Resistance training cut lean tissue loss by 25% during tirzepatide weight loss
In a 40-week trial of 120 adults aged 50–70, participants taking tirzepatide who did resistance training three times a week lost 25% less lean tissue than those who did not train. The University of Western Australia researchers found similar weight loss in both groups—about 22 kg—but strength rose with training and fell without it.
Bottom line — The trial’s 59-person training group lost 3.57 kg of lean tissue, against 4.67 kg among those taking tirzepatide alone.
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Nature Medicine published the T-REx trial, described by its researchers as the first randomised trial to test resistance training alongside tirzepatide for obesity.
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Strength increased by 10–18% across the exercises tested in the training group; it fell by 6–9% in the drug-only group.
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Training did not prevent lean tissue loss entirely: the researchers reported 3.57 kg lost with exercise versus 4.67 kg without it.
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Fat loss was similar: 17.98 kg with training and 17.19 kg without, according to the trial results.
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The exercise programme involved three supervised, one-hour sessions each week; average attendance was 91%, the researchers reported.
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The trial enrolled adults aged 50–70 who were initially sedentary and did not have type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease, so the findings may not apply to everyone taking tirzepatide.
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Resistance training did not add measurable improvements to blood pressure, blood glucose or cholesterol beyond those seen with tirzepatide, according to Nature Medicine.