Short answer: get your doctor’s okay, then start small.
Begin with walks and strength moves, keep water nearby and rise slowly between exercises. The FDA labels for Wegovy and Zepbound pair the drug with increased physical activity, so moving more is part of the plan. For a sore knee or shoulder, book localized cryotherapy, a 10-minute appointment for $35.
See your doctor before you start if you take a GLP-1 drug or any other medicine, have a heart, kidney or blood pressure condition, or have not exercised in a long time, and ask about sauna and cold at the same visit.
Your first month
Walking is the easiest place to begin, and New Orleans is flat, so a loop in Audubon Park or along the river is a fair first goal. Add minutes before you add speed, and keep the pace at one where you can still talk.
Strength work is the part beginners skip, and it matters most if you are losing weight. In the STEP 1 trial of semaglutide, the drug in Ozempic and Wegovy, lean mass fell 9.7% over 68 weeks while fat mass fell 19.3%, and the Wegovy and Zepbound labels say fat loss is greater than lean loss, not that lean mass is kept. Simple moves are enough at first: sit-to-stands from a chair, wall push-ups, carrying groceries, or a machine circuit with a trainer. Stop each set while it still feels manageable.
Soreness for a day or two after a new exercise is common. Sharp pain or a joint that swells is not something to push through, so stop and call your doctor, and call 911 for chest pain or shortness of breath that does not settle.
Training safely on a GLP-1 drug
The labels explain why going slow matters. All five, for Wegovy, Zepbound, Ozempic, Rybelsus and Mounjaro, warn about kidney injury from fluid loss. In the Wegovy studies, low blood pressure reactions were reported in 1.3% of adults on the drug against 0.4% on placebo, and fainting in 0.8% against 0.2%. For Zepbound, low blood pressure was 1.6% against 0.1%. Drink water through the session and get up from the floor slowly, and on days with nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, skip the workout and tell your prescriber. On hot, humid New Orleans days, train early or indoors.
The Wegovy and Zepbound labels pair the drug with a reduced-calorie diet and more physical activity, so moving more is part of how those two drugs are meant to be used. Ask your prescriber how hard to push and what to eat around a workout.
Can a sauna or cold session replace a workout?
No. We found no body-fat or muscle result in a 2018 review of 40 sauna studies, and a 2022 meta-analysis of 10 small cold-exposure trials found a rise in energy use after a single spell of cold, while its discussion notes that in people this has raised energy use without producing a loss of body weight. Neither one does the work that builds muscle. What a recovery visit can be is a pleasant way to end a training day, and a reason to come back for the next one.
Sauna or cold after a workout
None of the five labels mentions saunas, hot tubs, cryotherapy or cold exposure, so no label says either is safe on these drugs. If your doctor says heat is fine, wait until you have cooled down and had water before a sauna, and step out the moment you feel dizzy; you do not have to stay the full 30 minutes. Cold air on one sore area is short, and seated compression uses no heat or cold. Our post-workout recovery guide compares the options, and what localized cryotherapy is explains the focused cold visit.
| Service | Time | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Localized cryotherapy | 10 min | $35 |
| NormaTec compression | 30 min | $30 |
| Infrared sauna | 30 min | $30, or $48 for two |
Every price is on the pricing page, packs are on the packages page, and you pay after your visit. NOLA Chill is at 6045 Magazine Street, open every day, Mon to Fri 9am to 7pm, Sat 9am to 4pm and Sun 10am to 3pm, with off-street parking in front.
NOLA Chill does not sell, prescribe or recommend any drug or peptide, and nothing here is advice to start, stop or change a medicine.
More in this series
- Losing weight without a GLP-1 drug: where sauna and cryo honestly fit
- Keeping muscle on Ozempic, Wegovy or Zepbound
- Keeping your energy after losing weight
- Which recovery service to book first
Frequently asked questions
Can I exercise while taking Ozempic, Wegovy or Zepbound?
The Wegovy and Zepbound labels pair the drug with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity, so activity is part of how they are meant to be used, and the Ozempic and Mounjaro labels pair those medicines with diet and exercise. How hard to push, and when, is a question for your prescriber.
Why might I feel dizzy when I work out on a GLP-1 drug?
We cannot say what is happening in your case, so tell your prescriber. The labels give two reasons to go slowly: all five warn about kidney injury from fluid loss after nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, and the Wegovy label reports low blood pressure reactions in 1.3% of adults on the drug against 0.4% on placebo.
Can a sauna or cryotherapy replace a workout?
No. A 2018 review of 40 sauna studies reports no body-fat or muscle result, and a 2022 meta-analysis of 10 cold-exposure trials found a short-term rise in energy use, which its discussion says has not produced a loss of body weight in people. A recovery visit can be a good way to end a training day, not a substitute for it.
How we checked
Label uses, warnings and side-effect rates are from each medicine’s FDA label on DailyMed, read on October 30, 2026; the muscle figures are from the STEP 1 abstract, and the sauna and cold findings from the two reviews below.
- Wegovy label (DailyMed)
- Zepbound label (DailyMed)
- Ozempic label (DailyMed)
- Rybelsus and Ozempic tablets label (DailyMed)
- Mounjaro label (DailyMed)
- Wilding and others, 2021, STEP 1 body composition abstract
- Hussain and Cohen, 2018, dry sauna systematic review
- Huo and others, 2022, cold exposure meta-analysis
NOLA Chill is a wellness studio on Magazine Street in New Orleans, not a medical clinic. A recovery visit is not a treatment and does not replace care from your doctor.