At the KAHN CENTER we feature the enormous science of whole food, plant diets for a variety of health enhancement and disease reversal programs.
Despite a focus on "natural health", it is impossible not to incorporate the GLP-1 agonists like semiglutide (Ozempc and Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro and Zepbound) into selected patient treatment protocols.
There has been much discuss about the importance of strength training when GLP-1 medications are prescribed. A new study tested whether this really matters and the results are encouraging
A two-arm randomized controlled trial of adding resistance exercise (REx) to tirzepatide (T), 120 adults with overweight or obesity were treated with tirzepatide and randomized to thrice-weekly resistance exercise training or usual activities for 40 weeks.
Tirzepatide was safe, and most participants tolerated up-titration to 15 mg weekly.
Adherence to resistance exercise was 91%.
Weight loss achieved was similar (T = −23 kg, T+REx = −22 kg).
Loss of total fat mass was similar (T = −17 kg, T+REx = −18 kg) but resistance exercise reduced loss of total lean soft tissue mass (T = −4.7 kg vs. T+REx = −3.6 kg).
Upper and lower body muscle strength decreased with tirzepatide (bench press −4.1 kg, lat pulldown −4.4 kg, knee extension −4.4 kg) but increased with T+REx (+4.7 kg, +8.6 kg, +5.9 kg, respectively).
This new randomized trial reveals how combining tirzepatide with just three resistance training sessions a week can help patients retain more lean mass and build muscle strength while achieving substantial weight loss, highlighting the importance of exercise alongside obesity medications.
Perhaps the most striking finding was the difference in muscle strength between the two groups. While participants receiving tirzepatide alone became weaker across all three strength assessments, those undertaking resistance training became stronger, despite losing some lean tissue.
Although exercise did not eliminate lean tissue loss, its ability to increase strength during substantial weight reduction highlights the potential importance of incorporating resistance training into obesity management.
At the KAHN CENTER we will continue to teach the importance of strength training in general and combined with GLP-1 agonists specifically.
