Six million – that’s the number of people in Germany alone who are now suffering from a condition which they have acquired over the course of their life: Type 2 diabetes. The number of people with diabetes has risen by 38 percent since 1998 – and the numbers are continuing to rise! A Canadian study shows the seriousness of this disease, proving that diabetes shortens life expectancy by more than twelve years on average (Douglas, 2004). To make sure it doesn’t come to this, exercise as well as nutrition is essential.

The Zwickau diabetes studies have corroborated the positive effects of a strength endurance training program, specially designed for diabetics. Scientific research is currently being carried out in cooperation with the University of Leipzig and the diabetes and sport working group of the German Diabetes Society into how these findings can be transferred to training in a fitness studio with the aid of EGYM Smart Strength machines.
 

Preliminary clinical studies have demonstrated the positive effects of special strength endurance training.

In collaboration with the University of Giessen, the University of Bratislava, Hanover Medical School and the Zwickau-Glauchau-Meerane sports park, investigations were carried out into which type of training gave the best results for patients with Type 2 diabetes.

Over a period of six months, different training groups trained twice a week for a hour under the supervision of doctors and trainers. As well as a control group which didn’t train at all, one group trained specifically just endurance, another purely did strength training whilst the third group focused on strength endurance.

The strength endurance training completed in the trial showed the best effects on the long-term blood sugar level, cardiovascular performance and consequently on quality of life when compared with the other sports groups.
 

The specific strength endurance training can be used for diabetics with the aid of EGYM.

A planned, systematic and scientific approach during the training process is extremely important in order for the training to be successful. Ordinarily, however, this requires a large amount of staffing resources which are no longer feasible with increasing numbers of patients or members. The importance of quality control and quality assurance measures in sport for health is therefore increasing, so that every individual can train on the basis of the criteria of the most recent findings.

In the case of diabetes, the results of previous studies have shown that a special strength endurance program for diabetics which is completed two to three times a week has the most positive effects. We have transferred these training parameters to the software-controlled training programs on the EGYM Smart Strength machines. The objective is now to check whether the positive effects of a specially developed strength endurance training program for Type 2 diabetics can be transferred to a software-controlled training program in a fitness studio.

Sources

Douglas, M. (2004): Health-Related Quality of Life and Health-Adjusted Life Expectancy of People With Diabetes in Ontario, Canada.