I have noticed in many gyms that most people will base their workouts on only cardio or only weight lifting. A new study on sedentary people with type two diabetes shows that mixing these two up throughout the week is your best option. Researchers randomly assigned 262 sedentary men and women with type 2 diabetes to a control group that remained sedentary; an aerobic group that walked on a treadmill each week (equivalent to a brisk, 4 mph walk for 50 minutes 3 times a week); a resistance group that did three weight-training sessions per week (2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions of 9 exercises); and a combo group that walked on the treadmill (42 minutes 3 times a week at 4 mph) and did two weight lifting sessions each week (1 set each of 9 exercises per session). What they measured in these tests was Hemoglobin A1c which allowed them to get an understanding of the percentage of red blood cells that had glucose stuck to them. The average reading at the beginning of the study was about 7.7. After the workout periods concluded, levels did not change much for those who did strictly aerobic or strictly resistance. However, those who combined the two had levels drop by 0.34%. I found this very interesting especially with it being said in the article that all groups spent the same amount of time in the gym. Apparently keeping the body guessing with new workouts is most beneficial whether it is losing weight or doing your best to preserve your overall health.
