Training with weight-loss medications

[omaniphil]

So, at the risk of triggering the anti-spam filter, I'd like to ask what the experience has been of anybody else on the forum with training while taking semaglutide or tirzepatide?

As I understand it, the main mechanism for the weight loss causes appetite suppression resulting in a caloric decrease, so training shouldn't be any different than being in a relatively steep deficit? Higher reps and being more sensitive to autoregulating intensity should be the plan, right? Are there any other distinctions you might have experienced or know about?

[CheekiBreekiFitness]

Why should higher reps be the plan if you are cutting / in a caloric deficit ?

Other than that I have no experience with those medications so I dont know about their effects.

[mgil]

Typical wisdom says that higher reps/lower intensity work is better in a deficit for two reasons:

1. Since you’re in a deficit, failure may creep up earlier so lighter weights is safer.

2. More reps, more volume, more calories burned… should help with the cut as well.

[CheekiBreekiFitness]

I mean if your only goal is body composition (lose fat keep muscle) higher reps are probably fine. But then again I guess that applies also when you're gaining weight, if you only care about body composition you're going to train like a bodybuilder anyways.

But if you are concerned with maintaining strength adaptations, keeping some low rep stuff in there seems reasonable too.

Now I'm not that convinced about the caloric considerations: you're not burning much calories lifting weights anyways. Just doing some LISS is probably better.

In my experience / broscience, doing heavy stuff during a cut never really bothers me, as long as the heavy work is not done with a lot of volume and not close to failure, but I guess everyone responds differently.

[DCR]

I mean if your only goal is body composition (lose fat keep muscle) higher reps are probably fine. But then again I guess that applies also when you're gaining weight, if you only care about body composition you're going to train like a bodybuilder anyways.

But if you are concerned with maintaining strength adaptations, keeping some low rep stuff in there seems reasonable too.

Now I'm not that convinced about the caloric considerations: you're not burning much calories lifting weights anyways. Just doing some LISS is probably better.

Agree, with the caveat that “high reps” can mean different things. If the only thing about which I cared was weight loss (as distinct from body composition), sure doing a lot of sets of 12-15 or whatnot would be fine. If I cared about maintaining strength and muscle, I’d find my 3RM and my 8RM on a few movements, and do everything possible in an effort to maintain them, starting with trying to very slowly progress them. Depending on the speed of the cut, I wouldn’t expect those efforts to work for very long, but I’d make them.

In my experience / broscience, doing heavy stuff during a cut never really bothers me, as long as the heavy work is not done with a lot of volume and not close to failure, but I guess everyone responds differently.

Yup. I’d cut the volume as you say, but maintain the intensity (and perhaps even up it for assistance work).

[omaniphil]

I mean if your only goal is body composition (lose fat keep muscle) higher reps are probably fine. But then again I guess that applies also when you're gaining weight, if you only care about body composition you're going to train like a bodybuilder anyways.

But if you are concerned with maintaining strength adaptations, keeping some low rep stuff in there seems reasonable too.

Now I'm not that convinced about the caloric considerations: you're not burning much calories lifting weights anyways. Just doing some LISS is probably better.

In my experience / broscience, doing heavy stuff during a cut never really bothers me, as long as the heavy work is not done with a lot of volume and not close to failure, but I guess everyone responds differently.

I guess I should have been more clear in what my goals were. I'm not as concerned with maintaining strength levels as I am about doing as much as I can to bias the weight loss towards fat loss instead of lean body mass loss. It will be easier to reacquire strength levels at the end if I didn't lose as much lean body mass.

[James]

Any regular strength training is going to mitigate muscle loss. The bigger factor is deficit size. There's a math formula to find how fast you can lose weight without muscle loss. I think Greg Nuckols has a video on it on the stronger by science youtube channel.

[CheekiBreekiFitness]

I mean if your only goal is body composition (lose fat keep muscle) higher reps are probably fine. But then again I guess that applies also when you're gaining weight, if you only care about body composition you're going to train like a bodybuilder anyways.

But if you are concerned with maintaining strength adaptations, keeping some low rep stuff in there seems reasonable too.

Now I'm not that convinced about the caloric considerations: you're not burning much calories lifting weights anyways. Just doing some LISS is probably better.

In my experience / broscience, doing heavy stuff during a cut never really bothers me, as long as the heavy work is not done with a lot of volume and not close to failure, but I guess everyone responds differently.

I guess I should have been more clear in what my goals were. I'm not as concerned with maintaining strength levels as I am about doing as much as I can to bias the weight loss towards fat loss instead of lean body mass loss. It will be easier to reacquire strength levels at the end if I didn't lose as much lean body mass.

I see. In that case, it sounds reasonable.

[CheekiBreekiFitness]

Any regular strength training is going to mitigate muscle loss. The bigger factor is deficit size. There's a math formula to find how fast you can lose weight without muscle loss. I think Greg Nuckols has a video on it on the stronger by science youtube channel.

Copied from the youtube video: "Below 12% go for 0,5% BW / week. Between 12-15% body fat aim for 0,5 - 1% BW / Week. Above 15% body fat 1 - 1.5% BW/week".

Now this is a theoretical calculation. In practice I feel that 1% BW / Week is probably too much if you don't want your training to feel like crap. If you weight around 200 lbs (adult male), then that's a 7000 kcal weekly deficit, or a 1000 kcal daily deficit.

I'm probably a weak minded pajama boi but 1000 kcal deficit for a few days just drives me mad. On the other hand 500 kcal deficit feels great, no loss of strength and so on.

[MarkKO]

Any regular strength training is going to mitigate muscle loss. The bigger factor is deficit size. There's a math formula to find how fast you can lose weight without muscle loss. I think Greg Nuckols has a video on it on the stronger by science youtube channel.

Copied from the youtube video: "Below 12% go for 0,5% BW / week. Between 12-15% body fat aim for 0,5 - 1% BW / Week. Above 15% body fat 1 - 1.5% BW/week".

Now this is a theoretical calculation. In practice I feel that 1% BW / Week is probably too much if you don't want your training to feel like crap. If you weight around 200 lbs (adult male), then that's a 7000 kcal weekly deficit, or a 1000 kcal daily deficit.

I'm probably a weak minded pajama boi but 1000 kcal deficit for a few days just drives me mad. On the other hand 500 kcal deficit feels great, no loss of strength and so on.

I find much the same. Works as well too IMO unless you're looking to get really peeled.