Troy Hurst holds a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Carroll University. He is a physical therapist specializing in both athletic and vestibular rehabilitation with an emphasis on performance running.
When you hear phrases such as “blood sugar control” and “insulin sensitivity” on social media, it’s easy to feel like these are things you need to monitor obsessively.
But here’s the truth: your body is incredibly good at maintaining healthy blood sugar levels on its own. For most people who eat a balanced diet, this isn’t something to stress over, unless you’ve been advised otherwise by your doctor.
What you can do though is support your body’s natural systems to perform at their best, and one powerful way to do this is through exercise.
Lifting weights is more than just building strength or sculpting muscles and can have a positive effect on your overall health, including better supporting healthy glucose metabolism.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any health conditions, please consult your physician first.
Now, let’s take a closer look at how lifting weights can help maintain sugar levels.
Yes, weightlifting can help maintain sugar levels during and after exercise through several mechanisms.
Immediate Use of Glucose by Muscles During Exercise
When you lift weights, your muscles need energy to contract and do work. They primarily get this energy from a combination of stored glycogen (the primary storage form of glucose in muscles) and glucose circulating in your bloodstream. This immediate use of glucose is your body’s way of fueling intense activity (1).
During the session, as your muscles work harder, they pull glucose out of your blood to meet energy demands. This happens even without additional insulin, as muscle contractions alone can trigger glucose uptake (1). This mechanism supports healthy insulin function and glucose metabolism.
Enhanced Insulin Sensitivity After a Workout
Once your weightlifting session is over, the benefits don’t stop. For hours – sometimes up to 24 or more – your body becomes temporarily more sensitive to insulin (2). Insulin is a hormone that helps shuttle glucose out of your blood and into cells where it’s used for energy or stored for later (3).
Resistance training makes your cells more responsive to insulin (4), which means that less insulin is needed to manage blood sugar. This is particularly valuable for everyone as it supports efficient metabolism.
Long-Term Muscle Growth and Glucose Storage
When you lift weights consistently with a well-structured program that features progressive overload, you’ll likely build muscle over time. This increase in muscle mass isn’t just about strength or aesthetics, it’s also a win for maintaining sugar levels. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue, which means it requires energy even when you’re resting (5).
More muscle means your body may have a greater capacity to store and utilize glucose efficiently, which helps keep blood sugar levels balanced (6). Think of muscle as a sponge for glucose – it soaks it up, reducing what’s left circulating in your bloodstream.
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Increased Levels of Glucose Transporters
Weightlifting doesn’t just build muscle, it also enhances the efficiency of your muscles. Regular resistance training increases the number of glucose transporters (called GLUT-4 proteins) in your cells (7).
These transporters act like doors and allow glucose to enter muscle cells. More transporters mean more doors are open for glucose to leave your bloodstream and fuel your muscles. This adaptation improves your body’s ability to maintain healthy blood sugar levels, even on days when you don’t work out.
Support for Overall Metabolic Wellness
Lifting weights isn’t just about what happens in your muscles. Over time, regular resistance training can improve overall metabolic wellness. It may reduce visceral fat (the unhealthy fat around your organs), lower inflammation, and support cardiovascular health – all of which are closely linked to effective blood sugar management. These combined benefits enhance overall well-being (8).
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Blood sugar levels can start to drop during exercise as your muscles actively use glucose for energy. This process is insulin-independent, which means glucose can enter muscle cells even without extra insulin(9). This effect is particularly noticeable during moderate to intense exercise.
Intense or prolonged exercise can temporarily raise blood sugar due to stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. However, this is typically followed by a drop as glucose is absorbed into muscles or stored as glycogen (9).
The speed and extent of this energy-use effect depend on factors such as exercise intensity, duration, and individual metabolic health. For example, metabolically healthy individuals may experience a quicker normalization of blood sugar than those with insulin resistance.
After exercise, blood sugar levels can remain lower for up to 24 hours or even longer in some cases. This is due to increased insulin sensitivity, where cells become more efficient at using insulin to absorb glucose. Resistance training and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) are particularly effective for sustaining this benefit (4, 10).
Yes, various types of exercise can maintain balanced sugar levels, each working through its own unique mechanisms. In addition to lifting weights, activities such as aerobic exercise, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and yoga offer significant benefits for managing and promoting blood sugar control (2).
In fact, studies have consistently shown that combining resistance training (such as weightlifting) with aerobic exercise (such as walking or jogging) can produce even greater blood sugar-maintaining effects than either type of exercise on its own (2).
Aerobic activities, such as walking, jogging, cycling, or swimming, are highly effective for maintaining balanced blood sugar levels. During aerobic exercise, your muscles use glucose from the bloodstream for energy. This increased glucose demand leads to a natural reduction in blood sugar levels during the workout (11).
