When we owned and operated our health clubs, the weight loss conversation was pretty straightforward. Members came in wanting to lose weight. We helped them create calorie deficits through exercise, guided them on nutrition, and celebrated their progress. The gym was where weight loss happened.
That was then. The landscape has fundamentally changed.
GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro have reshaped how millions of Americans approach weight loss. These medications are incredibly effective at helping people shed pounds quickly, and whether you personally love them, hate them or fall somewhere in between, the reality is this: your members are using them. The facilities and organizations that I work with are seeing it everywhere. Members are arriving lighter than ever, but they’re also weaker, more fatigued and carrying less muscle mass.
Look, a lot of fitness professionals think GLP-1s represent a form of cheating. A shortcut. The easy way out. They believe people should do it the “right way” through diet and exercise. But here’s what matters: your members are using GLP-1s anyway, and your judgment isn’t changing that fact. What your judgment does is make you irrelevant to the exact people who need your help most.
Major brands are already adapting. Equinox launched a GLP-1 Protocol to preserve muscle mass. Life Time debuted its Miora program with GLP-1 access alongside training and wellness services. They’re not running from this trend. They’re leaning into it.
GLP-1s aren’t making gyms less relevant. They’re making them even more essential. The medication handles the weight loss. The gym is where members rebuild strength, protect muscle, restore energy and ensure sustainability. This is an opportunity, but only if you adapt.
Lose weight, maintain muscle
Back in the day, our clubs’ marketing focused on weight loss. Success stories featured pounds dropped and inches lost. We celebrated members who fit back into their high school jeans, which, looking back, was a weird thing to celebrate — who keeps jeans from high school? For decades, the entire industry positioned itself this way. Gyms were the place to lose weight.
Today, GLP-1 users are losing weight whether they step foot in your facility or not. What they’re not doing is preserving muscle mass. Rapid weight loss often means significant muscle loss, which slows metabolism, reduces functional capacity and sets people up to regain weight. This is where your facility becomes integral, but only if you educate members about why they need you now more than ever. The conversation shifts from “come here to lose weight” to “you’re losing weight, now let’s make sure you’re building strength and maintaining muscle.”
At scale, 24 Hour Fitness has focused on supporting members through strength training, small-group options and personalized programming to stabilize metabolism and preserve muscle mass. Strength training is no longer a bonus. It’s nonnegotiable for maintaining health after rapid weight loss.
Have you audited your programming in this era of weight-loss medication? Is strength training accessible for all members? Are your trainers equipped to teach true beginners? Is your messaging shifting from “lose weight here” to “build strength here”? Are you educating prospects about why they need strength training even if they’re already losing weight?
Recovery is no longer optional
Recovery was something our clubs offered but rarely emphasized. We had stretching mats in the corner, a foam rolling area, but the real energy went into promoting our hardest classes. I’m pretty sure those stretching mats collected more dust than users. That “no pain, no gain” mentality is what we thought members wanted. That doesn’t work anymore. Many GLP-1 users experience fatigue, longer recovery windows and lower capacity for high-intensity work. If your only message is “push harder,” you’re missing these members entirely.
Just as muscle preservation requires education, so does recovery. Members don’t automatically understand that rest and restoration are where adaptation happens. They still think more is always better. Recovery needs to be elevated to the same level as training. This means embedding it into your programming philosophy and actively teaching members why it matters.
STRIDE Fitness, for example, offers structured treadmill-based interval training with proper pacing, recovery windows and education around how the body responds to weight loss.
What recovery resources do you offer? How visible are they? Are your staff members talking about recovery with the same enthusiasm they bring to your hardest classes? Are you educating members that recovery isn’t optional?
Adjust program expectations
Our clubs took pride in our toughest classes. The harder, the better. We wanted people dripping sweat and barely able to walk out. I used to teach a cardio kickboxing class that was so hard I couldn’t have taken it myself. That probably should have been a sign we were pushing the envelope for most people, but if someone couldn't keep up, we assumed they just needed to get in better shape.
As previously mentioned, not everyone in the GLP-1 era can go full throttle in a high-intensity bootcamp or advanced lifting class. This doesn’t mean dumbing down your programming. It means offering intelligent modifications such as lower-impact options that still deliver results, controlled resistance training that builds strength without beating people up, and staff members trained to make modifications feel like personalized programming, not consolation prizes.
Lagree Fitness built an entire method around this high-intensity, low-impact approach. Founder Sebastien Lagree has long challenged the idea that being thinner equals being fitter. Slow, controlled resistance training and core stability align perfectly with what many GLP-1 users need.
Are your trainers equipped to modify programming effectively? Can they meet members where they are without making them feel like they’re getting a watered-down experience?
Educate members about the ‘after’
As mentioned, we celebrated when one of our club members hit their goal weight. We took their success photo, posted it on the wall and assumed the hard work was done. Mission accomplished. Cue the confetti. We didn’t talk at all about what comes after.
Here’s a misconception I see constantly: members think the medication is the finish line. They believe once they hit their goal weight, they’re done. They have no idea that maintaining that weight loss, protecting muscle mass and sustaining energy requires ongoing effort. This is where you come in, but only if you’re actively educating them.
Your facility needs to position itself as the essential health partner post-weight loss. This isn’t about vanity. It’s about bone density, metabolic health, functional strength, energy and longevity — the ability to move through life without pain or limitation.
The conversation shifts from “come here to lose weight and look good” to “come here to build a body that works well for the long haul.” GLP-1s can make someone lighter. Only consistent strength training, proper recovery and smart programming can make someone sustainably healthy.
How are you communicating this? Does your marketing reflect this reality? Are your staff members equipped to have these conversations? Are you celebrating the right things?
See around corners
GLP-1 medications have fundamentally changed the weight loss conversation. Whether you support these medications or have reservations, your members are using them. Ignoring their existence and impact isn’t a strategy.
Here’s what else you need to know: this field is evolving. New research will emerge. Side effects will be better understood. Usage patterns will shift. Long-term data will tell us things we don’t know today. You can’t afford to form an opinion once and walk away. You need to stay informed and keep adapting as the science develops.
Great organizations see around corners. They don’t wait for trends to hit them. They plan. They adapt. They educate their teams. They adjust their messaging before they’re forced to. This is one of those moments.
The operators who will thrive are already moving. They’re emphasizing strength over cardio. They’re elevating recovery to the same level as training. They’re training staff to meet members where they are. They’re educating prospects that the gym matters more after weight loss, not less. And they’re leading the cultural shift away from scale obsession toward celebrating strength, capability and long-term health.
We spent decades reinforcing the idea that smaller equals better. GLP-1s give us the chance to change that narrative. From pounds lost to strength gained. From quick fixes to sustainable health. From obsessing over the scale to building bodies that work well.
Your members may be lighter than they’ve ever been. They also need you more than they ever have. The question is: are you ready to meet them where they are?
