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Today’s Health Upgrade
An insurance policy against the effects of alcohol
How strong is your information health?
A common supplement (and its little-discussed weakness)
Foods are super
Recipe of the week
Health
Can Your Fitness Level Cancel Out the Effects of Alcohol?
Holiday parties are here, and that usually means you might be enjoying a few more drinks than usual. Most people worry about the potential dangers of drinking. But new research suggests something surprising:
Being fit can reduce the impact and risk that alcohol has on your body.
Researchers followed nearly 25,00 adults for more than 16 years, tracking their cardiorespiratory and alcohol intake. They split people into those who were unfit (the lowest 20% of fitness levels) and everyone else (anyone who was moderately fit or better).
People who were in the lowest 20% of fitness had up to a 68% higher risk of early death, no matter how much they drank. Even people who drank within recommended limits faced a higher risk if they were unfit.
Meanwhile, people who stayed above the lowest tier of fitness didn’t show increased health risk from moderate drinking. Even those who started drinking during the study saw only a modest increase in risk if their fitness remained solid.
That’s not to say alcohol had no effect; it still made health outcomes worse. People who increased their drinking above recommendations had about a 20 to 25% higher risk. But fitness appears to provide some health protection.
The researchers point out that using oxygen during activity strengthens your heart, metabolism, and resilience to stress. In simple terms, fitter bodies handle life’s insults better, including alcohol.
The study suggests you don’t need Ironman conditioning to help protect against the downsides of alcohol. You simply need enough weekly activity to avoid being “unfit.” If you drink moderately, fitness won’t erase the effects of heavy alcohol use, but it does act like an insurance policy for long-term health.
Together With DeleteMe
How Strong Is Your Information Health?
Every day, you make choices that support your long-term well-being. You move your body. You stay hydrated. You prioritize good food and sound sleep.
None of these choices eliminates risk. They make you stronger, more resilient, and better prepared.
Your digital life works the same way.
Most people don’t realize this, but your personal information — your name, address, phone number, and even your family connections — can quietly spread across hundreds of data broker sites.
Not because you did anything wrong, but because that’s how the online world works today. It increases your exposure, your likelihood of being targeted, and the background stress you carry without even noticing.
Why are we talking about personal information? Because, as the positive corner of the internet, we have an obligation to protect you from the silent threats. And this one hit us personally recently. A close friend had too much personal information online, which led to identity theft that cost them tens of thousands of dollars.
If there’s a simple way to improve your information health, reduce exposure, and remove an unnecessary stressor, why not take it?
That’s why we use DeleteMe. Think of it as a personal trainer for your privacy.
It finds where your information appears, removes it, and keeps it off. It’s one of the easiest ways to strengthen an area of your life that most people never think to protect.
If you want more peace of mind — and fewer hidden stressors — check out DeleteMe and use code PUMPCLUB for 20% off.
Because feeling secure, online or offline, is just another version of taking care of yourself.
Fitness
When Beta-Alanine Helps You Push Harder (And When It Does Nothing at All)
Some supplements promise to make you stronger. Fewer actually deliver. And every so often, a new review reminds us that the real magic isn’t in the hype — it’s in matching the right tool to the right job.
Beta-alanine is one of those tools: incredibly useful at the right times, and almost pointless at others.
A new review analyzed nine studies to see whether beta-alanine improves strength and power. More than half of the studies found no improvement in 1-rep max or other pure-strength tests. Even high daily doses (4.8–6.4 grams for up to 10 weeks) didn’t move the needle. A smaller group of studies did show benefits, but mostly in endurance-style strength tests: more reps, more sustained tension, better performance late in a workout. And that appears to be when the supplement makes a difference.
A larger meta-analysis of 40 trials found a moderate improvement in exercise capacity — how long you can sustain a hard effort — but almost no improvement in 1-rep strength.
Beta-alanine boosts muscle carnosine, which helps buffer the acid that builds up during efforts lasting one to four minutes. A max lift that only takes a few seconds doesn’t create enough acid for buffering to matter. But the final reps of a 20-rep squat set? Completely different story.
So if you want to use beta-alanine, it won’t do much for low-rep, heavy-weight work, low-rep power work, or long, steady endurance.
Better Today: Make Beta-Alanine Work For You
If you want to see benefits from beta-alanine, use it for high-rep lifting with short rest periods, rowing and swimming intervals, cycling sprints, repeated bursts in combat sports, and conditioning workouts like those in CrossFit.
Aim for 4 to 6 grams per day, ideally split into 0.8–1.6-gram doses taken throughout the day, for 4 to 8 weeks. The smaller servings matter because your muscles can only absorb so much at once. After building up your levels, you can maintain them with a lower dose. And the tingling sensation some people feel? It’s harmless and usually avoided by keeping each serving small.
Foods Are Super
Cinnamon: The Spice That Helps Steady Your Energy
Some foods make big promises. Others keep a low profile, but may deserve more attention, like cinnamon.
If your blood sugar tends to run high or you’re dealing with insulin resistance, a small daily dose of cinnamon may help lower fasting glucose and support better insulin sensitivity.
Research suggests adding about ½ to 2 teaspoons led to modest improvements in fasting blood sugar and in HOMA-IR, a standard measure of how well your body responds to insulin. Not every study showed a benefit, and healthy individuals don’t see the same consistent effect as pre-diabetics or type-2 diabetics. But for those already working on their metabolic health, cinnamon offers a simple nudge in the right direction.
Cinnamon is packed with polyphenols and other naturally occurring compounds that appear to improve how cells respond to insulin and move glucose where it needs to go. Most human studies used Cassia cinnamon — the kind typically found in grocery stores — and while the findings aren’t dramatic, the overall pattern leans positive.
You can add cinnamon to oatmeal, yogurt, smoothies, or your morning coffee. If you prefer larger daily amounts, Ceylon cinnamon is a safer long-term choice because it contains far less coumarin, a compound that can stress your liver at very high intakes.
Pump Up Your Diet
Crispy Cinnamon Apple Yogurt Bowl
Ok, we won’t say it tastes as good as apple pie, but this high-protein, high-fiber recipe is perfect for breakfast or a snack, and it tastes good enough to pass as a treat while also supporting steadier energy.
Ingredients (1 serving):
1 small apple, diced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon butter or coconut oil
Pinch of salt
1 cup Greek yogurt
Handful of granola or chopped nuts
1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup (optional)
Instructions:
Heat a small skillet over medium heat and melt the butter (or oil).
Add the diced apple, cinnamon, and salt. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, until the apples soften and the edges begin to caramelize.
Drizzle with honey/maple syrup if using, stir, and cook 30 seconds more.
Put 1 cup of Greek yogurt in a bowl.
Spoon the warm cinnamon apples over a bowl of Greek yogurt.
Top with granola or nuts for crunch.
Eat and enjoy!
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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
