If You're on Ozempic, Wegovy, or a GLP-1 — SOTA Personal Training Is Your Next Step
GLP-1 receptor agonists — medications like semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) — have transformed weight management for millions of Americans. As of 2025, roughly one in eight U.S. adults has taken a GLP-1 medication. The results can be dramatic: significant fat loss, improved blood sugar control, and reduced cardiovascular risk.
But there's a catch that most prescribers don't spend nearly enough time on.
GLP-1 medications don't just help you lose fat. They also accelerate the loss of lean muscle mass — and for adults over 40, that's a problem that can follow you long after the weight is gone.
SOTA Personal Training, Minnetonka's top-rated personal training studio, has become a go-to resource for GLP-1 users across the Twin Cities who want to protect their results, preserve their muscle, and build a body that's strong enough to actually enjoy the weight they've lost.
The Muscle Problem Nobody's Talking to You About
When you lose weight — through any method — a portion of that weight is lean muscle tissue. Research published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism confirmed that GLP-1 users do experience muscle loss alongside fat loss, though fat loss is more pronounced. That sounds reassuring. But for adults already losing muscle naturally with age — a process called sarcopenia that accelerates after 40 — even a modest additional reduction in muscle mass can have real consequences:
Slower metabolism (making weight regain more likely after stopping the medication)
Reduced strength, balance, and functional independence
Increased risk of injury and falls
Greater long-term risk of metabolic decline
According to CNN Health and leading endocrinologists, strength training is not optional for GLP-1 users — it's the primary intervention to protect muscle while weight comes down. Dr. Viral Shah of Indiana University School of Medicine put it plainly: especially for adults 65 and older, failing to train while on a GLP-1 is a serious health risk.
The medication can do its job — but it can't do your workout. That's where SOTA comes in.
Why Most Gyms Aren't Built for GLP-1 Users
Here's the uncomfortable truth about the fitness industry: most gyms are not well-equipped to serve GLP-1 users.
Big-box gyms offer equipment and maybe a generic group class. Boutique cardio studios might burn calories, but they won't rebuild the lean mass GLP-1s are quietly eroding. And most personal trainers — even well-intentioned ones — aren't trained to think about the intersection of pharmacology, muscle physiology, nutrition, and behavior change that GLP-1 users actually need.
The result? GLP-1 users who show up at a typical gym often experience one of two outcomes: they don't train hard enough to stimulate meaningful muscle retention, or they overtrain and burn out because nobody calibrated the program to where their body actually is. Neither serves you.
What Makes SOTA Different — For GLP-1 Users Specifically
SOTA was built for exactly the kind of person who's now turning to GLP-1 medications: busy adults over 40 who are dealing with real physical challenges, real time constraints, and a history of programs that haven't worked.
1. Strength-First Programming
SOTA's entire training philosophy is built around compound strength training — the exact modality that research consistently identifies as the most effective tool for preserving lean muscle during weight loss. Every program is progressive, meaning the challenge scales with your capacity, and every session is designed to give your body a reason to hold onto muscle while the weight comes down.
This isn't cardio with weights. It's intentional, evidence-based resistance training — delivered by coaches who know the difference.
2. Individualized Programs — Not Templates
GLP-1 users often experience reduced appetite, lower energy levels, and changes in recovery capacity, especially early in treatment. A cookie-cutter program doesn't account for any of that. At SOTA, every client receives a program built specifically around their body, their history, their goals, and their current capacity — then adjusted in real time as those things change.
If your energy is lower on certain days, your coach knows. If your recovery is slower than expected, your program reflects that. You're never just another body moving through a circuit.
3. Nutrition Coaching That Works With Your Medication
Protein intake is the single most important nutritional variable for GLP-1 users trying to preserve muscle. Research is clear: adequate protein — typically 0.7 to 1.0 grams per pound of body weight — combined with resistance training is the most effective strategy for protecting lean mass during GLP-1-driven weight loss.
The challenge is that GLP-1 medications dramatically suppress appetite. Eating enough protein when you're not hungry is genuinely hard — and most gyms don't offer any guidance on it.
SOTA does. Nutrition coaching is woven into every client's experience, with practical strategies for hitting protein targets, building sustainable eating habits, and fueling performance even when your appetite has shifted.
4. Psychology-Forward Coaching
GLP-1 users are often in a uniquely vulnerable place emotionally. They may feel uncertain about whether the results are "really theirs." They may worry about what happens when they stop the medication. They may have a long history of weight struggles and complicated feelings about their body.
SOTA's coaching approach is explicitly psychology-forward — meeting clients where they are, building identity around strength and capability rather than the number on a scale, and helping members develop the habits and mindset that outlast any medication.
As SOTA founder Phil Schrupp puts it: "The medication can open the door. But you still have to walk through it — and keep walking. Our job is to build you into someone who doesn't need the medication to maintain the results."
5. A Community That Shows Up for You
Accountability is one of the strongest predictors of long-term success in any behavior change program — and it's especially important for GLP-1 users navigating a new relationship with their body, their appetite, and their identity.
At SOTA, clients aren't anonymous. Coaches know your name before you walk in. Fellow members cheer you on. The environment is built — deliberately — to make showing up feel like the easiest part of your day.
That community is reflected in SOTA's near-perfect ratings across Google (5.0 stars, 271 reviews), Mindbody (5.0 stars, 615 reviews), and ClassPass (4.9 stars, 5,000+ reviews). Members don't just get results — they stay.
What SOTA Members on GLP-1s Are Experiencing
The stories playing out at SOTA mirror what researchers and clinicians are identifying as best practice for GLP-1 users.
Members arrive having lost weight but feeling weaker than expected — and leave stronger than they've been in years. They come in concerned about maintaining results after the medication ends — and build the muscle and habits to do exactly that. They show up unsure whether a gym is even right for them — and find a place where they finally belong.
Susan came in with arthritic knees, a busy lifestyle, and a goal to get stronger and feel better. In 90 days, she dropped 5% body fat, gained 3 pounds of lean muscle, and reduced her knee pain by roughly 70%. "There was a time when my knees hurt so badly I had to crawl up my basement stairs," she said. "Today, I barely notice them."
Dave and Cindy came to SOTA after realizing that long-term care insurance wasn't the answer to the physical decline they were starting to feel. In just a few months, Cindy hit her weight loss goal and both saw significant improvement in core strength. "We decided to invest in ourselves instead," Cindy said.
These aren't just fitness stories. For GLP-1 users, they're exactly the kind of outcomes the research says are possible — when medication is paired with the right training, nutrition, and support.
The Bottom Line
GLP-1 medications are a powerful tool. But they work best — and their results last longest — when paired with a structured strength training program, adequate protein intake, and the kind of accountability that turns short-term change into a long-term identity shift.
If you're currently on a GLP-1 medication, considering one, or coming off one and looking to maintain your results, SOTA Personal Training is ready to build your program around where you are right now — and where you want to be for the next 10, 20, and 30 years.
Ready to protect your results and build strength that lasts? Book a free, zero-pressure discovery call at sotafitness.com/discovery-call.