Exercise is essential for everyone—especially for people with diabetes. Being active most days of the week keeps you healthy by reducing long-term health risks, improving insulin sensitivity, and enhancing mood and overall quality of life. Most of the time, working out causes blood glucose to dip. But some people, after certain types of exercise, notice that their glucose levels actually rise during or after exercise. Fear not! There are steps you can take to avoid this.

Using your muscles helps burn glucose and improves the way insulin works. That’s why blood glucose levels usually come down during exercise. But you might see blood glucose go up after exercise, too. Some workouts, such as heavy weightlifting, sprints, and competitive sports, cause you to produce stress hormones (such as adrenaline). Adrenaline raises blood glucose levels by stimulating your liver to release glucose.

The food you eat before or during a workout may also contribute to a glucose rise. Eat too many carbs before exercising, and your sweat session may not be enough to keep your blood glucose within your goal range.

Now that you know what causes a blood glucose rise after or during exercise, you may expect and accept it during your next workout session because you know the benefits of exercise outweigh the rise in glucose. But if you’d rather avoid it altogether, here are some strategies that might help:

Physical activity is important for everyone with diabetes. Most forms of aerobic/cardiovascular exercise will lower your glucose levels, while activities such as high-intensity training and weightlifting can raise it. Managing glucose levels with any form of exercise is possible once you understand your personal patterns (doing regular blood glucose checks and keeping a workout log can help) and making adjustments that make sense to you and your lifestyle.