Learn · Protecting muscle
Strength training, at the dose that works
Three sessions a week, and what counts as one. The advisory is firmer about this than about protein.
2 min read
The same advisory is more directive here than it is about protein. It states that GLP-1 medications "should be prescribed together with a structured exercise program, aiming for regular strength training at least three times weekly plus at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise weekly."
Three sessions a week is the number. It is also, for most people starting out, more than they are doing, so the useful question is what the smallest real version looks like.
What counts
Anything that loads your muscles against meaningful resistance and gets harder over time. Free weights, machines, resistance bands, and bodyweight work all count.
Walking does not, and neither does cycling or swimming. Those are worth doing and they belong in the 150 aerobic minutes — they are not a substitute for the strength half, because they do not provide the stimulus that tells your body to keep the muscle.
The smallest version that works
Two or three compound movements, covering legs, a push and a pull, done twice through. Twenty minutes is a real session. Consistency at twenty minutes beats an hour you do twice and abandon.
Log it in the app. Your training history is one of the things a clinician looks at when you ask about a dose change, because muscle preservation is part of whether the treatment is going well.
Where this comes from
More in Protecting muscle
- Not all weight lost is fat
- How much protein, and when
- Strength training, at the dose that works