Diabetes, physical excercises

During physical activity, whole-body oxygen consumption may increase by as much as 20-fold, and even greater increases may occur in the working muscles.

A warm-up should consist of 5-10 min of aerobic activity (walking, cycling, etc.) at a low-intensity level. The warm-up session is to prepare the skeletal muscles, heart, and lungs for a progressive increase in exercise intensity.

After a short warm-up, muscles should be gently stretched for another 5-10 min. Primarily, the muscles used during the active physical activity session should be stretched, but warming up all muscle groups is optimal.

The active warm-up can either take place before or after stretching. After the activity session, a cool-down should be structured similarly to the warm-up. The cool-down should last about 5-10 min and gradually bring the heart rate down to its pre-exercise level.