Studies have shown that consistent aerobic exercise improves insulin sensitivity, which means your cells become better at absorbing and using glucose after exercise. Over time, this can lead to better long-term blood sugar control and contribute to overall wellness and energy balance (11).
HIIT involves alternating short bursts of intense exercise with periods of rest or low-intensity activity. This type of workout can result in a reduction in blood sugar levels, as the intensity pushes muscles to rapidly absorb glucose for energy (12).
Research has indicated that just two weeks of regular HIIT can significantly improve insulin sensitivity and maintain fasting blood sugar levels for hours or even days after a session (12).
The benefits of HIIT are particularly promising for those with limited time as it packs a metabolic punch into shorter exercise durations.
Although it’s less intense, yoga provides unique benefits for blood sugar regulation, particularly in the long term. Certain yoga poses are believed to support the health of the pancreas, which plays a key role in producing insulin (13).
In addition, yoga may also help reduce levels of stress hormones like cortisol, which are known to increase blood sugar when elevated. The combination of mindfulness, reduced stress, and gentle physical activity helps improve overall insulin function and enables better blood sugar stability (13).
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The best exercise for maintaining blood sugar will depend on your personal preferences, fitness level, and long-term consistency. Research has shown that both aerobic and resistance exercises have their own strengths, and together, they can amplify results. What’s most important is to stay active regularly, as any type of physical movement supports better blood sugar regulation.
Exercise Intensity
In many studies, moderate-intensity exercise has generally been associated with steady improvements in energy utilization compared to vigorous exercise (14). This is likely due to the body’s ability to sustain moderate activity for longer durations without triggering counter-regulatory glucose-raising hormones.
Examples of moderate-intensity activities include weight lifting (not to the point of complete muscle fatigue), brisk walking, cycling, swimming, dancing, and water aerobics. These should be performed for at least 150 minutes per week or about 30 minutes a day most days.
Exercise Duration
Longer exercise sessions have been found to be associated with greater reductions in blood sugar levels. For example, exercising for 30 minutes or more led to more significant decreases compared to shorter sessions (15).
That being said, any physical activity is worth doing, as even 10-minute sessions are effective for blood sugar regulation and other positive health outcomes (16).
Exercise Timing
The timing of exercise relative to meals plays a crucial role (16):
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Walking for 30 minutes a day can indeed help maintain blood sugar levels, particularly in individuals who are looking to manage their blood sugar levels more effectively.
Walking helps your body use insulin more effectively (17). During exercise, your muscles take up glucose from the bloodstream to use as energy, independent of insulin. This process maintains blood sugar levels both during and after the walk and can support insulin sensitivity over time.
Regular walking activates large muscle groups, particularly those in your legs. Active muscles are better able to absorb glucose from the bloodstream, which reduces overall levels of circulating blood sugar (18). This makes walking particularly valuable for preventing spikes in blood glucose after meals.
Beyond the short-term effects, walking for 30 minutes daily can contribute to better HbA1C levels – a long-term marker of blood sugar control. Studies have shown that moderate-intensity activities such as walking can lead to sustained glucose management when performed consistently. It also helps reduce visceral fat – fat that is stored around organs (16).
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Yes, squats can maintain sugar levels by making your muscles actively use glucose for energy during the movement. Squats as a part of resistance training also increase insulin sensitivity over time, which helps your cells absorb glucose more efficiently (4). Yes, fasting can maintain sugar levels by forcing your body to use stored glucose for energy. During a fast, insulin levels drop, which prompts your body to break down glycogen (stored glucose) and eventually burn fat for fuel, which can stabilize blood sugar over time (19). High-intensity exercises, such as sprinting or high-intensity interval training (HIIT), burn the most glucose in a short period. These activities demand quick bursts of energy, which forces your muscles to rapidly draw glucose from your bloodstream (12). To help your body use energy efficiently in as little as 10 minutes, you should engage in moderate-intensity physical activities such as brisk walking, jumping jacks, or body weight exercises (e.g. squats or push-ups). These activities increase glucose uptake by the muscles almost immediately, which reduces blood sugar levels quickly (16).Frequently Asked Questions
Can squats maintain sugar levels?
Does fasting maintain sugar levels?
What exercise burns the most glucose?
How can you support a healthy glucose balance in just 10 minutes?
The evidence is clear – regular exercise plays a significant role in maintaining sugar levels and improving overall metabolic health. Whether it’s through resistance training, aerobic exercise, HIIT, or yoga, every type of physical activity offers its own unique benefits for blood sugar control.
It’s important to find a form of exercise that you enjoy and can sustain in the long term as consistency is key in maintaining blood sugar levels. And remember, always consult your healthcare provider before you start any new exercise routine, particularly if you have pre-existing health conditions or are taking medications that can affect blood sugar levels.
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not serve to address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on for making any kind of decision-making. Any action taken as a direct or indirect result of the information in this article is entirely at your own risk and is your sole responsibility.
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