5 reasons to start strength training

While jocks may talk about the need to “lift heavy,” strength training counts as any type of exercise that causes your muscles to contract against an outside resistance. That can be your own body weight (pushups, pull-ups, planks, lunges, and squats), using “free weights” (dumbbells, kettle bells, medicine balls), or giving traditional weight machines a try. There are lots of benefits to strength training for anyone’s health, but it’s especially important when you’re on a GLP-1. Here’s why:

Losing a considerable amount of weight, whether on a GLP-1 or not, means in addition to dropping fat, our bodies naturally shed muscle too. “The more overall weight loss, the more muscle mass loss,” says Eduardo Grunvald, M.D., FACP, Medical Director of the University of California San Diego Center for Advanced Weight Management. Strength training three days a week is “the sweet spot for muscle retention when losing weight,” says Justin Kompf, Ph.D., fitness director at Weight Watchers.

Losing a lot of weight can cause people to lose bone density, which already decreases naturally with aging and can set you up for osteoporosis and broken bones. Yet research has suggested strength training can help maintain and possibly improve bone density, even during weight loss.

Lifting weights of course benefits your muscles, including your heart. Resistance training can help lower your blood pressure, which can in turn lower your risk for heart disease. Isometric resistance training, where the angle of your joint doesn’t change (such as holding a plank or doing a wall-sit) may be most beneficial for lowering systolic blood pressure.

For people with type 2 diabetes, increases in muscle mass and stronger mitochondria — the energy center of cells — from long-term resistance training may positively impact insulin responsiveness and glucose control; for people with pre-diabetes, exercise is proven to help prevent it turning into diabetes.

A recent meta-analysis found that people who do muscle-strengthening workouts are less likely to die early than those who don’t. People who did just 30 to 60 minutes a week showed a 10-20% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and lung cancer.

If you have a chronic condition, or if you're older than age 40 and you haven't been active recently, check with your doctor before you start. Then follow these steps:

Warm up. Walk or do active stretches for 5-10 minutes to warm up your muscles, making them less prone to injury.

Use your own body as resistance. You may want to start with bodyweight exercises, such as squats, dips and push-ups.

Choose the right weight or resistance level. If you go with weights, start light and work your way up. The goal is that you’re exhausted by 12 to 15 repetitions. When you can easily do more than that, you’re ready to go up to the next weight.

Use proper form — and stop if it hurts. Start off slow and ensure you're doing proper form with each exercise before you increase the weight, says Kompf. And remember, you can always go back down in weight or do fewer reps if you ever feel your technique wobbling.

Learn about more healthy habits to make when you’re on a GLP-1