Train With Dave Offers Strength Training for Orange County Clients on GLP-1 Medications

Personal trainer coaches a woman performing a one-arm dumbbell row in a modern gym. An infographic explains that GLP-1 weight loss may include lean tissue loss and highlights resistance training and adequate protein as strategies to help preserve muscle.

Published trial data show a large share of the weight lost on the drugs is lean muscle. The Orange County company, says its program is built around keeping it.

The medication handles appetite. It doesn't handle muscle...”

— David Cozzens

ORANGE, CA, UNITED STATES, July 31, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Clinical trial data show that a substantial share of the weight patients lose on GLP-1 medications is not fat but lean muscle. Train With Dave, a personal-training company with studios in Orange, Irvine and Laguna Hills, California, said it runs a strength and nutrition program for clients taking the drugs, built around protecting that muscle.

In the STEP 1 trial of semaglutide, a body-composition substudy of 140 participants measured by DXA scan found that fat mass fell more than lean mass, but that total lean body mass still declined. Published analyses of that trial and of SURMOUNT-1, a comparable trial of tirzepatide, have put lean tissue at roughly one quarter to 40 percent of total weight lost, depending on the trial and the method used. Separately, research in adults losing weight through caloric restriction has found that resistance training combined with adequate protein preserves most lean mass.

Published nutrition guidance for patients on the medications recommends roughly 0.54 to 0.73 grams of protein per pound of body weight daily (1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram) to protect lean mass, above the level recommended for the general adult population. Train With Dave said it sets its own target as a share of intake rather than by body weight, recommending most clients take 30 to 35 percent of their daily calories from protein, with coaches adjusting as appetite falls.

Train With Dave said clients on the medications follow the same progressive strength work as the rest of its clients -- two to four sessions a week -- alongside that protein target and coaching on how to hit it while the medication is suppressing appetite. Coaches program and track workouts through the company's app and review progress monthly. The company said the program also covers the period after a client stops the medication, when appetite returns and weight regain is common.

The company said it plays no clinical role. "We are personal trainers, not physicians," the company states on its website, adding that clients should work with the prescribing clinician on the medication itself.

"The medication handles appetite. It doesn't handle muscle," said David Cozzens, who founded Train With Dave in 2016 and holds a bachelor of science in kinesiology. "If somebody drops thirty pounds and a real chunk of that is muscle, they end up smaller and weaker with a slower metabolism -- and that's the person who puts it all back on the second they stop. The drug isn't the work. The work is still the work."

Every coach at Train With Dave holds a college degree, most in kinesiology and several at the master's level, and the company keeps a nutritionist on staff. It has completed more than 150,000 training sessions in Orange County since 2016, including more than 32,000 in 2025, and holds over 1,000 five-star reviews.

Details of the program are posted at Train with Dave GLP1. Additional company information and media resources are at trainwithdaveoc.com/press.

About Train With Dave
Founded in 2016 by David Cozzens, Train With Dave provides customized personal training and nutrition coaching at three Orange County studios in Orange, Irvine, and Laguna Hills. Every coach holds a college degree, several at the master's level. The company has completed more than 150,000 training sessions and holds over 1,000 five-star reviews. Learn more at trainwithdaveoc.com or call (714) 904-2036.

Supporting Research

* Wilding JPH, et al. “Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity.” *New England Journal of Medicine*, 2021.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2032183

* Wilding JPH, et al. “Impact of Semaglutide on Body Composition in Adults With Overweight or Obesity: Exploratory Analysis of the STEP 1 Study.” *Journal of the Endocrine Society*, 2021.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8089287/

* Look M, et al. “Body Composition Changes During Weight Reduction With Tirzepatide in the SURMOUNT-1 Study.” *Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism*, 2025.
https://dom-pubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dom.16275

* Lopez P, et al. “Resistance Training Effectiveness on Body Composition and Body Weight Outcomes in Individuals With Overweight and Obesity Across the Lifespan.” *Obesity Reviews*, 2022.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9285060/

* Mozaffarian D, et al. “Nutritional Priorities to Support GLP-1 Therapy for Obesity.” *American Journal of Clinical Nutrition*, 2025.
https://ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S0002-9165%2825%2900240-0/fulltext

Kelsey Kennedy
Train with Dave
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