How To Achieve Greatness: The Recovery Method

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Today’s Health Upgrade

• Restrictive vs. flexible dieting

• The planning trick that boosts success

• Make a better first impression

• How to achieve greatness

Fact or Fiction
Can You Successfully Lose Weight With A Less Strict Diet?

If you’ve ever tried to follow a rigid meal plan, you know how exhausting it can feel. One slip, and it seems like you’ve “blown it.” But what if being less strict wasn’t just easier, but it was equally (or even more) effective?

Research suggests that flexible dieting and diet breaks can help you lose as much weight as strict daily restriction, while also improving long-term adherence and reducing stress around food.

Scientists have tested this head-to-head. One trial found that resistance-trained people lost the same amount of weight whether they followed rigid meal plans or flexible strategies. The flexible group even showed signs of better muscle retention after dieting. Other studies show that rigid approaches are more likely linked to binge eating and higher body mass, while flexible eating reduces overeating and distress.

Researchers have also looked at whether taking diet breaks makes a difference. In a randomized controlled trial, one group followed six weeks of continuous calorie restriction while another group alternated two weeks of dieting with one week at maintenance. 

Both groups lost the same amount of fat and maintained muscle, and their resting metabolism didn’t differ. But the intermittent group showed better psychological outcomes, including improved control over eating behavior. The trade-off? Diet breaks stretched the process out to eight weeks instead of six.

Why does this matter? Scientists believe flexible approaches reduce the mental burden of dieting. When you feel less deprived, you’re less likely to spiral into overeating, making it easier to stick with the plan long term.

The next time you’re dreading eating healthier, remember you don’t need to chain yourself to a strict diet to see results.

If strict plans have burned you out, we built the Pump Club Nutrition Coach to make it easier than ever to eat better and achieve your goals with a more flexible approach. The Nutrition Tracker eliminates the need for overthinking and counting calories. So you finally have a way to eat better without burning out mentally and physically. As an APC reader, use the code APC to get 20% OFF the annual plan, meaning you get personalized nutrition, customized workouts, live coaching, and habit building for just $6 per month.

Together With YETI 
The 2-Minute Planning Trick That Boosts Success by 65%

Have you ever sworn, “This time I’m really going to do it!” And then months later, you find yourself right back where you started?

Good intentions alone rarely lead to success. However, a subtle planning tweak might significantly enhance your chances of achieving your goals.

Forming a specific plan — deciding exactly when, where, and how you’ll act —can increase your odds of success by up to 65 percent.

That’s the key finding from a meta-analysis of 94 studies investigating "implementation intentions," a strategy where you set detailed “if-then” plans (“If it’s 7 a.m. on Monday, I will go for a run.”) rather than vague resolutions like “I’ll exercise more.” Compared to simply having strong intentions, creating these precise plans had a significant effect on achieving goals.

Making detailed plans does two powerful things. First, it boosts the mental accessibility of your intentions, so you’re more likely to recognize the moment to act when it arrives.

When you have a plan, it automates the response, turning what could be a difficult decision into an almost reflexive action. These processes help you initiate your goal behavior, stay committed despite distractions, adjust when things aren’t working, and conserve energy for future efforts.

Preparation is the first rep of every successful day. You can't buy better habits, but you can purchase tools that make habits feel more effortless. A great everyday carry can ensure that you're prepared for any scenario.

One of our favorite tools is the YETI Ranchero™ backpack. It's an all-in-one bag that covers you for work, workout, or travel.  

Work-life balance is challenging enough, but the right bag can ensure you have everything you need, whether you're at work or heading to the gym. We love this bag because it opens in seconds, allowing you to grab exactly what you need. And the vertical zipper means no more digging for shoes or chargers. It's water-resistant and seemingly life-proof, so it can handle wherever you need to go.

Whether you’re packing your workout gear or your laptop (or both) for a busy day of meetings, your essentials stay separated, protected, and ready. And with stretch side pockets designed for any drink, hydration is never an afterthought.

Don’t let disorganization derail your plans. Make your preparation as strong as your ambition, and grab the Ranchero to make your life a little easier.

Lifestyle
Your Body's Secret Weapon for Better First Impressions

Have you ever noticed that some conversations flow effortlessly in the morning, while others only click later in the day? It turns out your natural sleep-wake rhythm may be calling the shots.

You’re most charismatic when you schedule important interactions during the hours your body is naturally primed for energy and connection.

Researchers studied more than 400 participants across multiple experiments to see how chronotype (whether you’re a morning person or night owl) affects social presence. They found that early risers displayed peak charisma and persuasive energy in the morning, while evening types showed their strongest charm and influence later in the day. In other words, your “wow factor” isn’t just about skill or confidence — it’s tied to your circadian rhythm.

The researchers believe this happens because your biological clock governs not only alertness but also emotional expressiveness, verbal fluency, and nonverbal cues (all key ingredients of charisma). When you try to perform outside of your natural peak hours, your social energy is blunted, leading to less impactful interactions.

Here’s the good news: you can use this knowledge to your advantage. If you’re a morning person, schedule high-stakes meetings, presentations, or tough conversations before noon. If you thrive at night, save your networking, group workouts, or family goal-setting talks for later in the day.

Adam’s Corner
What Makes Someone Truly Great? It's Not What You Think

In the new Billy Joel documentary, there’s a moment that made me stop, pull out my phone, and jot down the quote in the “notes” section, which is filled with musings, observations, and ideas I want to explore.

Billy tells the story of asking a master chef, “How did you become so good?” 

You could tell that he expected to hear about technique, precision, and years in the kitchen. Instead, the chef said something surprising:

“It’s all in the recovery. How you correct your mistakes.”

At first, the words seem simple. But the more I sat with them, the more I realized how much weight they carried.

Because think about it: every great pursuit we admire is riddled with mistakes. 

A chef burns a sauce. A musician misses a note. An entrepreneur launches a product that falls flat. A parent loses their patience. A person trying to get healthy may skip a workout, break their diet, or press snooze one too many mornings.

The instinct is to see those moments as proof that we’re failing. But what if the real proof of greatness isn’t in avoiding mistakes, but in recovering from them

Recovery is its own kind of artistry. It’s a musician who turns a wrong note into a new riff. A chef who rescues a dish by improvising a fix. An athlete stumbles but finds a second wind. It’s not perfection. It’s resilience. It’s ownership of the moment after the moment goes wrong.

And here’s the deeper truth: recovery is not passive. We think of it as rest days, sleep, a pause.

But the chef wasn’t talking about lying down; he was talking about leaning in. About developing the skill of correction, adjustment, and recommitment.

Recovery is not retreat. It’s the active choice to keep creating even when the plan has broken apart.

That’s why it separates the amateurs from the masters. Anyone can look good when everything goes right. The true test is how you respond when it doesn’t.

But the chef’s wisdom goes even further than that.

Because he could have given the obvious answer: practice, precision, perfection. That’s what most of us would say if someone asked how we got better. But he paused. He thought. He reached for something beneath the surface.

And that’s the second lesson. Not just that recovery matters, but that the way he arrived at that answer is a reminder for all of us: Don’t settle for the first, most obvious explanation. Look deeper. Ask yourself not just what’s in front of you, but what’s beneath it.

Where else in life are you choosing the surface answer? Where are you creating excuses? Or where are you accepting a reality that doesn’t require you to face something scary or intimidating?

The chef’s answer wasn’t flashy, but it was rare. It was counterintuitive not because it was clever, but because it was true.

And that’s why it stuck with me.

Because recovery—whether in your body, your mind, your relationships, or your work—isn’t something to feel guilty about. It’s the very skill that makes you good.

So the next time you stumble, remember: your greatness isn’t measured in whether you fall. It’s measured in how you recover.

And maybe the better question is this: where in your life are you still chasing the obvious answer, when the deeper truth is waiting just beneath it? -AB

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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger​

Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell