Are You Hibernating?

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Today’s Health Upgrade

• Monday motivation

• It’s time to rethink bread

• Workout of the week

Arnold’s Corner
Monday Motivation 

60 days.

You have 60 days left in 2024.

I know a lot of people write this part of the year off, give up, go into hibernation, and say to themselves next year will be their year.

Next year will be different.

Why not make the next 60 days different?

You have the power to finish strong, finish those resolutions you made in January, and give yourself a head start on next year.

You’d be shocked by what you can do in 60 days.

If you only read five pages a day, you’d finish Be Useful.

If you took 7,500 steps a day, you’d take 450,000 steps. That’s 225 miles — or more than 8 marathons.

If you worked out every other day, you’d complete 30 workouts.

If you committed to your diet and lost a pound a week, you’d lose 8 pounds.

Don’t discount the power of 60 days.

In the Pump app, a lot of our members are participating in a Finish Strong challenge. Every Monday, everyone checks in. I love seeing our members realize they don’t have to hibernate at the end of the year when they share that they’re losing weight, gaining strength, reading books, learning guitar, and sprinting toward the finish line of 2024.

You can do it too.

Just commit today that these next 60 days will be different. Don’t wait for next year. Don’t hibernate.

We can hibernate when we are 6 feet under.

There is nothing magic about starting January 1.

The magic happens whenever you start.

Start now. Write down your goals. Keep it simple. Pick 1 to 3 visions. You can do a lot in 60 days, but you won’t accomplish much if you try to solve all of the world’s problems. You need to focus.

Write down your 1 to 3 goals and put them where you can see them every day, on your refrigerator or your bathroom mirror.

Then, just do it.

60 days. You can see the finish line.

Now, you just have to run through it.

Nutrition 
It’s Time To Rethink Bread

If you’ve struggled to cut bread from your diet, science suggests you might want to remove something else. 

Research suggests that bread eaters are less likely to be overweight — assuming they eat higher-fiber bread. 

Before you brush off the findings, the conclusion was based on a review of 45 studies that analyzed more than 700,000 people. 

The main takeaway was that eating more fibrous whole grains is linked to lower risks of heart disease, cancer, and overall mortality, showing that simple swaps can have big payoffs for your health.

However, the finer details of the study revealed more about what people eat to get enough fiber in their diet and why many people often remove foods unnecessarily. 

The scientists found that people who ate six slices or more daily of whole grain, high-fiber bread were more likely to maintain a healthy body weight. 

The problem is that bread is often lumped with other “refined carbohydrates,” such as cookies, cake, and soda. So, while some bread options don’t have much nutritious value, bread itself does not necessarily lead to weight gain. 

Research suggests that your best bet is to buy bread with a carb-to-fiber ratio lower than 10:1. So for every 20 grams of carbs, you’ll want at least 2 grams of fiber. But at The Pump Club, we also know that people tend to under-eat fiber. So, we recommend looking for bread with at least 4 grams of fiber per slice.

Fitness
Workout of the Week

This week’s workout will make you appreciate all the most basic exercises more than ever. 

The plan will have you focus on the “sticking point” — the part of exercises that is typically most difficult. Holding this position forces your muscles to work a little harder, remove momentum, and make each rep more difficult. 

How to do it

Each exercise combines an isometric where you hold the movement and then mix it with reps. For example, you might hold the bottom of a squat for 10 seconds and then do 10 reps.

You can do this workout with only bodyweight movements or dumbbells, kettlebells, or bands.

Perform 1 set of each exercise in order, and then rest for 2 to 3 minutes. Complete for a total of 2 to 5 rounds. 

Exercise 1

• Isometric Front foot elevated split-squat (left leg forward): 10-second hold in the bottom position

• Front foot elevated split-squat (left leg forward): 10 reps

• Isometric Front foot elevated split-squat (left leg forward): 5-second hold in the bottom position

Exercise 2

• Isometric Inverted row or pullups: 10-second hold in the top position (chest to bar)

• Inverted row or pullups: 8-12 reps

• Isometric inverted row or pullups: 5-second hold in the top position (chest to bar)

Exercise 3

• Isometric Front foot elevated split-squat (right leg forward): 10-second hold in the bottom position

• Front foot elevated split-squat (right leg forward): 10 reps

• Isometric Front foot elevated split-squat (right leg forward): 5-second hold in the bottom position

Exercise 4

• Isometric pushups or chest press: 10-second hold in the bottom position 

• Pushups or chest press: 8-20 reps

• Isometric pushups or chest press: 5-second hold in the bottom position 

Exercise 5

• Isometric hip raise: 10-second hold in the top position

• Hip raise: 10-20 reps

• Isometric hip raise: 5-second hold in the top position

Exercise 6

• Isometric lateral raise: 10-second hold in the top position 

• Lateral raise: 10-15 reps

• Isometric lateral raise: 5-second hold in the top position 

Exercise 7

• Isometric squat: 10-second hold in the bottom position

• Squat: 8-12 reps

• Isometric squat: 5-second hold in the bottom position

Give it a try, and let us know what you think! Here’s wishing you a fantastic start to your week.

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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger​

Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell