S R Gym Adajan
3rd floor, above Way Wait Restaurant, near Deepa Complex, Krishna Nagar Society, Kalpana Society Part-2, Choksi Wadi,Adajan, Surat, Gujarat 395009
- Mon–Sat
- 06:00 am – 10:00 pm
- Sunday
- Closed
- Google rating
- 4.6 from 28 reviews
Training with diabetes or high blood pressure
The short answer
Structured strength training lowers long-term blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes by around 0.35 to 0.39 percentage points of HbA1c across pooled trials, which is a real and useful effect and is not a reversal. It works best at two or three sessions a week over three to four months. At S R Gym this is coached by somebody holding a special population training certificate, alongside your doctor rather than instead of them. Bring your latest reports and any restrictions your doctor has given you to the first conversation, and keep your medication under their supervision, since it may need adjusting as you get fitter.
Written by Brijesh Joshi
Founder of S R Gym, Surat, coaching since 1999. President of the Strength Bodybuilding Association South Gujarat and a registered IBBFF judge. See credentials.
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- Last reviewed
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- 9 min read
A large share of the people who walk into this gym arrive with something on their file. Sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, or all three. Most of them have been told to exercise by a doctor and given no detail about what that means, and some have been turned away from gyms that did not want the responsibility. This page is what I tell them.
What training actually does to blood sugar
Muscle is where a great deal of the glucose in your blood is taken up and used. Training does two things: it uses glucose during and after a session, and over months it builds more muscle, which gives the body more capacity to handle sugar in the first place. That is the mechanism, and it is why strength training in particular matters here rather than only walking.
The size of the effect is known rather than guessed. Pooled analyses of randomised trials find that structured resistance training reduces HbA1c, the measure of your average blood sugar over roughly three months, by about 0.35 to 0.39 percentage points in adults with type 2 diabetes. Two independent reviews arrive at close to the same number. The clearest results come from programmes running two or three sessions a week for twelve to sixteen weeks, which is a description of ordinary training rather than anything specialised.
For context on why this matters in Surat: the ICMR-INDIAB national study reported diabetes in 11.4 percent of Indian adults, prediabetes in 15.3 percent, high blood pressure in 35.5 percent and abdominal obesity in 39.5 percent. This is not an unusual case for a gym to handle. It is a large share of the city.
What training can affect, and what it cannot
There is an honest division of labour between a gym and a clinic, and it is worth setting out plainly. The middle column is what a well-coached programme moves, with the figure the trials found wherever a figure exists. The last column is what the training will not do for you, whether because the decision belongs to your doctor, because it takes longer than most people hope, or because it is something I will not sell.
| Measure or decision | What training can affect | What it cannot do |
|---|---|---|
| HbA1c, your average blood sugar | Pooled randomised trials find that resistance training lowers HbA1c by roughly 0.35 to 0.39 percentage points in adults with type 2 diabetes. That figure is an average across trials. Where your own reading lands is something your doctor's next test tells you, and it can fall either side of the average. | It cannot make the condition go away, which is why I will not use the word reversal as a promise to anybody. |
| Resting blood pressure | Regular training lowers resting blood pressure over months, and the lifting is taught around that: breathing through the effort, moderate loads, and no maximal attempts. | It cannot stand in for treatment while your readings are high and unmanaged, and that appointment comes before your first session here. |
| Your medication | As you get fitter your doctor may find that a dose needs adjusting, which happens often enough that it is worth expecting from the start. | Nobody at this gym changes, reduces or stops a medication, and nothing on this page should be used to. |
| Muscle and body composition | Strength work builds the tissue where a great deal of the glucose in your blood is taken up and used, which is why weights are the core of the programme here rather than only walking. How the strength work is run. | It cannot do this quickly, and twelve to sixteen weeks is the shortest honest window before the numbers are worth reading. |
| Eye, nerve and kidney complications | Training is built around whatever restriction your doctor has already given you, and I would far rather have that in your own words than guess at it. | It cannot detect any of them, and screening for them is your doctor's work rather than a coach's. |
| Food, supplements and shortcuts | Food is discussed in terms of what your kitchen already cooks, and worked around whatever timing your doctor has asked you to keep with your medication. How that works here. | This gym sells no supplements and I refuse to coach anabolic steroid use, which in my judgement matters even more when sugar and blood pressure are already on your file. |
Why I will not use the word reversal
You will see that word used a great deal, by apps and by programmes sold online, and it is worth being clear about why it does not appear on this page.
A reduction of around a third of a percentage point in HbA1c is a real improvement in long-term blood sugar control. It is not the same thing as making a condition go away. Some people, with weight loss and consistent training, do reach a point where their doctor reduces or stops a medication. That is a wonderful outcome and it happens. It is a conclusion a doctor reaches by looking at your numbers, and it is not a thing a gym can offer you in advance.
If a coach in Surat promises you reversal before they have seen your reports, what they are selling is confidence rather than treatment. I would rather tell you the smaller true number and let you decide whether it is worth your time. In my experience it usually is, because the blood sugar is rarely the only thing that improves.
How this is run here
- A longer first conversation. Your reports, your medication, what your doctor has said, and how your sugar behaves through a normal day. That conversation shapes everything after it.
- Two or three sessions a week, built up gradually. The research protocol and the sensible starting point are the same thing. Nobody is thrown into six days a week.
- Strength work as the core of it. Compound movements, moderate loads, controlled repetitions. This is where the glucose handling improves.
- Cardio added, not substituted. Useful for the heart and for the deficit, and it does not replace the muscle-building part.
- Yoga at the start of every session. As with every member here. It matters more when joints are stiffer and confidence is lower. Why.
- Food discussed in terms of your actual kitchen. Not a printed diet chart. How that works.
- Your doctor stays in charge. As you get fitter your medication may need adjusting. That is their decision and it is a good sign, and it is a reason to keep your appointments rather than skip them because you feel well.
If you have high blood pressure
Regular exercise lowers blood pressure over time, which is why this is worth doing rather than avoiding. What changes is how the lifting is taught.
- Breathe through the effort. Holding the breath and straining spikes pressure sharply, and it is the single most important thing to correct.
- Moderate loads, controlled. Maximal attempts and grinding repetitions are left out entirely.
- Build up slowly. Volume before intensity, over weeks.
- Uncontrolled pressure means a doctor first. If your readings are currently high and unmanaged, that appointment comes before the first session, and I will say so rather than take your money.
What to bring, and what to ask your doctor
Bring to the gym:
- Your most recent HbA1c and fasting sugar, if you have them
- Your current blood pressure readings
- A list of your medication, including doses
- Anything your doctor has told you to avoid, and any recent hospitalisation
Worth asking your doctor before you begin:
- Is there any activity I should avoid at present?
- Do I have any eye, kidney or nerve complications that change what is safe?
- Should my medication or its timing change once I am training regularly?
- How would you like me to handle low blood sugar around exercise?
Those four questions take two minutes in an appointment and they make the whole thing straightforward afterwards.
When to stop, and when not to train
Stop a session and get help for chest pain or tightness, pain spreading to the jaw, neck or arm, sudden severe breathlessness, dizziness or feeling faint, or a cold sweat with nausea. These are not signs to push through.
On low blood sugar specifically: shakiness, sweating, confusion, unusual hunger or sudden weakness during a session should be treated immediately with fast-acting sugar, and the session ends there. If you take insulin or a sulfonylurea, carry something sugary with you and tell whoever is coaching you that you do. Do not train alone if your sugar has been unpredictable lately.
And skip the session entirely if you are unwell, if your sugar is very high or very low before you start, or if you have an unhealed foot wound. Foot care matters here in a way it does not for other members, and footwear that rubs is worth taking seriously.
The qualification behind this
Dr Mahesh Kumar's Medical Institute
Training somebody with a medical condition is a different job from training somebody without one, and a gym should be able to show why it is qualified to do it rather than simply assert that it is.
Brijesh Joshi holds a special population training certificate from Dr Mahesh Kumar's Medical Institute, covering training for people with additional medical or physical considerations, alongside personal training certification from GFFI, a functional training qualification from the Energy Kettlebell Fitness Academy Asia, and a first aid and CPR component in the trainers' course he teaches on.
Every certificate is photographed and shown on the credentials page.
What that qualification does not make him is a doctor, and this page is written on that basis throughout.
The research this page rests on
The effect sizes on this page are stated as the trials found them, including where that number is smaller than a reader might hope. Nothing here is a treatment claim.
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Effects of resistance training on glycaemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes
Pooled analysis of randomised trials, PMC8915309, 2022 · Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials
Resistance training reduced HbA1c by roughly 0.35 to 0.39 percentage points in adults with type 2 diabetes, with the clearest effects from programmes running two to three sessions a week over twelve to sixteen weeks. That is a real improvement in long-term blood sugar control and it is a modest one, which is why it belongs alongside medical care rather than in place of it.
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Resistance training and glycaemic control: a second independent meta-analysis
European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, supplement, 2023 · Systematic review and meta-analysis
An independently conducted review reached a very similar figure for the HbA1c reduction achievable with resistance training. Two separate reviews arriving at the same modest number is the reason this page states an effect size rather than a promise.
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The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 2023 · National cross-sectional study
Among Indian adults, the study reported diabetes in 11.4 percent, prediabetes in 15.3 percent, hypertension in 35.5 percent and abdominal obesity in 39.5 percent. This is the context for why a gym in Surat should be able to talk about this competently rather than send people away.
Who this suits, and who it does not
This is for you if
- You are living with type 2 diabetes, prediabetes or high blood pressure, your doctor has told you to exercise, and you want the training built around what they have actually said.
- You are willing to bring your latest HbA1c, your fasting sugar, your blood pressure readings and your medication list to the first conversation, and to keep your appointments once you have started.
- You can accept a real and modest number, roughly a third of a percentage point off HbA1c across twelve to sixteen weeks, as the honest reason for doing this.
- You can reach Adajan or Katargam two or three times a week, Monday to Saturday, and keep that going for three or four months rather than three or four weeks.
- You want every session supervised, which for most people arriving with a medical condition means starting with personal training at ₹7,000 for one month rather than on an ordinary membership.
Look elsewhere if
- Your blood sugar or your blood pressure is currently high and unmanaged. The first thing I will do is send you back to your doctor, and the training waits until they have cleared you to start.
- You have a medical review, a wedding or a trip a few weeks away and want a fixed number by that date, because the clearest results in the trials took twelve to sixteen weeks and I will not promise you one anyway.
- You want a diabetes reversal programme, or supplements to go alongside it. Neither one exists here, and there are programmes sold online that will happily sell you both, so if that is what you came for you should buy it from them instead of from me.
- Sunday is the only day you can come, since both branches are closed on Sunday, and one session a week is in my judgement too little to move an HbA1c reading.
- You live too far from either branch to get there twice a week, since consistency across three or four months is doing most of the work here, and a gym nearer your home will serve you better than this one.
Where, when and what it costs
Membership starts at ₹1,700 for one month. For most people arriving with a medical condition, personal training is the better starting point, since it means every session is supervised and the programme is built around your reports. That starts at ₹7,000 for one month. Full fees.
Adajan, Surat, Gujarat 395009
S R Gym Katargam
Vihar Society-2, Wadinath Chowk, Plot 169, Ved Road, near Singanpor Char Rasta, Ishwar Nagar Society,Katargam, Surat, Gujarat 395004
- Mon–Sat
- 05:00 am – 10:00 pm
- Sunday
- Closed
- Google rating
- 4.5 from 91 reviews
Training with a medical condition: common questions
- Can exercise reduce blood sugar?
- Yes, and the size of the effect is known. Pooled trials find that structured resistance training lowers HbA1c, which measures average blood sugar over about three months, by roughly 0.35 to 0.39 percentage points in adults with type 2 diabetes. That is a genuine improvement and a modest one. It works alongside your medication and your doctor's care rather than replacing either.
- Is weight training safe for a diabetic?
- For most people with well-managed type 2 diabetes, yes, and it is among the more useful things you can do. There are situations that need medical clearance first, including diabetic retinopathy, significant neuropathy, kidney complications, or blood sugar that is currently unstable. Bring your latest reports and any restriction your doctor has given you, and we will build around it rather than guess.
- Can I go to the gym with high blood pressure?
- Usually yes, with your doctor's agreement and with sensible adjustments. Regular exercise lowers blood pressure over time. What we change is the technique: breathing through the effort instead of holding the breath, avoiding maximal straining, and building up load gradually. If your blood pressure is currently uncontrolled, that is a conversation with your doctor before you begin, and I will say so.
- Do you offer diabetes reversal?
- No, and I would be cautious of anybody in Surat who does. What can honestly be offered is well-coached training that improves long-term blood sugar control by a measurable amount, better body composition, and habits that hold. Some people do see their medication reduced by their doctor over time. That is a decision for the doctor, on the basis of your numbers, and never something a gym should promise in advance.
- Is there a gym in Surat with a trainer who understands medical conditions?
- Brijesh Joshi holds a special population training certificate covering work with people who have additional medical or physical considerations, alongside personal training certifications and a functional training qualification. The certificate is photographed on the credentials page. He has coached in Surat since 1999, and a good share of the members here are over forty and arrive with something on their file.
- What should I bring to the first session?
- Your most recent blood work, including HbA1c and fasting sugar if you have them, a list of your medication, and anything your doctor has told you to avoid. Also useful: how your sugar behaves through the day and whether you have had hypoglycaemic episodes. Call +91 98790 69960 to arrange a first conversation.
This page is general information written by a fitness coach holding a special population training certificate. It is not medical advice, it cannot tell you anything about your own condition, and nothing on it should be used to change medication. Speak to your doctor before starting, and keep seeing them once you have.
Bring your reports and let us talk
The first conversation costs nothing and it decides most of what follows. Call +91 98790 69960.
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