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Weightlifting beats running for blood sugar control, researchers find (2025)
- andy99 3mo ago(in mice) - I get it if it’s some new experimental drug, a mouse probably makes sense to test first. With exercise you’d think they could go straight to humans? Seems like it would be more effort getting mice to lift weights than it’s worth.
- aarstid 3mo agoControlled experiments in humans are expensive, time consuming, and actually very difficult to do. Meanwhile any grad student can do a mouse model. The motivation of most academic labs is citations and grants, not useful information. Putting it together…
- softwaredoug 3mo agoIt’s probably saner to look at large populations of different types of athletes / exercise patterns in a longitudinal study.
- paytonjjones 3mo agoSelection effects are ridiculously strong for almost anything related to health. I strongly believe that's why nutrition science is soooo far behind the rest of medicine. There aren't nearly enough serious RCTs (whereas regulations make them abundant for other medical interventions).
- softwaredoug 3mo agoImagining adorable mice dumbbells
- teeray 3mo agoWith enough gains, Pinky & the Brain can finally take over world.
- softwaredoug 3mo agoPinky and the gains
- HPsquared 3mo agoMaybe the real value is in training mice to do useful work.
- edelbitter 3mo agoWe still are in the experimental phase about how we can get two groups of human study participants to keep behaving mostly the same, while also complying with the change in exercise we want data on.
- softwaredoug 3mo agoAs this is a mice study it’s worth pointing out humans are particularly adapted for endurance exercise compared to other animals. Not gonna pretend to be a HN expert, but it seems relevant when comparing this sort of thing across species.
- ventana 3mo agoLuckily, we live in the reality where every human who is interested in how their own body, and not the one of some random mouse, deals with blood sugar, can order a relatively inexpensive (for the benefits it provides) device — a continuous glucose monitor — and gather all the data they need to see what helps controlling the sugar level, and what does not. Using a CGM was a truly life changing experience for me, and I recommend trying it for everyone interested.
- loeg 3mo agoOr just, you know, lift weights and run.
- NotGMan 3mo agoMany people have prediabetes without knowing. Just doing this won't magically help everyone. GCM also isn't enough since you can have elevated insuline for 10 to 20 years before blood sugar starts rising, so a GCM won't show this.
- loeg 3mo agoPretty much everyone will benefit from regular lifting and running, whether they're diabetic, pre-diabetic, or not.
- tredre3 3mo agoPretty much everyone doesn't want to do that unless they have a doctor telling them it's either that or death. A GCM might nudge them into making real changes, telling them to "just lift and run" will most definitely not.
- codybontecou 3mo agoWhich CGM did you get? Don't they require a prescription?
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- umvi 3mo agoDr. Bernstein has long argued this and documents it extensively in his book "Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution"[1]. The main reason being that muscles act like natural glucose sinks that drain sugar directly out of the bloodstream, bypassing the liver, so more muscles = more glucose control. I highly recommend the introductory chapter to "Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution" by the way, even for non-diabetics. It's basically just the "Life and career" section of his wiki page, but in way more detail -- a really interesting biographical account about an industrial engineer doing diabetes self-experiments with a glucose meter he procured through his wife and going up against the medical community/orthodoxy and failing, only to finally break through when he got a medical degree late in life. I could probably upload and link to just that section if people are interested. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_K._Bernstein https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_K._Bernstein
- throwthrow7766 3mo ago2.5kg variation from moment to moment can be entirely accounted for by hydration status and intestinal content volume.
- mlhpdx 3mo agoHave you studied control systems? Adding a second storage mechanism with different dynamics changes control, and may complicate it. Those muscles may increase hypoglycemic events as well as soften spikes.
- sublinear 3mo agoAs much as we like to think in abstractions, the tail does not wag the dog. You may intend to lift weights to gain muscle, but the body is doing a lot more than just gaining muscle. It's interesting to see what else happens. That is the point of this discussion.
- SoftTalker 3mo agoWeightlifing is the only exercise that I've ever managed to make a habit. I do powerlifting 3x/week. I've tried running, swimming, cycling, etc. and hated all of it.
- xeromal 3mo agoSame. I just take great joy in powerlifting especially squats
- yodelshady 3mo agoYup, love the adrenaline rush, the simple "get up with this heavy shit on you" on it. After running for a decade without any spectacular performance to speak of and constant weight issues, one year of powerlifting 2x a week - not only is every single health metric better with less running, possibly the best they've ever been, at a point where they should be declining; my running is hitting PBs as well. The downside, I'm a bore about it.
- tokioyoyo 3mo agoSince it’s summer i try to start my day with biking downhill to the gym for some weightlifting, then bike to the outdoor pool, then slowly bike back. Probably the best 2 hours of my day every day. But I agree with the spirit, once you find what you enjoy, no matter how mediocre you are at it, it feels amazing.
