Welcome to the positive corner of the internet. Here’s a daily digest designed to make you healthier in less than 5 minutes. If you were forwarded this message, you can get the free daily email here.
Today’s Health Upgrade
Arnold's Monday motivation
How to prevent stroke and dementia
Workout of the week
Win free prizes! Have you listened to the Arnold Pump Club Podcast? We're doing a special giveaway for people who listen and leave a review. Click here to discover the prizes and how to enter. If you haven't listened yet, you can subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Arnold’s Monday Motivation
Last week, I had an event at the Schwarzenegger Institute at USC on fighting the rising hate we’ve seen all over the world.
We had a panel about how to communicate to pull people away from a path of hate, and a former neo-Nazi who now helps other extremists out of their movements shared his perspective. Something he shared stuck with me, and I wanted to share it with all of you. Because it is wisdom that can help anyone — not just people who are consumed by hate.
He said that the further he got away from his old beliefs, the more he realized that in the days when he carried that hateful flag and shouted racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric, the person he really hated was himself. He believes he was projecting that hate onto other groups because it was a lot harder to turn inward and work on his own insecurities. It reminded me of my video last month when I asked people to take the hard path and improve themself instead of taking the easy path and finding scapegoats.
We hear a lot about how the world is angrier and more negative today. It’s clear that social media algorithms boost our worst impulses. But I don’t think we can simply blame the internet.
I think that social media gives everyone a megaphone when what many people really need is a mirror.
I think that many of our negative thoughts toward other people and events are just projections of our own problems and insecurities.
And I think that we have the power to make things better for ourselves and the world if we are willing to do the reps.
It’s never easy work to find the things we are most insecure about and face them head-on. But we all have the power to do it if we are willing to accept some discomfort. Because discomfort is how we grow.
It’s the first lesson you learn in the gym, and it will serve you in every aspect of your life. That’s why I see this newsletter not as a simple fitness email: I see it as a path to help people improve themselves a little bit every day so that they can improve the world around them.
Last week we talked about looking past the mirror and finding people that need your help and volunteering. This week, we look in the mirror.
Every time you start to feel negativity or anger, I want you to stop and analyze where it might be coming from inside of you. Because once you can find those insecurities and face them, you will find that it’s a superpower. You’ll find your power.
Combine These Drinks To Fight Disease
Food gets all the focus on diet plans, but a couple of beverages are building an impressive resume for helping with disease prevention.
Research suggests that drinking both coffee and tea helps protect your body against stroke and dementia.
If you follow the guidelines of the study, you could find yourself needing to use the bathroom more often, but it might be worth it. Compared with those who did not drink tea and coffee, drinking 2 to 3 cups of coffee and 2 to 3 cups of tea per day was associated with a 32 percent lower risk of stroke and a 28 percent lower risk of dementia. It wasn’t a small sample, either. The study followed more than 360,000 adults over a 12-year period.
Because it was an observational study, we can’t claim cause and effect, as other variables inevitably influence health outcomes. But the potential health benefits of coffee and tea are also well-documented. Both are strong sources of polyphenols, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that fight against the buildup of free radicals that can cause disease.
And for those of you wondering, the assessment included decaffeinated versions, as well. About 16 percent of the participants reported only drinking decaffeinated coffees and teas. How strong the effect is compared to caffeinated versions cannot be determined from this study, but because decaf coffee and tea still have polyphenols, so it’s hard to imagine there isn’t some crossover effect.
Workout of the Week
This workout from Coach Dan John is minimal and time-efficient. If you've got one kettlebell (or a dumbbell, or a water jug, or a backpack) and some space to walk, you have everything you need for a fantastic training session.
Coach John calls this “The Sparhawk.” You’ll be performing goblet squats and suitcase carries. But here's the catch: You can't set the weight down until you're done.
Here’s how to do it:
Grab a kettlebell or dumbbell that you can lift for at least 12 reps. No weights? No problem. You can also fill up a gallon water jug or even put some books in a backpack.
Now it’s time to get to work.
Perform 8 Goblet squats, then walk 60 feet (you can pace around your home if needed) with the weight in your left hand.
Perform 7 Goblet squats, then walk another 60 feet, this time with the weight in your right hand.
Now do 6 Goblet squats, back to the left hand for 60 feet.
5 Goblet squats, right-hand walk.
4 Goblet squats, left-hand walk
3 Goblet squats, right-hand walk
2 Goblet squats, left-hand walk.
1 Goblet squat, finished.
Because you transition straight into the carries after the squats, you keep your body under load the entire time, which works your core and grip. It might not seem like much, but your entire body will feel it by the time you’re done
Give it a try, and let us know how it goes!
--
Lift your friends up, get a personalized, signed copy of my Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding
Help me with my fitness crusade and recruit new members. Share your referral link and if 2 people sign up for Arnold's Pump Club, you’ll be entered to win a personalized, signed copy of my Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding. Five winners will be selected.
