Pump Tips for Different Types of Exercise

The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Diabetes Association have established general clinical practice recommendations for exercise and diabetes.

While the wide variety of sports and recreational activities makes it difficult for them to make all-encompassing recommendations, a rule of thumb for all activities is for pumpers to first consider pre-exercise blood glucose levels. Your insulin reductions and/or the carbohydrate intake for activities will depend on their intensity and duration.

Less-intensive Activity

For shorter, less-intense activities, you can often compensate with a change in either insulin (basal and/or bolus doses) or carbohydrate intake.

Weight Training

For an activity like weight training, you may not require any immediate regimen changes, but watch out for changing blood sugars later on.

Longer, More-intense Activity

You will probably need a combination of carbohydrate intake and insulin reduction to maintain blood sugars for longer, more intense activities.

For sport- and activity-specific recommendations and athlete examples for insulin-pump users, please refer to The Diabetic Athlete (Colberg, Human Kinetics, 2000).