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Today’s Health Upgrade
Do you need to stretch?
Weekly wisdom
Don’t overreact to that new aspartame study
The fat that helps your heart
Arnold’s Podcast
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Fitness
Do You Need To Stretch? Not If You Do This
If you want to get stronger and more flexible, you might think you need to lift weights for strength and stretch for flexibility. But new research suggests you could do less and see the same results.
A recent randomized controlled trial found that resistance training might be all you need to become more flexible.
Researchers compared how resistance training and static stretching influence strength and flexibility in healthy, active adults.
As you might expect, the resistance training group saw greater increases in strength. But you might be surprised that resistance training improved flexibility just as much as the stretching group.
While you might think strength limits your mobility, it’s the opposite, assuming you aren’t “ego lifting” and doing partial reps. Research has found that if you do full reps — a stretch and a flex, as Arnold says — you’re giving yourself the best of both worlds.
The researchers found that the improvements in flexibility from strength training are likely because performing exercises under load improves your range of motion. Resistance training forces your muscles, tendons, and ligaments to all work together to move a weight. And, if you focus on good form, it will train your body to improve how you move and how strong you are in different positions.
That means your muscles become stronger where you usually hold a stretch, which improves your flexibility and causes neurological adaptations that help you move better.
This wasn’t the only study that found that strength is as good as a stretch. A recent analysis reviewed 11 studies and found that strength training is as effective as stretching at improving flexibility.
And that’s not all. Weight training improves joint stiffness, can reduce aches and pains, and makes your body more resilient and less susceptible to injury.
That’s not to say you can’t stretch, but it might be unnecessary. If you’re short on time and want to maximize strength and flexibility, focus on resistance training with full-range movements like deep squats, lunges, and Romanian deadlifts.
Weekly Wisdom
Nutrition
Don’t Overreact To The New Aspartame Study
Depending on the corner of the internet you hang out, artificial sweeteners are either a healthier alternative to sugar or the devil designed to make you overweight and sick.
And a new study is bringing out the most passionate of both sides. We don’t care if you do or don’t drink beverages with “non-nutritive sweeteners” (the technical name for zero-sugar sweeteners); that’s a personal choice. We want you to be informed so you can make the right decision for yourself — rather than being deceived.
Which brings us to the current headlines.
A recent study makes it seem that aspartame can cause atherosclerosis, but the headlines are incredibly misleading.
The study focused on mice and monkeys, which can sometimes be helpful, assuming the mechanisms in the animals are the same as humans.
In this case, the study had two primary flaws.
Flaw #1: The dose makes the poison.
If you read a summary of the new study, it sounds like anyone drinking a diet beverage is at risk.
However, you would need to drink approximately 12 to 15 diet sodas per day to consume the amount of aspartame used in the study.
In most aspartame studies, the dose has been so high that it’s inconceivable for humans ever to reach that amount, which is why when it’s replicated in humans, you don’t see the same negative outcomes.
This new study is not inconceivable. And, at the same time, 12 to 15 diet sodas daily is a lot of aspartame.
Flaw #2: The consumption of artificial sweeteners doesn’t affect insulin in people like in animals.
The results in the animal study appeared alarming. Aspartame appeared to increase insulin secretion, triggering inflammatory responses that accelerate arterial plaque formation. The study observed higher levels of pro-inflammatory markers, indicating that this artificial sweetener may contribute to the worsening of atherosclerosis.
Thankfully, that’s not how it works in humans.
Just a few years ago, a massive study looking at 26 research papers came to a very clear conclusion: low-energy sweeteners do not cause significant spikes in blood sugar or insulin levels.
This suggests that, unlike regular sugar, these sweeteners don’t trigger the same metabolic response, making them a potential option for those looking to manage glucose levels.
Again, there might be other reasons why you want to avoid non-caloric sweeteners. For instance, they can cause GI issues in some people.
But, the evidence has not found that they cause heart disease.
Health
The Fat That Helps Your Heart
You know exercise is good for you. And you’ve probably heard about the benefits of omega-3s. But what happens when you train hard and have healthy fats?
New research suggests combining omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) with exercise might help decrease body fat and improve cardiometabolic health.
Researchers analyzed data from trials that measured changes in body composition (fat loss, muscle mass), cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and other markers of cardiometabolic health.
When omega-3s were combined with regular exercise, participants experienced greater reductions in body fat, improved cholesterol profiles, healthier triglycerides, and lower blood pressure compared to exercise alone.
The findings suggest that omega-3s may enhance the benefits of exercise by improving fat metabolism, insulin sensitivity, and inflammation.
But this isn’t about needing supplements. In fact, you might be better off getting omega-3s from food.
To hit the levels used in the study, you want to eat about 2 to 4 grams of omega-3 per day. You can give your body the potential boost by consuming approximately six ounces of salmon or one tablespoon of flaxseeds or chia seeds.
And that’s it for this week. If you’re at The Arnold Sports Festival this weekend and you become a member of the Pump app (it’s 20% OFF in honor of the event), you can join us in The Pump Lounge. All app members get an exclusive invite, can meet the team, try to set new PRs, and get extra bonuses. We hope to see you there! Warning: there is no free trial because this link gives you immediate access to The Pump Lounge.
We 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