- mattlondon 3mo agoRunning is quite meditative when you get in to it (at least for me when outside - indoor running on treadmills is soul destroying though I agree). You don't have to go fast or far, but after 10-15-20 mins I find my mind gets into a fairly calm state, even if my legs and lungs are burning. We - as a species - are engineered and built to run. I think there is a lot to be said for it. If anyone is reading this and considering giving it a go, please do. You don't need any specific fancy equipment (just some generic trainers/sneakers will do - running does not damage your knees, quite the opposite in fact). I love travelling for work and packing my running gear and exploring the city I am visiting while running - beats sitting in a hotel room watching netflix on my own. My biggest advice is that when you first start running outside you will feel like you are going slow even if you are not. If you have a smartphone get an app that will help you track your running pace (Strava is popular but I use runkeeper as I don't like the gamification & social parts of strava) and don't try to go faster than 6 mins/km for the first few runs. When I first started running outside (after doing a lot of gym-based treadmill running and before smartphones were really a thing) I had no frame of reference for how I was moving through the space apart from driving so it felt so terribly terribly slow when in reality I was pushing very hard. There are no prizes here and you are not racing anyone - run at a pace that feels sustainable and let your mind go. Good luck.
- gopalv 3mo agoOutside of the (in mice) factor, the study compares optional exercise with mandatory exercise factors. > To eat, the mice had to lift the lid while wearing a small shoulder collar, causing a squat-like movement that engaged the muscle contractions people use during resistance exercise. vs > For the endurance group, mice were given open access to a running wheel, an established model of aerobic exercise The study is comparing the exercise that came in right before eating, which is effective at sugar control over the exercise done at any time as desired. Speaking as a runner, I ignore the diet bump which makes me put on extra fat when I am training up for the SF (+2.5 kg over June & July is normal). Mostly because I eat more the night before and mostly light carbs. In fact, I'd bet my resting metabolism is actually slower when I'm training and the resting heart rates drop to 45 bpm & sleep takes up fewer calories too. The muscle mass increase from lifting probably never cuts your metabolism needs when you are recovering or resting. Cardiovascular fitness doesn't really cause weight loss when you're resting. So you'll be comparing something which reduces the calorie spend for the all the time you're not running vs something slightly bumps the spend when you are not lifting.
- bob1029 3mo agoI used to do weightlifting, but it's hard to keep up daily discipline with potential injury risk. Rest days are mandatory and this is the #1 killer of compliance over time (for me). Rowing is my go-to now. It is low impact so I can do it every day without any exceptions. I've been able to hold onto this discipline for 2 years now. The advantage of rowing is that there isn't really a limit to how much it can suck. You can burn 500 calories per hour, or 9000. It's more of a psychological battle than a physical one. My system is to row at whatever intensity and duration until I my brain starts to internally play music from Spotify. However long that takes. Sometimes it's 40 minutes, sometimes it's 80. I think this variance mostly boils down to blood sugar and what I ate the previous day. If I gorge on a box of snacky crackers, I need to row for at least an hour before I stop feeling like shit.
- SubmarineClub 3mo agoIt depends how you train. 6 days per week is pretty common among bodybuilders. Injury risk is also lower (for naturals) because you’re generally lifting at a lower % of 1 RM.
- tootie 3mo agoIt's funny you should say that because I had to stop rowing due to repetitive strain on my ankle.
- karamanolev 3mo agoYou cannot burn 9000 calories per hour. Cycling at 166W for 1 hour burns approx. 600 calories. That's sustainable for a most amateurs. The absolute best riders in the world can optimistically do 450W for 1 hour and then be completely drained. That's 2000 calories and mere mortals are nowhere near that. So a realistic cap if you have great cardio and you're pushing it is 1000 calories.
- bonesss 3mo agoRest days are not mandatory, that’s a matter of programming. /r/gzcl was started by a guy who has done more than 1,000 training days in a row. Orthodox weightlifting has athletic/competitive roots, which invites a certain level of injury, but modern kinesiology and joint-centric lifting create a very different injury profile. Work with a PT for detailed specifics, but 7 days a week lifting programs for seniors are possible and a decent starting point for decrepit middle-aged IT workers training for longevity.
- gentooflux 3mo agoThe exercise you like doing and will do beats no exercise at all for blood sugar control
- weird-eye-issue 3mo agoYeah but sometimes you have to do things you don't particularly like. For example there are lots of people who do nothing but cycling and never do any sort of strength training which is certainly healthier than doing absolutely nothing but they are really missing out by not doing strength training.
- bicx 3mo agoYou don’t have to exercise at all though. The far greater majority are people who don’t like exercise at all, and won’t do anything. To have a person do at least some exercise of any form is a big win for their health anytime it happens. That’s what we don’t want to discourage.
- weird-eye-issue 3mo agoNobody is actively discouraging that so you are just making up a strawman argument. That said cross training is very important for things like injury prevention. So if you just do something like running and nothing else at some point you are far more likely than not to get injured to the point that you have to completely stop or switch to something lower impact like cycling. And while cycling is great it doesn't have lots of the benefits of something like strength training so things like your bone health could still rapidly deteriorate as you age. So that means something relatively preventable like a fall leading to a broken hip that you never recover from can still happen to you. But yeah just do what you like and make sure you don't do anything you don't like in the moment
- sublinear 3mo agoI find it fascinating that people who exercise would want to skip the weights. Strength training makes everything else so much easier, even "doing nothing" (sleep, metabolism, etc.)!
