How QuickHIT Workouts affect Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas either does not produce enough insulin or when the body is resistant to the insulin it produces. The major contributing factors to Type 2 Diabetes include insulin resistance, genetics, and lifestyle factors such as excess body weight, physical inactivity, and an unhealthy diet, and can often be hard to manage without professional help or prescription medicine.
Hyperglycemia, or raised blood sugar levels, is a common effect of uncontrolled diabetes and can lead to serious damage to the body's systems, particularly the cardiovascular system, over time. Approximately 90-95% of people with diabetes have Type 2 Diabetes. Although this disease was once seen only in adults, the obesity epidemic has led to a rise in cases of Type 2 Diabetes among children.
The number of people with diabetes has nearly quadrupled worldwide, from 108 million in 1980 to over 425 million today. Sadly, diabetes is the direct and indirect cause of 3.7 million deaths annually.
The A1c test is a blood test that provides an average of blood sugar levels over the previous three months prior to the blood draw. A normal A1c range for people without diabetes is between 4% and 5.7%. An A1c of 5.7% to 6.4% indicates pre-diabetes, and an A1c of 6.5% or higher indicates diabetes. The higher the A1c number, the greater the chance of having long-term health problems due to consistently high blood sugar levels.
Research shows that by exercising for 40-60 minutes per day, 3 to 4 times per week, A1c and Cardiac Risk Profile values can effectively change and improve. Incorporating regular exercise, such as the QuickHIT workout, is a key component in managing and improving diabetes. It is a time-efficient workout that can help improve overall fitness and can be tailored to individuals with diabetes and can help reduce blood sugar content to manageable levels in just 40 minutes of exercise a week.
QuickHIT workouts maximize the time efficiency of a workout by providing the maximum resistance that your muscles can handle throughout your entire range of motion during an exercise. Rather than dedicating hours every day on a treadmill or bike, someone suffering with Type 2 Diabetes can drastically reduce the symptoms and severity of the condition with a short, intense workout on a QuickHIT Apex or Pinnacle.
If you would like to learn more about the technology behind QuickHIT Equipment, check out our Science section for a more detailed breakdown of what makes QuickHIT different, such as Robotically-Controlled-Resistance or TruForce.