How Much Exercise Do You Actually Need for Type 2 Diabetes?

"Exercise more" is the advice almost everyone with type 2 diabetes hears. A 2026 review put an actual number on it — and found one type of exercise does more than the rest for the same effort.

Most advice about exercise and diabetes stops at "move more." That's true, but it isn't specific enough to act on. A 2026 review did the harder work: pooling 34 trials, 2,461 people, to find out how much exercise, and which kind, actually moves blood sugar [1]. It's worth saying up front who this evidence is about — the study specifically looked at older adults (average age 60 and up) with type 2 diabetes, which describes a large share of people managing the condition, but if you're younger, take the exact numbers as a strong signal rather than a rule written for you specifically.

The number

Improvement in HbA1c — the standard three-month blood sugar measure — became statistically significant starting at roughly 520 MET-minutes of exercise per week [1]. That figure sounds technical, but it lands in familiar territory: roughly 150 minutes a week of brisk walking, or the equivalent mix of activities, is in the same range as the dose this research found meaningful. It's not a coincidence with general activity guidelines — it's closer to confirmation of them, with a specific outcome (blood sugar) now attached to the number.

Which kind of exercise, specifically

Not all exercise types performed equally. Combining aerobic and resistance training in the same routine produced the largest HbA1c improvement of everything tested — nearly double the effect of aerobic exercise alone, and clearly ahead of resistance training by itself [1]. Ranked by how consistently each modality helped: combined training first, traditional structured movement practices (like tai chi) second, high-intensity interval training third, then continuous aerobic exercise and resistance training roughly tied [1].

The practical read: if you're only doing one type of exercise for your blood sugar, adding the other — cardio plus strength, rather than either alone — is the single change most likely to matter.

What resistance training won't do, and that's fine

A separate, large review looking specifically at resistance training in type 2 diabetes found real, consistent benefits for blood sugar and blood pressure — but little to no effect on body weight or BMI [2]. If you've been lifting weights and the scale hasn't moved, that's not a sign it isn't working. Glycemic control and weight are different outcomes, and this research is clear that resistance training earns its place on the first one even when it doesn't touch the second.

What this means for you

Combined training — some cardio, some resistance work, most weeks — in the range of about 150 minutes a week is the best-supported starting target. That's a description of RSF's diabetes program approach, not a departure from it: structured sessions that combine both, built around a dose that has actual evidence behind it rather than a round-number guess.

Eating to support this

Soluble fiber has a real, dose-dependent effect on blood sugar in type 2 diabetes. A review of trials using viscous soluble fiber found a significant HbA1c reduction, with the effect showing up reliably once intake passed about 8.3 grams a day, sustained for six weeks or more [3].

That's a specific, achievable target — not a vague "eat more fiber." Concrete sources of viscous soluble fiber: oats and oat bran, beans and lentils, Brussels sprouts, and psyllium husk. A bowl of oatmeal with a cup of beans added to lunch or dinner gets most people close to that 8.3-gram mark without supplements. Nutrition counseling at RSF builds this kind of specific, food-first target into a plan rather than leaving it as general advice.

Talk to your doctor

If you take insulin or a medication that can cause low blood sugar (sulfonylureas are the most common), increasing your exercise dose changes how your medication behaves — this is not something to adjust on your own. Bring a specific plan to your doctor: what kind of exercise, how much, how often, and ask directly whether your medication or its timing needs to change alongside it. This conversation matters most in the first few weeks of increasing activity, before your body and your regimen have adjusted to each other.

Sources: [1] Zhan et al., Frontiers in Endocrinology 2026, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42528691 · [2] Trybulski et al., Metabolism 2026, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42248329 · [3] Lu et al., Frontiers in Nutrition 2023, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37720378