Activation of the sympathetic nervous system causes pronounced metabolic changes that are mediated by multiple adrenergic receptor subtypes. Systemic treatment with β adrenergic receptor agonists results in multiple beneficial metabolic effects, including improved glucose homeostasis. To elucidate the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms, we chronically treated wild-type mice and several newly developed mutant mouse strains with clenbuterol, a selective β -adrenergic receptor agonist. Clenbuterol administration caused pronounced improvements in glucose homeostasis and prevented the metabolic deficits in mouse models of β-cell dysfunction and insulin resistance. Studies with skeletal muscle-specific mutant mice demonstrated that these metabolic improvements required activation of skeletal muscle β -adrenergic receptors and the stimulatory G protein, G . Unbiased transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses showed that chronic β -adrenergic receptor stimulation caused metabolic reprogramming of skeletal muscle characterized by enhanced glucose utilization. These findings strongly suggest that agents targeting skeletal muscle metabolism by modulating β -adrenergic receptor-dependent signaling pathways may prove beneficial as antidiabetic drugs.