In this post we’ll be talking about GLP-1 medications (a.k.a. weight loss injections) and lifting weights.

This includes things like Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro, etc.

If you’ve been following me on Instagram you’ll know that I first gave a “heads up!” on the development of these GLP-1 medicines way back in 2017 when early research began showing what they’re truly capable of.

Some of my ill-informed colleagues in the fitness world consider the use of GLP-1 agonists “a cop out” or “a poor substitute for hard work”, but I don’t share their view. In my opinion GLP-1 medication can be absolutely life-changing for some people, and potentially life-saving for others, so I’m all in favour of them!

So if you’ve been with me since way back when I first started talking about them, I thank you!

I’ve noticed that lots of people seem to have been given bogus advice regarding training and nutrition when it comes to GLP-1. Some have been told to remain inactive and just let the injections do all the work, while others have been advised they don’t need to implement any healthy eating strategies for the future, and some “experts” have even gone as far as to diminish the importance of building new lean muscle tissue.

This concerns me, so consider this post my way of making sure you never get caught up in that fucktacular shitnado of ass.

Anyway, one question which has kept on appearing throughout the last 8 years – and to my knowledge has never been definitively answered – is should you lift weights while using GLP-1 medications?

The answer is a resounding YES!

However, this is where most people get it dead wrong…

Weight training while using GLP-1 is not about training harder, it’s about training smarter.

Don’t forget that the main reason GLP-1 medicines are so effective is because they blunt your appetite. This means you’ll be able to adhere to a calorie deficit far more easily than ever before, but you’ll do so without a significant amount of “fuel” to work with in terms of exercise.

That’s why I recommend keeping your workouts short and sweet (45-60 minutes, 3 days per week) for maximum results.

Longer workouts or highly intense workouts are a sure-fire way to create burnout and/or injury when we train in a state of depleted nutrition, whereas these shorter and more focused weightlifting sessions will help you to “get in and out of there” without experiencing any negatives.

This will help you to tick the following crucial components:

• Superior in-gym performance
• Optimal recovery
• Greater consistency

There’s currently 285 people who use GLP-1 medications using the workout programs on my website.

Reach Your Peak is currently the most popular program choice amongst those users.

That’s an 8-week full-body training program, and the original template has you hitting the gym x6 days per week – however, these members are stripping out the cardio-only days, which morphs the program into x3 full-body weights workouts which take place on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

This has proven to be a highly effective strategy for them, because:

• You’ll still hit every muscle group TWICE PER WEEK!
• Recovery is enhanced by FOUR REST DAYS PER WEEK!
• Full-body training is fantastic for variety, which helps CONSISTENCY – because as well hitting different muscles with different exercises, you’ll also get to switch between different rep ranges on a frequent basis (e.g. Monday = low reps, Wednedsday = moderate reps, Friday = high reps).
• Every body part gets ENOUGH TOTAL VOLUME (sets per week) to absolutely maximize results, even though you’re technically only training for 45-60 minutes three days per week!

I love seeing people use my work in inventive ways like this.

After all, I build my programs to be flexible for this very reason, so that people can configure them to fit around their personal lifestyles/goals, and obviously the final result is always great.

Remember, the goal here is to look awesome – not just to lose weight! – and that’s going to demand that we pack on some lean muscle mass, which we do by hitting the gym and lifting the iron!