Getting active: upper body workouts

Exercise is an important part of managing your blood sugar when you have diabetes. Here are some great upper body workouts that can help you get active.

This is easier than a regular push-up but does the same job.

1. From a standing position about 30 to 45 centimetres (12 to 18 inches) from a wall, put your hands on the wall about shoulder-width apart at chest level, with palms flat and fingers pointed towards the ceiling.
2. Slowly lower your chin towards the wall. Smoothly push back from the wall to the starting position.

Tips

• As you lower yourself to the wall, keep your elbows out to the sides.
• That works the chest muscles better than keeping elbows close to the body, which shifts the load more to the triceps muscles of the arms.
• If you feel pain in your hands or wrist, try placing hands farther apart or closer together on the wall.

This is an exercise that encourages you to work muscles exactly the way you use them for everyday activities.

1. Sit in a sturdy armchair, back straight and feet flat on the floor about hip-width apart. Place your hands on the chair's arms about even with the front of your body.
2. Using mostly your arms but assisting with your legs, push yourself out of the chair to a full standing position, letting go of the chair as you stand.
3. Lower yourself back into the chair, putting hands on the arms of the chair as you slowly come down, using your arm muscles to return to the starting position.

For a variation, maintain your hold on the arms of the chair until you fully extend your arms, then slowly lower yourself back into the chair.

This exercise for the biceps muscles will make hefting suitcases and heavy grocery bags a breeze and build shapely upper arms you won't mind baring in a short-sleeved shirt.

• Sit up straight on the front half of an armless chair, feet flat on the floor, with your arms hanging down by your side.
• Smoothly bend your elbows, keeping them positioned at your side, raising your hands towards your shoulders while rotating your palms a quarter turn so they face your shoulder at the top of the movement. Smoothly return to the starting position.

Tips

• If this exercise becomes too easy, try performing it while holding light dumbbells.
• Start with 450-gram or one kilogram (one- or two-pound weights).It's important to note to consult your doctor before starting any exercise routine.