- Murfalo 3mo agoSimple trick for those outside of academia. Google the impact factor of the journal you are reading. If it's below 5 it's fake. If it's 5 or above, it's also fake.
- analog8374 3mo agohave you tried grape soda?
- beejiu 3mo ago"In this model, mice lived in specially designed cages where food was accessed through a hinged, weighted lid. To eat, the mice had to lift the lid while wearing a small shoulder collar, causing a squat-like movement that engaged the muscle contractions people use during resistance exercise. The load was gradually increased over several days, mimicking progressive strength training." So the study doesn't really show that weighlifting per se is beneficial, but putting food behind weighted hatches is? "Voluntary wheel running (EEX) was conducted as previously described in single-housed mice with access to voluntary running wheels and food and water ad-libitum," And the runners could each as much as they liked? Sounds like bunk.
- DanMcInerney 3mo agoDoes the average "scientist" even care about quality these days or is it all just whatever headline makes their funders happy?
- tangenter 3mo agoIt drives engagement. That’s the metric for why this gets posted.
- laughing_man 3mo agoThe editor nearly always chooses the title when an article is published.
- cumshitpiss 3mo ago[dead]
- setopt 3mo agoSelection bias. The average scientist doesn’t write oversimplified popsci articles that go viral.
- beala 3mo agoThis is great news if you're a mouse with diabetes.
- deleted 3mo ago[deleted]
- mlhpdx 3mo agoI try to be open minded about research choices because I have no special knowledge of what will or won’t be important. Left-field discoveries have made profound and positive impacts on many occasions. I’m having trouble with this one, and am tempted to write it off as playing with mice in a lab. The extrapolation to human conditions is hyperbolic, maybe worse. Given the number of people with continuous glucose monitors and activity tracking watches in the world, why not study that data directly? Causation by activity would be more apparent, more relevant and more significant (if present) wouldn’t it?
- Alien1Being 3mo agoIn mice... These poor quality animal studies tend to be non-replicable, but provide fodder for predatory journals and tabloid journalism. And for getting grants from gullible philanthropists. Citations and money, a great outcome for some random graduate student at a third tier programme... I treat many obese adult diabetics. It is difficult to get most of them to go for a brisk walk a couple of times a week, far less do weight lifting before each meal. There is a reason why they are diabetics ( apart from the genetic overlay , which is a major factor in some populations).
- wredcoll 3mo agoOh hey, you sound like you study in the field, is it truly possible to treat/cure T2 diabetes in obese patients by basically fasting based weightloss? I saw some studies/articles about it a couple of years ago and then nothing recently...
- regexorcist 3mo agoAnyone who's ever done a proper session of heavy squats or deadlifts knows this. Nothing compares to that feeling, certainly no amount of cardio.
- jeeeb 3mo agoI have T1 diabetes and wear a GCM so have a continuous view of my blood sugar levels. I also go to the gym and exercise otherwise. My experience is somewhat different. Even walking is more effective than chess presses or arm exercises for immediately reducing blood sugar. After an hour or so of more intense aerobic exercise I find it basically impossible to avoid a hypo (low blood sugar). Simplistically if the effect of exercise on blood glucose is roughly proportional to Volume of muscle engaged x Length of time engaged, things like running should be very effective. The bulk of your muscle is in your lower body and you’re continuously engaging it. I suspect any decently intense exercise can have a moderate lowering effect on blood sugar levels after the immediate drop seen when you’re exercising, but the effective isn’t huge.
- bradleyy 3mo agoAlso T1D, and I think the point here is adding lean muscle helps with blood sugar, and that seems to be pretty well established at this point. Does weight lifting have an immediate effect? Like so many T1D things (I suspect you'll know what I mean): insulin on board/carbs on board/sleep/cortisol/temperature/phase of moon/vibes all play a part, haha. If you like doing the same thing and getting different results, you might be Diabetic. Anyways, hope you're managing well, and may your time in range be great!
- NotGMan 3mo agoSprints and HIIT style exercise is shown to deplete muscle glycogen much, much faster than cardio. From the top of my head: a 20 min HIIT session outperforms a ~2 to ~4 hour cardio session when it comes to glycogen depletion. So doing cardio for blood sugar control (depletion) is probably a bad idea/waste of time (assuming you don't like to do cardio). Though obviously it's possible it may vary from diabetic to diabetic and from a healthy to a healthy person in extremes. A GCM is cheap to test it out. For people talking about gym: legs are over 50% of your muscle mass so obviously chest and biceps curls aren't gonna cut it. Leg work is needed.
- deleted 3mo ago[deleted]
- BatFastard 3mo agoAren't article like this required to say "in mice" somewhere in title?
- unparagoned 3mo agoIdeally you’d weightlifting a few days a week and do cardio in a few days. So it’s not an either or.