Welcome to the positive corner of the internet. Every weekday, we help you make sense of the complex world of wellness by analyzing the headlines, simplifying the latest research, and providing quick tips designed to help you stay healthier in under 5 minutes. If you were forwarded this message, you can get the free daily email here.
Today’s Health Upgrade
A surprising way to improve heart health
The habit that predicts workout success
How to reverse metabolic syndrome
Does muscle turn into fat?
Pump Perks
On Our Radar
Can an Erectile Dysfunction Drug Protect Your Heart?
What if a pill prescribed for performance in the bedroom could also protect your heart? That’s what a massive new analysis suggests.
Men taking phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (like Viagra or Cialis) had 33% lower risk of death and better cardiovascular health.
Researchers reviewed 44 studies following more than 600,000 adults, combining decades of data, and found that not only was all-cause mortality improved, but men also had 31% fewer major cardiac events, 23% fewer heart attacks, and 19% fewer strokes.
Even men with existing coronary artery disease or diabetes saw protection. Sildenafil (Viagra) was most studied, but tadalafil (Cialis) showed similar results.
Researchers believe the benefits come from improved blood vessel function, reduced inflammation, and better metabolic health, all through enhanced nitric oxide activity, the same pathway activated by exercise and healthy eating.
Still, most of the data come from observational studies, meaning we can’t prove cause and effect. Healthier men might simply be more likely to seek treatment and stay engaged with healthcare.
Together With KNKG
You’re Not Lazy, You’re Just Making Too Many Decisions
Ever start the day ready to crush your goals, only to end up skipping your workout and falling short of your own expectations? It’s not a lack of willpower; it’s a symptom of decision fatigue.
The key to consistency isn’t more motivation, it’s fewer decisions.
Researchers have found that the more choices you make, the worse your decisions become. In one study, nurses made 49% more conservative, less efficient choices by the end of their shifts than right after a break. You might think that’s because nurses are exhausted, but it’s not what the researchers found.
The real issues were the number of decisions made without rest. Every choice drains a little bit of your mental energy, and by evening, even simple tasks feel impossible.
Fortunately, there’s a simple fix: make your healthy behaviors automatic before the fatigue sets in.
A meta-analysis of 41 randomized controlled trials found that creating specific plans for when, where, and how you’ll take action boosted follow-through by up to 35%.
The most effective strategies focused not on the main behavior (like the workout) but on preparatory actions: packing your gym bag, laying out clothes, or setting a water bottle by the door. Another study found that these preparatory habits predicted exercise adherence far better than performance habits.
Preparation removes friction. You’re eliminating the small decisions that derail progress (“Should I go?” “Do I have time?” “Where are my shoes?”) long before they arise.
Want to beat decision fatigue? It helps to understand that training begins long before the first rep. It starts when you pack your bag: when you organize your tools, your fuel, your mindset. That ritual sets the tone for everything that follows.
Discipline isn’t just what you do in the gym. It’s how you prepare for it.
That’s why we’re fans of KNKG: they make the best gym bags we’ve found to help you plan, so you can show up and be healthier.
Every KNKG bag is designed to perform as hard as you do with reinforced construction, customizable compartments, and the kind of durability that outlasts trends, excuses, and every PR you chase.
If you want the best-organized gym bag we’ve seen, CONQUER Duffel offers magnetic dividers, independent shoe storage, and a structure that stands on its own. It delivers elite-level organization, dual bottle sleeves, tech storage, and quick-access zones so nothing slows you down.
If your bag’s a mess, your mindset follows. If it’s organized, focused, and built for performance, then so are you. Because your gear should work as hard as your goals.
As an APC reader, enjoy 20 to 50 percent off KNKG bags. No discount needed. Just find the bag that’s best for you, and your discount will be applied automatically.
Instant Health Boost
The 4 Habits That Reverse Metabolic Syndrome
If you’ve ever tried to eat better, move more, or lose weight only to see the progress disappear once the program ends, you’re not alone. A new study might finally explain why that happens, and what to do instead.
