Muscle Loss from a GLP-1? Best Strength Training Exercises

Concerned about muscle loss from a GLP-1?

Here’s the best strength training exercises and how to do them to help regain lost muscle and also preserve your muscle when taking semaglutide.

Women — especially older — taking semaglutide for weight loss may face a higher risk of losing muscle.

Muscle loss can lead to a number of problems including an increased risk of injury from daily tasks or your favorite athletic activity, impaired balance, weakened bones, higher risk for falls and joint pain.

There are two ways to counteract the problem of this GLP-1 drug from causing muscle loss.

The first is that of boosting protein intake. That’s the takeaway from findings presented at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual conference in San Francisco.

This GLP-1 (glucogon-like peptide) medication is used to help obese people lose weight and has been shown to be quite effective via appetite suppression.

However, about 40% of that lost weight may come from lean mass — including muscle.

This could have important implications, particularly for women, who already face greater risks of age-related muscle loss and bone density decline.

Losing one’s baseline strength is just the beginning when it comes to muscle loss.

Muscle helps with regulating blood sugar and supporting skeletal health. You just can’t afford to lose muscle, plain and simple.

In addition to eating more protein, strength training would be invaluable in preserving muscle.

But what if you’re already strength training? There are ways you can tweak your program without adding more time to it, to optimize the preservation of lean mass as well as to get back any loss of this precious tissue.

About the Study

In the study, 40 adults with obesity were observed over three months.

Of them, 23 were prescribed semaglutide, while 17 participated in a lifestyle-based weight loss program called Healthy Habits for Life.

While those on the GLP-1 lost more weight overall, the percentage of lean mass lost was similar across both groups.

However, when researchers looked deeper, they found that women, older adults and those with lower protein intake experienced greater muscle loss within the semaglutide group.

The greater muscle loss was associated with less improvement in blood sugar control (measured by HbA1c levels).

The paper urges more mindfulness about protein intake. The best sources are:

• Grass-fed beef
• Lamb, bison, buffalo and elk
• Poultry
• Fish
• Eggs

Nuts provide protein but not nearly as much, per mouthful, as do animal sources.

Best Strength Training Exercises for Building Lean, Fat Burning Muscle

Incorporating compound movements — exercises that work multiple muscle groups at once — is the secret.

Start with squats and lunges, which sculpt the legs and glutes while also engaging the core.

The deadlift is another powerhouse move that targets the entire posterior (back of the body) chain, helping burn fat and build strength from the inside out.

Sadly, few women do deadlifts, perhaps because they’ve seen men with big muscles performing this fabulous all-body exercise and think that it will make them “bulk up.”

If you see a woman in public with a perfectly toned sleek body, it wouldn’t be surprising if she does deadlifts.

Other compound exercises include the leg press, chest press, seated row, lat pull-down, kettlebell swing and standing overhead press.

Exercises that don’t do a whole lot to build muscle include the triceps kickback, dumbbell curl, dumbbell front raise and dumbbell side raise.

Aim to strength train at least 2-3 times per week, focusing on form and progressive overload (gradually increasing weight or reps over time).

The ideal repetition range is eight to 12, for which the resistance load makes it difficult to complete each set.

 

• If there’s no progression, you’re not training hard enough.
• Progression is critical for adding on lean muscle as well as for preventing muscle loss from a GLP-1 or from aging.

Trust me, you’re not going to turn into the Hulk’s twin sister if you get stronger!

It’s incredibly difficult for women, especially older, to pack on masculine-looking muscle.

Those who’ve managed to do this either take performance-enhancing drugs or train specifically for this goal.

Or, they may be competitive powerlifters, where the goal is to lift as heavy as possible in the deadlift, back squat and bench press.

But if the goal is to preserve muscle or prevent loss of muscle from semaglutide, you don’t have to look like you could bench press 250 pounds!

Pair your workouts with enough protein and recovery time to maximize results.

Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified by the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness, where she was also a group fitness instructor, she trained clients of all ages and abilities for fat loss and maintaining it, muscle and strength building, fitness, and improved cardiovascular and overall health.