2 |
So as you can see from the results from the study, playing the actual sport versus the video game were actually quite similar. The only recommendations from the ACE were that you should aim to use harder levels of the video games and try to mimic normal sports activity or physical activity as closely as possible while playing the video games. Dance, boxing and aerobics showed the best results of all of the games tested.
Prior to using any of this material, you should consult with your physician.