Fitness
How physical exercise helps reduce insulin resistance
By Gary Scheiner MS, CDCES
Published: Aug. 21, 2025
4 min read
The content in this article should not be taken as medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider regarding your individual health needs.
If you’re using a glucose biosensor like Stelo, you’re likely interested in optimizing your energy, improving metabolic health, and making smart lifestyle choices. While nutrition and sleep often take center stage, one of the most powerful and immediate tools for improving insulin sensitivity is physical exercise.
Even if you aren’t living with diabetes, the way your body handles glucose in the bloodstream can have a major impact on how you feel day to day and on your long-term health.
Let’s explore how insulin resistance develops, how activity improves it, and what kinds of changes you might see in your glucose data when you move more.
What is insulin resistance?
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas. It helps move glucose from your bloodstream into your cells so it can be used for energy. When your body becomes insulin resistant, it takes more insulin than normal to keep your glucose steady.
Over time, this creates a strain on your pancreas and can result in higher glucose levels, lower energy, elevated blood lipids and increased fat storage, particularly around the abdomen. You don’t have to have abnormally high glucose levels (or a diagnosis of diabetes) to experience insulin resistance. Many people feel “normal” while underlying problems are building up.
How physical exercise improves insulin sensitivity
Being active improves the way your body processes glucose in several key ways:
Your muscles use glucose without insulin
During exercise, especially aerobic (cardio) or resistance (strength) training, your muscles can take up glucose directly from your bloodstream—no insulin needed. This relieves the burden on your pancreas and helps naturally stabilize glucose levels.
Your body becomes more insulin-sensitive
After exercise, your muscles become more responsive to insulin. That means your body doesn’t need to release as much of it to manage the same amount of glucose. This effect can last 24 to 48 hours, especially after longer or more intense workouts.
It reduces inflammation and visceral fat
Both are major contributors to insulin resistance. Chronic inflammation interferes with insulin signaling, and excess abdominal fat releases hormones that worsen the problem. Movement helps break this cycle.
It boosts mitochondrial function
Mitochondria are responsible for converting fuel into energy. The more efficient your mitochondria are, the better your body can process glucose and fat as fuel, both during activity and at rest.
What kinds of exercise help reduce insulin resistance?
You don’t need long workouts or a gym membership to see benefits. Even a 15–20-minute walk after meals can help flatten post-meal spikes. That said, different types of movement offer unique advantages:
Aerobic activity
Things like walking, jogging, biking, or swimming use glucose for immediate fuel and can reduce post-meal spikes.
Resistance training
This is a great way to build muscle mass, which increases your body’s capacity to store and use glucose more efficiently.
Interval training (like HIIT)
These short, intense trainings are one of the most efficient ways to boost mitochondrial function and promotes quicker glucose clearance
Everyday movement
Also known as NEAT, or non-exercise activity thermogenesis, this includes things like walking around your home, doing chores, or standing more often, all of which keeps your body engaged and supports overall glucose balance.
What you might see with Stelo
Stelo gives you an ongoing view of how food, stress, and movement impact your glucose. As you start to move more, you may notice:
- Lower fasting glucose levels
- Smaller and less frequent post-meal spikes
- A quicker return to baseline after eating
- Smoother, more stable glucose trend lines
These are strong indicators that your insulin sensitivity is improving, and your body is processing glucose more efficiently.
Key takeaways
Insulin resistance plays a central role in metabolic health. Even without a diabetes diagnosis, it can quietly contribute to fatigue, weight gain, mood swings, and elevated glucose levels. The good news is that physical activity is one of the fastest, most effective ways to improve how your body uses insulin—and the results are often visible right away.
- Regular movement helps your muscles burn glucose directly, even without insulin. It also makes your body more responsive to insulin after you exercise, reduces inflammation and visceral fat, and enhances how your cells convert fuel into energy. In other words, exercise supports insulin sensitivity from multiple angles.
- And thanks to tools like Stelo, you can actually see the impact: lower fasting glucose, smaller post-meal spikes, smoother trend lines.
The bottom line: consistency matters more than intensity. Every bit of movement adds up. With each step, set, or stretch, you’re not just burning energy, you’re building a stronger metabolic foundation.
The production of this article was sponsored by Stelo by Dexcom.
Author profile
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Gary Scheiner MS, CDCES
Gary Scheiner is the owner and Clinical Director of Integrated Diabetes Services, a practice specializing in intensive insulin therapy and advanced education for children and adults throughout the world.