5 Ways Strength Training Can Help You Manage Diabetes
Type 2 DiabetesHow to Manage Type 2 Diabetes

5 Ways Strength Training Can Help You Manage Diabetes

5 Ways Strength Training Can Help You Manage Diabetes
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Updated on April 25, 2025
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When it comes to type 2 diabetes management, strength training doesn’t always get the same attention as aerobic exercise, such as bicycling, running, and walking. But the truth is that a well-rounded fitness regimen should include both, and strength training has some unique benefits if you have diabetes.

While the words “strength training” may conjure up images of bodybuilders lifting heavy weights, it doesn’t have to be that extreme. Strength training is defined simply as exercise you perform by moving part of your body against resistance. “That’s why it’s sometimes called resistance training,” says Karen Kemmis, RN, a certified diabetes educator, physical therapist, and professor of medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York.

Good examples are exercises that use stretchy elastic bands or free weights, such as dumbbells and barbells. Calisthenics — exercises that use your own body weight, such as push-ups and sit-ups — qualify as strength training, too.

“Strength training twice a week is good; three times a week is preferable. You should have at least one day of rest between sessions,” Kemmis says. A strength-training session should include a minimum of five exercises that work major muscle groups in the arms, legs, and trunk, she adds.

5 Benefits of Strength Training for Diabetes

For people with diabetes, regular strength training can:

1. Help You Use Insulin More Effectively

Insulin is a hormone that allows blood sugar (glucose) to enter your cells, where it’s used for energy or stored for later. Pumping your muscles helps push glucose into them. Regular strength training helps your body become more efficient at transporting glucose from your bloodstream to your muscles.

The more efficient your muscles are at using glucose, the less insulin you’ll need. “Because strength training sensitizes muscles to insulin, they require less insulin to bring your blood sugar down,” explains Tamara Hannon, MD, an endocrinologist at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis.

2. Lower Your Blood Sugar

In addition to helping your body become more efficient at transporting insulin to your muscles, strength training also allows your muscles to absorb more glucose. That means that after you exercise, your muscles will continue to use glucose, and blood sugar levels may be lower for several hours, Dr. Hannon says.

3. Build Muscle That Can Lead to Weight Loss

“The more you keep your muscles exercising, the more calories you’ll burn,” Hannon says. Strength training can also increase the rate at which you burn calories — even when you’re not exercising. That’s because strength training builds muscle, and muscle requires more calories just to maintain itself than fat does.

But, Hannon says, “Exercise alone doesn’t typically lead to weight loss. You also have to reduce calorie intake.”

4. Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease

As you may know, heart disease is a common complication of type 2 diabetes. But a regular exercise routine that includes strength training can help lower a number of risk factors related to heart disease, including obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, according to the American Heart Association. A sedentary lifestyle only increases the risk of these conditions, making exercise an efficient way to lower your risk of multiple health problems.

5. Help Strengthen Your Bones

High blood sugar can mean more glucose attaches to the protein in bones (collagen), weakening their structure. “People with diabetes are at increased risk for fractures,” Hannon says. “They may also have other complications, such as neuropathy (numbness) in the legs and feet, meaning they’re more prone to falls.”

Strength-training exercises can help improve bone strength, balance, and mobility, all of which lessen the chance of a fall.

Kelsey Wells X Everyday Health: 5-Minute Strength Workout

Kelsey Wells X Everyday Health: 5-Minute Strength Workout

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How to Start Strength Training When You Have Diabetes

If you haven’t been physically active or have heart disease, high blood pressure, or other complications of diabetes, talk with your doctor about the precautions you should take before exercising. The American Diabetes Association has some tips for how to exercise safely and what to avoid if you have diabetes-related health conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, neuropathy, and more.

Then consider working with a healthcare practitioner or certified fitness instructor who can help you design a strength workout that would be best for you, Kemmis says.

You might also want to look for classes that combine resistance training and aerobic exercise.

When you’re ready to get started, you may want to begin your strength-training routine by lifting small weights and doing exercises such as squats, biceps curls, and crunches. To avoid injury, start slowly and build up gradually from there, Kemmis says. As you build strength, you can increase the:

  • Intensity
  • Number of sets
  • Frequency of your workouts

“Start the progression by increasing the weight or resistance, then the number of sets, and, finally, the days [of exercise] per week,” Kemmis suggests. Unless your doctor instructs you otherwise, your ultimate goal should be to train two or three times a week and complete three sets of eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise to the point of muscle fatigue.

A safety tip: If you’re unable to breathe evenly, back off on the intensity of your resistance training, Kemmis says.

“Remember, a well-rounded exercise program should include strength training and aerobic exercise,” she adds. “This will likely provide better benefits to blood glucose control than either exercise alone.”

The Takeaway

  • Regular exercise is an important part of staying as healthy as you can if you have type 2 diabetes. Doctors say the ideal fitness routine should include both aerobics and strength training, which can have particular benefits for people with this chronic condition.
  • Some health benefits of strength training include helping the body use glucose more effectively, lowering blood sugar, and lowering the risk of heart disease.
  • Talk to your doctor before starting any exercise regimen, start slow, and stick with it. A fitness program that includes strength training can be a powerful tool for helping you stay as healthy as you can and better managing type 2 diabetes.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Strength and Resistance Training Exercise. American Heart Association. January 19, 2024.
  2. Qadir R et al. Effectiveness of Resistance Training and Associated Program Characteristics in Patients at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine — Open. May 29, 2021.
  3. Diabetes, Heart Disease, & Stroke. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. April 2021.
  4. Konar M et al. Mechanistic Implications of Diabetes Leading to Bone Pathology. Journal of Orthopaedic Reports. December 2025.
  5. Campbell B. Exercise and Bone Health. OrthoInfo. July 2020.
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Lynn Grieger, RDN, CDCES

Medical Reviewer

Lynn Grieger is a registered dietitian-nutritionist, certified diabetes care and education specialist, certified personal trainer, and certified health and wellness coach. She completed requirements to become a registered dietitian at Valparaiso University in 1987 and completed a dietetic internship at Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, Illinois, in 1988. 

Lynn brings her expertise in nutrition, exercise, and behavior change to her work in helping people reach their individual health and fitness goals. In addition to writing for Everyday Health, she has also written for websites and publications like Food and Health Communications, Today's Dietitian, iVillage.com, and Rodale Press. She has a passion for healthy, nutrient-dense, great-tasting food and for being outdoors as much as possible — she can often be found running or hiking, and has completed a marathon in every state.

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Beth W. Orenstein

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Beth W. Orenstein is a freelance writer for HealthDay, Radiology Today, the Living Well section of The American Legion Magazine, St. Luke’s University Health Network, and others. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University (1978), where she majored in English and was editor of the student newspaper for three years.

No matter the weather around her eastern Pennsylvania home, Orenstein either bikes 25 to 30 miles or walks at least 6 miles every day. Her one indulgence is blueberry pancakes — but only after biking a long distance.

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