Welcome to the positive corner of the internet. Every weekday, we make sense of the confusing world of wellness by analyzing the headlines, simplifying the latest research, and offering quick tips 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
A simple alternative to gym machines
Let’s talk about sports drinks and strength
Boozing in the name of better sleep
Arnold’s Podcast
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Fitness
A Simple Alternative to Gym Machines
The next time you question whether a home workout is worth the effort, stop overthinking it.
A new study suggests climbing stairs can be as effective as resistance training machines at building power and V02 max.
The study involved older adults assigned to either a stair-climbing or machine-based resistance training group. Both groups participated in their respective exercise programs for 12 weeks, with assessments conducted to measure changes in muscle power and functional capacity.
Both groups showed significant enhancements in muscle power, with no substantial differences between the stair-climbing and machine-based resistance training participants.
Despite not having machines, the group climbing stairs improved their 10-meter fast walk, 5-rep sit-to-stand, and countermovement jump ability just as much as the group training in the gym.
The stair workout was simple and effective: twice per week, the participants performed four sets of 12 to 15 reps, trying to move as fast and explosively as possible.
Now, it’s good to remember that this was for older adults. While it might not seem like much, research suggests that as little as 8 to 12 sets per body part can help build strength and muscle.
So, if you’re new to training or coming off a long break, bodyweight exercises done repeatedly and consistently with good intensity can be enough to help your body get stronger. And, as exercise gets easier, you can make it more challenging by adding weight, like wearing a rucksack.
Consider this another study suggesting you don't need a gym membership or specialized equipment to make your body healthier.
Nutrition
Are Carb Drinks Helping Your Strength Workouts?
Does extra carbs during your workout help you get a better pump?
A new study suggests that sports drinks don’t make a big difference when you have them during a strength training workout.
Researchers conducted a randomized trial where participants consumed either a carbohydrate supplement (60g of maltodextrin and fructose) or a placebo during their workout. The study assessed delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), perceived exertion, performance, recovery, and metabolic markers like blood lactate and glucose levels.
The scientists found that the carb drink did not reduce muscle soreness at 24 or 48 hours post-workout, didn’t improve jump performance or squat strength, had no benefits of recovery or the perception of fatigue, and didn’t significantly affect lactate levels.
In other words, there’s nothing wrong with drinking a carb-based beverage during your workouts. However, if you stay hydrated, the money you’re spending on the carbs likely won’t have any extra benefits.
But that doesn’t mean there‘s no need for added carbs. The duration or type of workout you perform influences whether extra carbs can assist with your performance.
Prior research found that additional carbs could help workouts longer than 1.5 hours or intense cardio-based workouts. Or, if the carb drink makes you feel better, helps with your intensity, or keeps you consistent with your workout, then you can stick with it.
Health
How Much Booze Does It Take To Help You Fall Asleep Easier?
Most people assume that a nightcap helps you sleep better — so science put the age-old theory to the test.
A new meta-analysis found that as little as two drinks compromise deeper stages of sleep, leaving you groggy, less recovered, and more prone to fatigue the next day.
Scientists analyzed 27 studies examining alcohol's impact on rest. The researchers looked at multiple metrics, including sleep onset (how fast you fall asleep), sleep architecture (the stages of sleep), and overall sleep quality.
Most people think that alcohol helps you fall asleep quicker — and that’s true. But there’s a big catch.
Booze leads to faster sleep onset, but only after five drinks.
And, while you might fall asleep quicker, drinking that much destroys your sleep quality by impairing deeper stages of sleep, reducing your REM and slow-wave sleep.
The disruption of REM sleep is particularly concerning because this stage is essential for memory consolidation, emotional regulation, and recovery.
While it takes many drinks to help you fall asleep faster, it takes very few drinks to cause damage. The research suggests that 0.50 g/kg of alcohol (or less) — which is just two standard drinks — disrupts and delays your REM sleep, with the damage increasing for each additional drink.
Maybe most importantly to you, alcohol before bed reduced next-day alertness and cognitive performance, even after participants believed they had “slept enough.”
This doesn’t mean you can never drink, as the poison is always in the dose. And if you want to minimize sleep disruption, having a drink or two more than four hours before bed is less likely to affect your rest.
Arnold’s Corner
Stay Moving: The Key to a Life Without Pain
Let’s talk about movement. It’s the foundation of living a full, vibrant life, yet millions of people suffer from joint pain that limits their mobility. The good news? It doesn’t have to be this way.
Did you know that nearly 600 million people worldwide live with osteoarthritis, a condition that causes joint pain and stiffness?
In the U.S. alone, 1 in 7 adults are affected. Physical inactivity is both a risk factor for developing joint problems and a symptom of the condition itself—a vicious cycle that keeps people in pain. But there’s hope.
As Chief Movement Officer for Zimmer Biomet, the global leader in innovative orthopedic solutions, I’m on a mission to educate and inspire people to take control of their mobility. Movement is medicine, and even small changes can have a huge impact on your quality of life.
Whether climbing stairs, gardening, or simply taking a daily walk, the 150 Rule is a great place to start: aim for 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week—just over 20 minutes a day. And if pain is already limiting your movement, don’t wait. Seek help from a physician and reclaim your life.
Remember my mantra: “If you rest, you rust.”
Let’s keep moving, because there’s no need to live in pain. Learn more about my partnership with Zimmer Biomet and how we’re working to improve mobility worldwide.
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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
