HIIT or Zone 2?

[GSARider]

Hi all, I have been exercising since December 22, started off not being able to do more than 5 mins rowing. I am 56 and semi-retired, so I have built it up since then and manage 2 to 3x 60 min sessions at Zone 2 heart rate and 2 to 3 x 30 min HIIT sessions per week. I also do weights 4 times a week.

I have improved my health enormously with Hb1ac figures down from 12.2 to 6.2 and weight from 126kg to 95kg.

On cardio training for type 2 diabetics, there’s a lot of conflicting info…some say zone 2 training is better and others say HIIT. Info I have read says that in type 2 diabetics, zone 2 training isn’t effective because lactic acids build up faster.

I have been doing both to cover all bases, but what’s the real life consensus?

 

[Jodee]

I just do what I can myself, sometimes that is just walking and yesterday I mowed the grass.

I think mainly any exercise will be helpful to diabetes of course if young and fit you will be able to do more and cardio training sounds like a good plan if its not overdone.

Congratulations on your achievements with fitness and lowering your Hb1ac.

 

[helli]

what’s the real life consensus?

It depends how you define "best".
I think, the best exercise is the one you enjoy.
It is no point doing HIIT or zone 2 training if you do not like it and cannot maintain it.
I do not have type 2 so my experience may not be relevant. But fwiw I vary my exercise: climbing on Monday, walking with weights (weekly shop) on Tuesday, spin class Wednesday, rest Thursday and Friday then gym workout with combination of cardio and free weights on Saturday and Sunday. My motivation for exercise is muscle tone, heart health (reduce risk of CVD), energy (I am less lethargic when I have exercised), socialising and enjoyment.

 

[Eddy Edson]

Info I have read says that in type 2 diabetics, zone 2 training isn’t effective because lactic acids build up faster.

Nothing much useful to say about your question, sorry, but I found this comment interesting because it intersects with something I've been trying to figure out.

Lactate certainly builds faster and takes longer to clear if like me you have peripheral artery disease. Insufficient blood flow => insufficient oxygen => earlier lactate release.

Perhaps that has some bearing on your comment re T2D, given the high association between atherosclerosis and T2D?

Anyway, I've been trying to get a handle on what zone 2 actually means for somebody with PAD. If the definition of "zone 2" is tied to lactate levels then presumably it means that zone 2 starts at a lower MET / exertion level than for people without PAD. In which case is it actually counterproductive to exercise at a MET level corresponding to a non-PAD person's zone 2?

I have found no answer to this in published studies - some highly technical papers talking about various potential negative efffects of exercise for PAD sufferers, including lactate build up, but no clear conclusions on risks vs benefits and nothing on zone 2 in particular.

I also get nothing from talking to exercise physiologists, a professor of general practice, a vasular specialist. I'm seeing a cardiologist in January but not hopeful that he will have much to add on this topic.

In practical terms I have this: I do 2+ hours of exercise per day at around 5 METs avg which should vaguely correspond to zone 2 for a "normal" person. That's pretty consistent but my heart rate response isn't: sometimes it goes up to as much as 3X resting just from walking, sometimes it stays below 1.5X. It seems pretty much random, day by day.

Anyway, when my heart rate is high I feel great and "zone 2"-ish. Lactate etc production seems to be delayed and faster-clearing; leg & ankle stroing & springy; etc.

But when it's low it's a real slog, my gammy leg is stiuff & weak & has burning muscles no doubt because H+ ions etc (and presumably lactate) aren't being cleared, and I can feel like c**p for hours afterwards: so not "zone 2"-ish.

But which is actually better for me: heart rate way above normal "zone 2" levels but lactate levels (probably) in zone; or vice versa; or neither ...

OK, ramble finished 🙂

 

[GSARider]

With more research it seems HIIT training is better, as Eddy says above, lactate levels build up faster for people with PAD…but also Type 2 Diabetes, so a longer zone 2 workout does not have the same benefits. Apparently a faster HIIT session has more value. So I will be sticking to more of them. Today’s rowing session using Apple Fitness Plus was good. 67% in zones 3 & 4.

 

[pistolpete]

Faster HIIT sessions tend to burn fat and keep burning after exercise, obviously a combination of all exercise is best. Big respect for how well your doing 😎😎

 

[GSARider]

Faster HIIT sessions tend to burn fat and keep burning after exercise, obviously a combination of all exercise is best. Big respect for how well your doing 😎😎

It's a bit more than that for T2D's - it keeps the glucose levels down for at least 24 hours. In some studies, it has shown that it can reduces BG levels by 35% in two weeks of training.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

For T1s (and I an not sure if the same holds in T2), high intensity/anaerobic exercise tends to lead to a release of glucose from the liver/muscles and can raise BG levels helping to stave off hypoglycaemia.

In general cardio/aerobic tend to have a glucose lowering effect, and may need fuelling with fast acting carbs, or offsetting by reducing basal insulin on an insulin pump.

I’ve not seen the numbered exercise level system before so will have to look up how they are defined (it tended to be more heart rate zones and VO2max when I was last seen in gyms!)

 

[Eddy Edson]

I’ve not seen the numbered exercise level system before so will have to look up how they are defined (it tended to be more heart rate zones and VO2max when I was last seen in gyms!)

To be precise, zone 2 is defined by post-activity lactate levels.

Squidgily, it's sorta-kinda the same thing as "moderate" or "fat burn heart rate rate zone" or some other squidgy gym-bro term.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

squidgy gym-bro term

Love the idea of a squidgy gym-bro.

Presumably their gym-bro-ness was intended to make them less squidgy over time?

(and yes, of course I know this isn’t what you meant 🙂 )