GLP-1 Resource Center

How do I move my body on Ozempic or Wegovy?

Movement during GLP-1 treatment is a health behaviour, not a training programme. It is among the more useful things you can do alongside adequate nutrition to support lean mass and body composition while you lose weight.* The difficulty is that GLP-1 medications can make movement feel harder, for reasons that are worth understanding.

Why movement matters during GLP-1 treatment

Across GLP-1 trials the share of weight lost as lean mass depends on the medication: about 26 percent on tirzepatide, and up to 45 percent on semaglutide, with a class-wide average near 30 percent and reported figures ranging from 20 to 50 percent.* The tirzepatide figure comes from the SURMOUNT-1 DXA substudy (Look et al., Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2025, 255 enrolled and 160 analysed), and the class-wide picture from a 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis in the International Journal of Obesity covering seven studies and 821 patients.

Two pieces of context keep those numbers in proportion. In SURMOUNT-1 the placebo group lost the same ratio, 25 percent against 26 percent, so this is weight loss behaving as weight loss rather than the medication doing something unusual. And fat-free mass measured by DXA includes water, glycogen and connective tissue, so it is not skeletal muscle alone.

Movement that works against resistance is the stimulus most consistently associated with maintaining lean tissue during caloric restriction. Even two or three occasions a week of moderate activity are associated with a smaller proportion of weight lost from lean mass. This does not need to look like a gym. Carrying shopping, stairs, resistance bands at home, bodyweight movements and gardening all load muscle.

Why it can feel harder

Eating substantially less means less fuel available, and several of the nutrients involved in energy production come from food. Lower fluid and electrolyte intake plays a part too, as does fatigue during GLP-1 treatment. Starting smaller and more often tends to work better than trying to hold to the pattern you had before treatment.

Timing movement around GLP-1 injections

For many patients, nausea is most pronounced in the one to two days following an injection. Placing more demanding activity three to five days after the injection, when GI side effects have typically subsided, may make it easier to keep going consistently.

A plain word on creatine

The creatine evidence is conditional, and this is the right page to say so. A June 2026 meta-analysis in JISSN of seven randomised trials across 608 postmenopausal women found lean mass higher by 0.37kg and leg press strength by 7.5kg, but only at 5g or more daily taken alongside resistance movement. At 3g or less, or without resistance movement, no effect was found. Bone mineral density was unchanged. Creatine does not hold onto lean mass on its own. Without the movement, there is no reason to expect it to do anything for your body composition.

Talk to your provider first

If you have a cardiac history, joint problems, or have been largely inactive, speak to your provider before adding activity, and ask what is sensible given your medication and your bloodwork.

The TAKE approach

TAKE Build provides 5,000mg of creatine monohydrate per 10g serving, with sodium 1,000mg, potassium 200mg and magnesium 60mg. It is formulated to be taken alongside resistance movement, which is the condition under which the creatine evidence holds.* TAKE Nourish provides 21g of plant protein per serving in Chocolate and 20g per serving in Vanilla.* TAKE Hydrate provides sodium 100mg, potassium 200mg, calcium 40mg and magnesium 20mg per 5.4g scoop, alongside seven B vitamins at 33% DV each.* Together they form The Strength System.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. TAKE products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual results vary. Always speak with your healthcare provider about medication side effects or medical concerns, including before changing your activity during GLP-1 treatment.