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Movement and type 1 diabetes
Why a run and a sprint do opposite things to blood sugar, what the real risk is, and how to train without being afraid of it.
This section is for people with type 1 diabetes, and for the families, coaches and training partners around them. It explains why the same person can go low on a jog and high after a sprint, what being active is actually worth, and how to manage the lows it brings.
It starts by naming the fear. Fear of hypoglycemia is the single most documented reason people with type 1 stop exercising — and in children, it is often the parent's fear rather than the child's. That is an expected, well-known obstacle, and the pages below are meant to make it smaller.
The pages follow a session from start to finish: why blood sugar moves in two directions, what exercise does and doesn't do for you, where to be before you start, fuelling and checking while you move, the long tail of risk afterwards, game day, gear and conditions, and what coaches need to know.
- Why exercise can send blood sugar up or downA steady jog usually lowers blood sugar; a sprint or heavy lift usually raises it. Here is why, and why so few people with type 1 are taught this.
- What exercise is worth, and how much to doThe real benefits of activity with type 1, why A1C barely moves, the trade-off in lows, and Diabetes Canada's weekly targets.
- Before you start: glucose, ketones and insulinWhere your glucose should be before exercise, when not to train today, and the published starting points for reducing insulin.
- During exercise: fuelling and checkingHow much fast carbohydrate to take by session length, how often to check, why sensors run late, and when to stop for the day.
- After exercise: the overnight risk and the high that tempts youWhy the risk of going low lasts for hours after a session, how people usually lower it overnight, and why a post-workout high shouldn't be chased.
- Game day, and tricks worth tryingWhy blood sugar rises before a match, what helps instead of correcting it, and three exercise tricks with their evidence grades stated honestly.
- Gear, weather, water and existing complicationsKeeping sensors and pumps working through sport, how heat, cold, altitude and water change the picture, and the few real limits if you have complications.
- What coaches need to knowFor coaches, teachers and training partners: why type 1 is no reason to sit out, what to have on hand, how to spot a low, and eight things not to do.