CrossFit With Type 1: The Hardest and Best Thing I Did for My Blood Sugar

On Day 1 of my 100-day challenge, I ran 5km in 42 minutes.

By Day 27, I'd done it in 30.

Two years later I placed 19th in the world in the 2022 CrossFit Open. The year after, 13th. With Type 1. With one eye.

I'm not telling you that to show off. I'm telling you because if I can, you can do far more than you think.

Why exercise isn't optional

Two studies hit me hard.

A big Scottish study found that, at age 20, men with Type 1 could expect to live about 11 years less than men without it. For women it was about 13 years. Care has moved on since then, but it's sobering.

The second came from Finland. People with Type 1 who were more active in their free time had a lower risk of dying early, even those who already had kidney disease.

Exercise is the most powerful tool you have after your insulin.

Why CrossFit is tricky with Type 1

International experts set out the basics in 2017:

• Steady exercise like running, cycling and swimming usually lowers blood sugar.
• Intense, explosive exercise like heavy lifting and sprints can push it up for a while.
• Both raise your hypo risk for at least 24 hours afterwards. Night hypos are most likely after afternoon exercise.

CrossFit mixes all of it in one hour. Heavy barbell, then a row, then box jumps, then a grinding finisher. Without a plan, your CGM trace looks like a seismograph. It took me about two months to feel on top of it.

What worked for me

This is what I did on my Tandem pump. It isn't a prescription. Your body and your team decide yours.

• Before: on Day 13 I paused my insulin 30 minutes before class. My sugar rose a little during the workout, then settled. Check the CGM before the warm-up and again before the main workout.
• During: hypo treatment within reach, always. On Day 48 I went low mid-session, about 3.0. Ten minutes on the sideline, a banana, back in.
• After: I almost always got a post-workout high. Intense exercise and protein can both push it up. By Day 71 a slightly bigger 5-unit dose after the session stopped it.
• That night: remember the 24-hour hypo window.

On Day 85 I practised going back to injections for a few days, in case my pump ever failed. I went low far more often at CrossFit. Once you've injected, you can't pause it. I reckon that's what puts a lot of Type 1s off.

Training safely: the basics

1. Know your starting number. Experts suggest starting steady exercise at about 7 to 10 mmol/L, and intense work at about 5 to 7.
2. Check ketones if you're high. Above 13 mmol/L, check ketones before training. Don't exercise with blood ketones of 1.5 or more.
3. Don't train after a bad hypo. Not within 24 hours of one where you needed someone's help.
4. Plan insulin changes with your team. How much to cut is individual.
5. Don't over-treat. Below 4, have 15 to 20g of fast carbs and recheck in 10 to 15 minutes. When I panicked and ate far more, I just bought myself a high I spent hours fixing.

The bit nobody talks about

It's the community that keeps you showing up. Tell your coach you're diabetic, where your hypo kit is, and what a hypo looks like on you. On Day 36 I brought two friends to the box. They loved it so much they came back that Friday.

Sport didn't just change my body. It changed who I am.

Expect two months of learning. Write down what you did and what happened. Adjust. Keep showing up.