Are Nuts Good For Heart Health?

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Today’s Health Upgrade

• Monday motivation

• Are nuts good for your heart?

• Workout of the week

Arnold’s Corner
Monday Motivation 

I know a lot of people all over the world are watching the World Series this week.

My friends in Europe might not be surprised to hear that when I watch baseball, I ask my kids or my girlfriend Heather a lot of questions. I enjoy watching the best of the best, even in a sport I didn’t grow up watching, and baseball has a lot of confusing rules for us Europeans.

It is inspirational to watch people perform at the highest level, and after that wild first game, something more inspirational happened off the field.

Freddie Freeman had just hit one of the biggest home runs in history to win the game for the Dodgers, and he did it on an injured ankle.

But it was what he did after that I want to talk about today.

He ran straight to his dad and celebrated with him.

After the game, he explained why. He said this was his dad’s moment, for all of the days his dad threw to him, for all of the ways his dad shaped him.

I loved it.

You have heard me say that I am not a self-made man, and I’ve encouraged all of you to acknowledge the people who helped you along the way.

Here was a player on the biggest stage doing just that. I’m proud of him and I hope it can inspire you, too.

It would have been easy to make the moment about him. He’s the one who played through a serious injury, and he’s the one who hit the grand slam.

I know when you have big wins, it might feel like it takes something away from you to give credit to the people who helped make you who you are. That’s just your ego.

The truth is, by recognizing we didn’t do it alone, our wins become bigger, not smaller.

We make the moment bigger than ourselves. We expand our celebration to include more people. And we realize that we also have the responsibility to help the next generation because we know we got help.

That’s why every time I wrap a movie or a TV show, I make sure to tell the crew that when it comes out, I know people will talk about the stars, but I also want them to know that I am thinking about every single person on that set that made us shine because there would be no stars without their work.

That’s why Freddie shared his moment with his father.

This week, I have a challenge for you.

I want you to think of someone who helped make YOU who you are. And I want you to write them a letter thanking them and telling them how they helped you. Not a text. Do it old school.

It can be your parents. It can be a teacher. It can be a mentor.

No matter who you are, someone, somewhere along the way, helped you at some point. They deserve to share in your success, and you deserve to know what it feels like to share your gratitude.

Because let me tell you: it feels fantastic. When you acknowledge that it isn’t just about you, it’s one of the greatest feelings in the world.

This week, we are working on sharing our gratitude. I promise the second you put your thank you down on a page, you’ll immediately feel more positive.

Get out there and let them know what they mean to you. Do it now.

Health
Go Nuts About Your Heart Health

Some snacks are more than just a way to manage hunger — they could be a key to a longer, healthier life.

A new study suggests that regularly eating nuts is associated with a lower risk of mortality, especially from heart disease and cancer.

Scientists analyzed the dietary behaviors of more than 114,00 people between the ages of 40 and 79. They compared people who didn’t eat nuts to those who consumed them a few times per week and then tracked their health outcomes over 20 years. 

Individuals who ate more than two servings (30 grams) of nuts weekly had a 12 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality than those with no servings. And eating 1 to 2 servings (15 to 30 grams) of nuts per week saw a 34 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease. 

This is likely because nuts are rich in healthy fats, fiber, and antioxidants. Multiple studies have found that eating nuts improves the markers related to cardiovascular disease, such as lower triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and blood pressure.

Nuts are higher in calories, so while they can benefit your overall health, it’s easy to over-consume. So it’s not necessary to eat them often or in large quantities. Just a couple of handfuls per week might be enough to get the intended health benefits. 

Fitness
Workout of the Week

This week, we’re giving you a taste of bodyweight bodybuilding. You have two programs — one lower body and one upper body — that can be done in less than 20 minutes. This plan requires you to push the intensity on the first set of each exercise and then push through fatigue without doing wasted reps. 

How to do it:
On the first set of each exercise, take your body to failure. That is, do as many reps as possible with good form, and then stop once your form starts to break down. Rest as recommended, then do two more sets of the recommended reps. Then, move to the next exercise and repeat. 

Lower body workout

Warmup

• Bodyweight squat: 1-2 sets x 5 reps

• Bodyweight hip raise: 1-2 sets x 5 reps

• Walkout/inchworm: 1-2 sets x 5 reps

The workout

1. Rear-foot elevated split squat: 1 set  x AMAP (as many reps as possible) + 2 sets x 8-15 reps (120 seconds rest between sets)

2. Hamstring walkout: 1 set x AMAP (as many reps as possible) + 2 sets x 10-20n (60 seconds rest between sets)

3. Wall squat (hold): 1 set x max hold (stay in the bottom squat position as long as possible) + 2 sets x 30-60 seconds (60 seconds rest between sets)

4. Side Plank: 3 sets x 30 seconds (60 seconds rest between sets)

Upper body workout

Warmup

• Walkout/inchworm: 1-2 sets x 5 reps

• Pushup position plank: 1-2 sets x 20 seconds

• Bodyweight Superman W: 1-2 sets x 5-10 reps

The workout

1. Pushups: 1 set  x AMAP (as many reps as possible) + 2 sets x 8-25 reps (120 seconds rest between sets)

2. Inverted row: 1 set  x AMAP (as many reps as possible) + 2 sets x 8-25 reps (120 seconds rest between sets)

3. Feet-elevated pushup: 1 set  x AMAP (as many reps as possible) + 2 sets x 8-25 reps (60 seconds rest between sets)

4. Superman: 3 sets x 10-20 reps (60 seconds rest between sets)

Give it a try, and let us know what you think!

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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger​

Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell