Arnold's Most Challenging Movie Scene

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

• The ultimate pre-workout?

• Arnold Q&A

• Weekend Challenge: Finish Strong

The Ultimate Pre-Workout?

Caffeine is one of the most researched supplements, and studies strongly suggest that it improves strength and endurance while reducing the perception of fatigue. But have you ever wondered if it offers any other benefits?

Recent research suggests that a pre-workout dose of caffeine may help increase fat-burning.

The scientists measured exercise performance over a week, testing people with caffeine or a placebo, performing workouts in the morning and the night. Participants who consumed caffeine 30 minutes before their workout increased fat burning by about 13 percent.

And it doesn’t matter when you train. The researchers found that caffeine before exercise can enhance fat burning regardless of the time of day you take it.

Before you mega-dose caffeine, the impact on fat loss is secondary to bigger behavioral changes. Focus on your diet, exercise, and sleep if you want lasting fat loss. If you’re not eating well (and consuming too many calories), don’t exercise, or consistently sleep less than 7 hours, then no amount of caffeine (or any over-the-counter fat-burner) will deliver the desired changes.

But if you’ve built good habits, some caffeine before exercise might give you an extra boost. Two cups of coffee can do the trick. Or, if you want an NSF-certified pre-workout without unnecessary extras, we enjoy Vitalura Energy or Ladder.

Arnold Q&A

Earlier this week, Arnold did a Q&A in The Pump app. Arnold answered dozens of questions, and here are a few highlights.

Arnold’s “Hardest Scene”

The Best Advice Arnold Has Ever Received

Arnold On Bouncing Back

Arnold on Self-Belief

Arnold On Overcoming Exhaustion

Weekend Challenge: The Finish Strong Challenge Workout #3

In honor of the Finish Strong Challenge, we’re giving you a workout this weekend. As a reminder, at the end of the month, we’ll randomly reward three people with $1,000 who are a part of Arnold’s Pump Club and have shared their workouts on social media.

Meet the four-exercise workout. It might not be complicated but don’t underestimate the difficulty because it doesn’t include many exercises.

Select a weight you can lift for ten repetitions using very good form. Set a timer for 10 to 20 minutes (10 minutes if you’re a beginner and 20 minutes if you’re more advanced) and perform five reps of all four exercises (using the 10-rep weight for each movement). That’s one round.

Rest, catch your breath, and repeat the three exercises. Complete as many rounds as possible within the amount of time you set.

If you don’t have any weight (you can use dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, or bands), then you can do bodyweight variations.

1. Dumbbell front squat or bodyweight squat

2. Bent-over dumbbell row or inverted row

3. Dumbell overhead press or pushup

4. Dumbbell step-up or bodyweight step-up

Try it, and remember to tag Arnold (@schwarzenegger) on social media.

Thanks again for joining us for another week. We love the village and hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

-Arnold, Adam, and Daniel

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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger​

Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell