How To Reduce Heart Disease Death Risk by Nearly 20%

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Today’s Health Upgrade

• Does gender influence building muscle?

• Come train with the APC team (in person)

• Why “natural” doesn’t guarantee safety

• The fat the protects your heart

Fitness
Can Women Build Muscle as Well as Men? 

A commonly held belief about muscle growth might not be as accurate as scientists once believed.

A recent study suggests that women gain muscle at the same relative rate as men.

Researchers analyzed 29 studies, including nearly 3,000 healthy adults aged 18 to 45. They found that men experienced slightly larger absolute gains (in terms of raw muscle mass) with resistance training. But when comparing relative growth — the percentage increase from each person’s baseline — the difference was essentially nonexistent. In other words, women’s muscles grew just as well as men’s when measured fairly.

So why do men, in general, have more muscle mass? It primarily comes down to hormonal differences, especially testosterone levels, which promote greater overall muscle mass. But the relative gains in muscle size indicate that women still respond effectively to training.

This means women don’t need “lighter” or “different” programs. The same principles that build muscle in men —gradually increasing load (progressive overload), good programming, recovering well, and consistency — work just as well for women. 

Not to mention, the amount of mass you gain will be influenced by diet. You won’t just get big and bulky unless you consume significantly more calories to build mass.

While women have many more hormonal considerations that can influence mood, energy, and recovery, the training principles that deliver results appear to be the same across genders.

The Pump Club 
Stay Hungry: Join America's Strongest Man (Live Coaching Call Today)

This week’s Monday motivation was about staying hungry.

It was inspired by the members of the Pump Club app, who have been joining our Zoom calls we do every week with our coaches and bravely submitting videos of their exercises to get personal coaching on their form. They’re staying hungry.

We know there are some apps that lure you in with low prices and then hit you with “Get personalized coaching for $120 a month.”

That’s not us. We don’t do upsells. Arnold’s vision was building a one-stop-shop where we keep adding value without raising prices.

Our coaches do weekly Zoom calls where every member is welcome. That means getting hands-on instruction and feedback from world-class coaches every week. These people live and breathe to help you succeed. And when you have that type of support and accountability, getting results isn’t a question — it’s just a matter of time.

And as newsletter subscribers, you get the app for $79 for the year instead of $99. That’s less than 7 dollars a month for custom workouts, personalized nutrition, habit building, the coaches, the community, and the live meetups. And it comes with a free trial. That means you can join your first coaching call this week without even paying and see why people of all levels tell us our app is different.

If you want to experience it yourself, Coach Nic — the current 90 kg America’s Strongest Man and our coach — has a coaching call today at 9am Eastern/6am Pacific. If you miss it, each call is recorded so that anyone in the community can check out the tips.

Use the code APC at thepumpclub.com for your discounted price, and we hope to see you today!

Friends Don’t Let Friends
Why “Natural” Doesn’t Mean Safer

Ever skipped a food because the label listed something that sounded like it belonged in a chemistry lab? You’re not alone. Fear of “chemicals” in food has become so common that it even has a name: chemophobia.

However, research suggests that our instinct to trust anything labeled “natural” and fear anything labeled “chemical” has no scientific basis — and could be making us more stressed about food than we need to be.

Scientists examined why people fear chemicals in food. They found a strong “naturalness bias:” consumers assume natural substances are safe while synthetic ones are harmful. But nature makes some of the deadliest toxins we know. Cyanide occurs naturally in apple seeds and arsenic can be found in rice. Meanwhile, many synthetic additives, such as vitamin C in fortified foods, have decades of safety data showing they’re harmless at the levels we consume.

The study also highlights how marketing exploits this fear. Labels like “chemical-free” could be scientifically impossible for almost any item (pretty much everything in nature is made of chemicals, even water), and “all-natural” claims are unregulated, meaning they often create a false sense of safety without real evidence.

The researchers believe this fear stems from psychology: humans are wired to perceive “nature” as pure and safe, even when science contradicts this perception. Food companies then exploit this instinct with misleading messaging.

Is it helpful and nutritious to eat more minimally processed foods? Of course. But don’t lose the forest for the trees. That doesn’t mean all processed foods are bad, lack nutritional benefits, or need to be removed entirely. 

If your diet is causing you that much stress, then it’s likely doing more harm than good. There are enough stressors in life that you don’t need food to add more burden. 

Instead of stressing over whether an ingredient sounds “natural” or “chemical,” focus on the overall nutritional value of your food. 

A whole-grain bread with a preservative is still a better choice than a “natural” candy bar. Ask yourself: Does this food add fiber, protein, vitamins, or minerals to my day, or is it mostly sugar, salt, and fat? That’s a far more reliable test of whether something supports your health.

Ultimately, you get to decide what works for you, which means considering your budget, preferences, and health. It’s more effective to judge a food by what it gives your body—nutrients, satiety, and energy — rather than every ingredient on the list.

Foods Are Super 
Nuts: The Fat That Protects Your Heart

You’ve probably heard someone warn you off nuts because they’re “too high in calories.” But here’s the twist: research shows thhe exact opposite—eating nuts can actually help you live longer, protect your heart, and even support a healthy weight.

A single handful of nuts each day can lower your risk of dying from heart disease by nearly 20 percent.

Scientists examined nearly 570,000 individuals across multiple studies. They found that regular nut eaters had a 7 percent lower risk of dying from any cause, and an 18 percent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Another review of more than 100 clinical trials found that nuts lower total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides.

And what about the calories? An analysis of 86 randomized trials found that, despite being calorie-dense, nuts were not independently associated with weight gain. In fact, people who ate more nuts often had lower body fat. Researchers believe this is because even though nuts are calorically dense, they also contain a mix of protein, fiber, and healthy fats that help keep you full, so you naturally eat less of other foods.

Nuts are great, as long as you don’t go nuts with how much you consume. 

The simple rule is to enjoy one ounce of nuts per day, which is approximately a handful, or 30 grams. That’s it. No scales, no measuring cups. Just grab a handful of almonds, walnuts, pistachios, or cashews, enjoy them as a snack or with a meal, and call it a win.

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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger​

Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell