We’ve addressed the different effects of aerobic vs resistance training for avoiding diabetes in the past. While both are important, there is one that has a clearer benefit in the short run.
Aerobic exercise, more specifically geared towards intermittent burst type exercises, is an absolute when it comes to long term health. This type of exercise is not used all that often as most follow the dogma of sustained aerobic activity. For my non-hiking, non-martial arts aerobic training, I follow a regimen where each set is shorter, but more intense. This means that each set asks more and more of my cardiovascular system, strengthening my heart and improving my blood vessels.
However, for short term benefit, resistance training, in most studies, has come out on top. This is likely because it sets up a situation where the muscles need more glucose to perform, heal and strengthen. To do this, our muscles have to become more sensitive to insulin (technically, the number of Glut4 receptors increase…) so we can get more glucose inside.
This is the perfect scenario for avoiding or improving prediabetes / diabetes. This is likely why this study found improvements in liver and diabetic function with a mere 8 weeks of training. Not surprisingly given the time frame, there was no change in body weight.
This is why some people give up after only a few months of not losing weight. They forget that the goal is NOT to lose weight, but rather to improve the way their physiology is orchestrating.
So, if you are exercising and using resistance training, stay off the scale and instill some faith in the idea that you ARE doing the right thing for your body. Just give it time.