The most powerful way to improve metabolic health isn’t through extreme diets, but by building four small habits that stick.
In a brand new study, researchers followed more than 600 adults with metabolic syndrome, a combination of high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess abdominal fat, and abnormal cholesterol. Participants were assigned to either a six-month lifestyle program or a control group that received education and activity monitoring only.
The lifestyle group focused on four simple daily habits:
1. Eat vegetables at every meal (3+ servings daily)
2. Take a brisk daily walk (averaging 7,500 steps)
3. Practice mindful eating (paying attention to taste, smell, and fullness)
4. Pause before stress-eating (using short breathing breaks before reacting)
After two years, almost 30% of participants in the lifestyle group reversed their metabolic syndrome.
What’s remarkable is why it worked: the researchers believe that focusing on automatic, repeatable behaviors instead of chasing big goals like “lose 20 pounds” creates habits that last long after motivation fades. Even when participants regained some weight, their improved blood sugar and blood pressure remained stable.
If you’re looking to upgrade your health, start small and let consistency do the heavy lifting. Those tiny habits can be enough to transform and sustain changes for the long run.
Fitness
Friends Don’t Let Friends: Believe That Muscle Turns Into Fat (Here’s What Really Happens)
If you’ve ever looked in the mirror after a little too much time away from the gym and thought, “My muscle turned into fat,” you’re not alone. It’s one of the most common fitness myths, but biology tells a very different story.
Muscle and fat are completely different tissues, and one can’t magically transform into the other.
Your muscle fibers (myocytes) and fat cells (adipocytes) are built from entirely distinct cell types. Under normal conditions, they cannot convert into each other, just like your bones can’t turn into skin. Scientists have confirmed this in cellular biology studies showing that even muscle stem cells exposed to extreme conditions don’t become fat cells.
So why does it look like your muscle is turning into fat when you stop working out? Two separate processes happen at once:
Muscle atrophy: Without resistance training, your muscles shrink and lose tone.
Fat accumulation: If you keep eating the same amount while burning fewer calories, your body stores the extra energy as fat.
These changes happen simultaneously, creating the illusion that muscle turned into fat. But it’s just that — an illusion.
Some fat may also appear within the muscle (called intramuscular adipose tissue), but it doesn’t come from muscle fibers transforming. It forms from separate cells that already exist in muscle tissue and expand during inactivity or aging.
The best part? Both processes are reversible. Retraining helps you regain lost muscle faster than when you first built it. And adjusting your calorie intake during breaks can prevent most of the fat gain in the first place.
Your muscle isn’t vanishing into fat, it’s just waiting for a signal to come back stronger.
Community
Pump Perks
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Better Today
Take any of these tips from today’s email and put them into action:
1. Viagra and Heart Health: New Analysis of 44 Studies Shows Unexpected Protection
A meta-analysis tracking over 600,000 men found that taking phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (Viagra, Cialis) was associated with 33% lower all-cause mortality, 23% fewer heart attacks, and 19% fewer strokes. The heart protection appears to work through the same nitric oxide pathway that's activated by exercise and healthy eating.
2. Forget Willpower: Here’s How Preparatory Habits Can Increase Your Exercise Adherence
A meta-analysis of 41 randomized controlled trials found that deciding exactly when, where, and how you'll exercise boosted follow-through by up to 35%. Studies showed that simple actions like packing your gym bag or laying out workout clothes predicted exercise adherence far better than motivation or willpower ever could.
3. How to Reverse Metabolic Syndrome: What 600 Adults Learned About Small Habits
In a landmark study tracking over 600 adults with metabolic syndrome for two years, researchers found that 30% completely reversed their condition by adopting four simple daily habits: eating vegetables at every meal (3+ servings), walking 7,500 steps daily, practicing mindful eating, and pausing before stress-eating.
4. Why Muscle Does Not Turn Into Fat When You Stop Working Out
Muscle fibers (myocytes) and fat cells (adipocytes) are distinct cell types that cannot convert into each other, as confirmed by cellular biology studies showing muscle stem cells don't become fat cells even under extreme conditions.
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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
