The Best Exercise for Weight Loss on a GLP-1 Journey

Because GLP-1 medicines such as Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and Wegovy (semaglutide) reduce appetite and calorie intake, there is a genuine risk of losing muscle alongside fat — particularly if activity is low. Pairing your treatment with the right exercise helps protect that muscle and improve overall body composition, not just the number on the scale.

Resistance and Strength Training

Lifting weights, using resistance bands, or doing bodyweight exercises (squats, lunges, press-ups) are widely regarded as the highest-priority exercise for people on GLP-1 medicines. Resistance training sends a signal to the body to preserve lean muscle even in a calorie deficit. Aiming for two to three sessions per week, covering the major muscle groups, is a commonly cited starting point — though the right amount for you is something to discuss with your healthcare professional or a qualified trainer.

Moderate Aerobic Exercise

Brisk walking, cycling, swimming, jogging, or group exercise classes all contribute to calorie expenditure and cardiovascular health. Many people find that low-impact aerobic movement is especially manageable during the early weeks of treatment when energy levels or nausea may fluctuate. The "best" aerobic exercise is often simply the one you will do consistently.

Exercise Classes and Group Formats

Structured group classes — cycling, HIIT, yoga, Pilates, dance fitness — offer both a scheduled commitment and social accountability. For GLP-1 users who find unstructured exercise hard to sustain, a weekly class can be a powerful anchor. Explore what works for your schedule and energy levels rather than chasing any single "ideal" format.

Combining Both for Best Results

Most movement guidelines and exercise research support a combined approach: two or more resistance sessions plus 150 minutes or more of moderate aerobic activity per week, spread across the week. On a GLP-1 journey, the resistance component deserves particular attention given the muscle-preservation benefit. You can read more about building a sustainable routine in our guide to exercise on a weight-loss journey, or explore the specific benefits of cycling in our look at bike exercise for weight loss.

Whatever your starting point, beginning gently and building gradually is a sensible approach — and any sustained movement is better than none.

Knowing which exercise you should do is only half the picture — seeing how your movement actually connects to your results is what keeps motivation alive. GLP Trackr's progress tracking and insights features are built precisely for this.

The app's weight and body tracking lets you log your weight, measurements, and weekly transformation so you can see what is genuinely shifting — not just the scale, but the fuller picture of how your body is changing as exercise and medication work together. Because progress on GLP-1 medicines is rarely linear, having a clear visual record helps you spot trends that a single weekly weigh-in would miss.

GLP Trackr's correlation explorer and insights can surface patterns between your step count, activity, food intake, and weight changes — useful context to bring to conversations with your prescriber or a fitness professional. You can also set a daily steps target and track it alongside your food and hydration, so all the levers of your journey are visible in one place.

For a broader view of your whole weight-loss journey — not just exercise — the weight loss hub pulls together everything from nutrition to progress tracking.

GLP Trackr is free to try for 7 days on the App Store and Google Play — start logging your movement today and see your progress patterns emerge.

Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle alongside your prescribed treatment, but decisions about your overall health programme are best made with your prescriber or doctor, who knows your full history. If you experience any unusual symptoms during exercise, seek guidance from a healthcare professional promptly.