LifeStyle Health Services

Menu
lifestyle health service website
Menu

Exercise Tips to Complement Your Weight Loss Medication

  • June 20, 2025
  • Lifestyle Med Spa
When starting weight loss medications, including GLP-1 therapies, adding a personalized exercise routine can significantly enhance your weight loss journey. Regular exercise not only helps you lose weight, but also interacts with GLP-1 medications in a way that supports metabolic health and ideal muscle mass.

But what exercise methods and techniques provide the most health benefits for weight loss patients? Lifestyle Med Spa is your personal training and weight loss injection expert. Below are essential exercise tips designed to complement your medication, boost your progress, and promote long-term success.

Schedule Appointment
GLP-Medications

How Does Exercise Impact GLP-1 Medications?

GLP-1 and GLP-1/GIP medications, including Ozempic, work hand-in-hand with exercise to support your overall health as you lose weight. Here are some of the many ways physical activity can complement your weight management plan:
  • Improves blood sugar regulation for those with or without type 2 diabetes by helping your body more effectively produce and use insulin.
  • Boosts cardiovascular health to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke — both commonly associated with excess weight.
  • Enhances weight loss efforts by burning more calories and reinforcing healthy habits.
  • Helps you maintain muscle mass, even as your body reduces its caloric intake and experiences healthy, but rapid weight loss.
So, if you’re ready to boost your weight loss journey by adding exercise to your weight management plan, here are some key exercise tips:

1. Focus on Resistance Training to Prevent Muscle Loss

One of the primary challenges that comes with weight loss medication is the risk of muscle loss coinciding with fat loss. After all, whether you’re male or female, you don’t want to lose your natural strength during treatment. Healthy, lean muscle is key for a strong metabolism, better posture, and overall strength.
Luckily, resistance training, including strength training exercises, is one of the best ways to build muscle strength, improve muscle tone, and support your body composition goals as you lose weight. It also offers additional benefits unrelated to muscle loss, such as promoting bone density and insulin sensitivity, both of which contribute to better glucose control and metabolic health.
For instance, consistent resistance training boosts your resting metabolic rate, allowing your body to burn more calories even while at rest. This benefit, combined with the calories you burn while working out and the post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) effect, allows you to lose weight faster while preserving muscle.
Common, effective examples include bodyweight exercises, resistance band workouts, or lifting weights, but there are a variety of resistance and strength training techniques:
  • Bodyweight Exercises: These include push-ups, squats, lunges, and planks — which can all help build core strength, improve balance, and maintain muscle tone as you lose weight. Bodyweight exercises are a great way to personalize your regimen without needing any equipment.
  • Resistance Band Burn: A great low-impact routine for beginners, these bands work muscles through controlled tension. Try seated rows, glute bridges with bands, or bicep curls for a full-body challenge.
  • Dumbbell Strength Sessions: When you want to preserve muscle mass, dumbbells are an affordable and accessible way to practice deadlifts, chest presses, and shoulder presses. For the best results, aim for at least 2–3 sessions per week.
  • Kettlebell Circuits: Great for building muscle and improving cardiovascular health, we recommend kettlebell swings, goblet squats, and clean-and-press sets.
  • Barbell Compound Lifts: If building muscle is as much of a concern as reducing body weight, compound lifts like deadlifts, squats, and bench presses are some of the most effective ways to improve lean muscle mass. However, you should always lift safely, ideally with the support of a spotter.
  • Machine-Based Resistance Training: Exercise machines are a streamlined way to target specific muscle groups safely. Examples include leg presses, lat pull downs, and chest fly machines—all great options for those new to weight training or managing joint issues.
Machine-Based-Training
Get Started With Personal Training

2. Hone In On Cardio for Improved Fat Loss and Heart Health

When paired with GLP-1 and GLP-1/GIP medications, cardiovascular exercise (cardio) helps accelerate fat loss and improve heart health. By improving how your heart pumps blood, you will start to see increased energy levels and calorie burn.
Luckily, there are countless low-impact cardio techniques and methods—like brisk walking, swimming, or cycling—that anyone of any starting weight can take advantage of. Then, as your body adjusts, you can gradually increase intensity without causing excessive strain. We recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity cardio per week.
Here are some great cardio exercises to pair with your weight loss medication:
  • Brisk Walking Breaks: A simple walk in the park or around the neighborhood for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, can do a surprising amount of work to boost calorie burn and heart health.
  • Low-Impact Swimming: Swimming is especially beneficial for obese patients who have chronic pain, as it’s easy on your joints. If you have access, try swimming laps for at least 30 minutes, a few times per week.
  • Cycling for Fat Burn: Cycling both stationary and outdoors strengthens your leg muscles and promotes steady fat loss. Start cycling for at least 20 minutes, working your way up to longer sessions as stamina improves.
  • Dance Cardio or Zumba: When your body is ready to tackle more strenuous exercise, try having fun at a dance workout! A simple 30–45 minute class or at-home session twice a week can elevate your heart rate and help you burn fat.
  • Treadmill or Elliptical Intervals: When it’s hard to find places to walk/run, treadmills and elliptical machines help you stay in shape. For those struggling with weight loss in particular, elliptical machines reduce the impact on your joints. Alternate between moderate and fast paces for 20–30 minutes, at least a few times per week.
Fat-Loss
Learn About Weight Loss Injections

3. Combine Flexibility and Core Strength Workouts

Complementing weight loss and preventing weight gain requires a balanced approach, and flexibility exercises—like yoga or stretching—provide the core strength you need to improve posture, reduce injury risk, and enhance your performance in other workouts.
Think of it as a supplement on top of a supplement, keeping your body in tip-top shape as it undergoes rapid changes. By improving flexibility, you give your body the blueprint it needs to stay strong while weight loss medications reduce your calorie intake.
Here are some ways you can improve your flexibility and core strength while you exercise:
  • Yoga for Flexibility and Balance: Both at-home and in-person yoga are popular for a reason, as these sessions help improve flexibility, core control, and reduce chronic pain. Poses like downward dog, warrior II, and cat-cow can be especially beneficial for those trying to lose weight.
  • Pilates for Controlled Movement: Often paired with yoga, Pilates strengthen your core while enhancing body awareness. You can either join a professional session or follow home routines using a mat.
  • Stretching Before and After Workouts: We always recommend stretching before and after workouts for at least 5–10 minutes to prevent exercise-related injuries.
Get Started Today

Complement Your Weight Loss Medication With Lifestyle Med Spa!

If you’re looking for a weight management plan that combines weight loss medications, personal training, and balanced diet advice, look no further than Lifestyle Med Spa. Our licensed physicians are dedicated to improving your well-being and helping you reach your weight loss goals, tailoring every weight management journey to your unique needs.

Plus, we offer a variety of other treatments as well. Whether you need help with vitamin supplements or skin rejuvenation treatments, we’re committed to helping you achieve the best results. Click here to start your free consultation.

Schedule Appointment
Scroll to Top