If you’ve been told you need to keep your blood sugar levels in check, then exercise — paired with a healthy diet — is one of the best places to start.As a fitness editor, I always say that the best exercise for you is the exercise you don’t mind doing — sometimes finding the motivation to slip on your running shoes and head out of the door is half the battle.That said, if you’re wondering whether to focus on walking workouts or strength training to improve your blood sugar levels, you’ve come to the right place.
New research has compared the benefits of squats to walking workouts, and the results might surprise you.(Image credit: Getty/Science Photo Library)Squats or walking? The study A new study, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports compared different forms of exercise to see which was best when it came to blood sugar regulation.Participants were split into four different groups:Group one (referred to as ONE in the study): went for one, 30-minute walk per dayGroup two (SIT): sat, un-interrupted for 8.
5 hours per dayGroup three (WALK): went for a three-minute walk every 45 minutesGroup four (SQUAT): did 10 squats every 45 minutesResearchers found that both the WALK and SQUAT groups experienced a 21% reduction in blood sugar spikes, compared to the SIT group, who did nothing.Interestingly, the WALK and SQUAT group also had double the benefits of the group who went for one walk per day.Researchers concluded that short, frequent b.