Top 15 Exercise Strategies for Type 2 Diabetes

1. Try shorter exercise spurts that add up to 30 minutes each day. "We need people with diabetes up and moving," says George Griffing, MD, professor of endocrinology at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "If you can do your exercise in one 30 minute stretch, fine. But if not, break it up into increments you can manage that add up to at least 30 minutes each day."

2. Increase activity in general rather than a particular type of exercise. However, don't rely on housework or other daily activity as your sole exercise. Too often, people overestimate the amount of exercise they get and underestimate the amount of calories they consume. (A step-counting pedometer can help. See below.)

3. Get a pedometer. Stanford University researchers conducted a review of 26 studies looking at the use of pedometers as motivation for physical activity. Published in 2007, the review found that people who used a pedometer increased their activity by 27%. Having a goal of 10,000 steps a day (about five miles) was important, even if the goal wasn't reached. Pedometer users lost more weight, had a greater drop in blood pressure, and walked about 2,500 steps more per day than those who didn't use a pedometer.

4. Work out with a friend. Working out with friends can be an important motivator, particularly for people over 60, according to Vicki Conn, PhD, the associate dean for research at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo., who has studied diabetes and exercise. Having a friend call or setting up an exercise "contract" with a buddy may help. "One of the things we found with our meta-analysis is that behavioral strategies work better; that means setting up some sort of stimulus in the environment where you exercise," says Conn.

5. Set very specific goals that are attainable. For example, you might set a goal of walking 10 minutes every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. "That doesn't sound like a lot, but...setting up very specific goals like that helps people a lot more than telling people, 'Gee, you've got to exercise more,' " says Conn.