Welcome to the positive corner of the internet. We’re here to make your life healthier, happier, and less stressful. At the bottom of each email, we explain our editorial process, stance on AI, and partnership standards.

If you were forwarded this message, you can get the free daily email here.

Today’s Health Upgrade

• Number you won’t forget

• Weekly wisdom

• Sauna or ice?

Health
Number You Won’t Forget: 47,000

Is Lifting Weights Safe During Pregnancy? A Study On 47,000 Women Left Some Big Clues

Pregnancy comes with a long list of things people tell you not to do. For years, lifting weights has been treated as one of them, even though the evidence is surprisingly thin.

A 2025 analysis reviewed 50 studies (45 of which were randomized controlled trials, the gold standard) from 14 countries involving more than 47,000 pregnancies. No research provides an undeniable answer for all people and situations, but this is about as close as you get to a consensus review.

The women who participated in programs that included strength training had 58% lower odds of developing high blood pressure during pregnancy and a 38% lower risk of gestational diabetes. 

They also had about one-third lower likelihood of delivering an unusually large baby and half the odds of experiencing a perinatal mood disorder.

Just as important, the researchers found no evidence that strength training increased the risk of pregnancy, delivery, fetal, or pelvic-floor complications.

And it wasn’t just strength. Nine out of every 10 programs also included aerobic exercise such as walking or cycling. That makes it impossible to separate the effect of the weights from the rest of the activity. But it suggests that strength is protective for the mother and child. 

Strength training is so safe that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the body that sets the standards for most OBs, calls exercise safe and encourages it during a healthy pregnancy, specifically suggesting building strength with weights or resistance bands. 

As always, if you have any concerns, talk with your OB or medical provider about any necessary adjustments, especially if you have complications.

But there’s no need to inherently fear lifting weights. More than 47,000 pregnancies found that lifting weights is not a problem, and the women who trained had better outcomes.

Mindset
Weekly Wisdom

What is the habit and what is a trend?

It’s a great question for filtering wellness information. But it’s also an effective way to assess your own behaviors. 

How often do you have one rough week, and then your whole self-concept goes up for review? 

It doesn’t matter if you've been eating well and exercising for the past month. That version of you starts to look like the fluke, and this slumped version feels like the truth surfacing.

Chödrön's line is designed to help you avoid overreacting to temporary slip-ups that threaten your self-perception. A bad week is the weather. It rolls in loud and soaks everything. Then it moves on.

You feel a passing mood and recognize it as who you are. It can be a subtle change such as shifting from "I feel unmotivated today" to "I'm an unmotivated person." 

Psychologists have studied what happens when you shift a single word. 

People handled stressful situations better when they spoke to themselves using their own name instead of “I.” That tiny change created enough distance to see the situation more clearly. Later brain research found that third-person self-talk improves emotional regulation without requiring more mental effort.

It’s the difference between “I’ve lost control” and “Adam is having a hard Wednesday.”

We’ve watched this play out with people who had months of good momentum, hit one ugly week, and walked away from what was working. The routine was fine. What cracked was how they saw themselves. 

Turn Wisdom Into Action
When a hard time, bad mood, or inconsistent week goes sideways, separate yourself from the storm.

If you want to take a page from the research, spend an entire week explaining what’s happening in third person, being as specific as possible. "Adam is having a frustrating Tuesday." 

Talking to yourself like that might feel odd, but using your name instead of "I" could help, and the specific date reminds you the mood has an end. 

By Sunday, you'll likely have caught yourself a handful of times. Think of it as a filter that helps you understand your behavior, rather than a way to blame yourself. This is as much about accountability as it is about shutting off the negative self-talk that undercuts your goals. 

If you can learn to see imperfections as the weather, you’ll have less stress and self-blame, get back on track faster, and still be standing when the storm clears.

On Our Radar 
Sauna or Ice Bath After Lifting? One Has Fewer Downsides

How you like to recover after your work is ultimately your choice. But while cold and heat are both marketed as viable options, only one appears to have the potential to subtract from the work you just did.

While heat isn’t a guaranteed muscle-building hack (maybe it helps a little), its real advantage is that it appears to leave your muscle gains alone and has very little downside.

Researchers analyzed six studies where heat was used for recovery immediately after resistance training, using a sauna, hot-water immersion, or a heated wrap. Some people have overhyped the study and claimed it boosts muscle growth. Technically, that’s true. But this is where data interpretation matters. 

Compared with lifting alone, post-workout heat produced, at most, a small and uncertain increase in muscle growth. And it had no meaningful effect on strength.

The same can’t be said about the cold. 

Scientists have found that plunging into cold water immediately after lifting can reduce the muscle-building response to training. 

Cold can help with soreness and may be useful when rapid recovery matters more than long-term adaptation. But if building muscle is the goal, the timing works against you.

Heat, on the other hand, has mechanisms that appear to work in your favor. Warmer muscle tissue receives more blood, and heat may activate certain cellular signals involved in growth. 

And it has other potential health benefits, such as improved cardiovascular health. 

The research focused on infrared sauna studies and found that about 20 minutes at 100 degrees may do the trick to support post-workout recovery. 

That’s very different from heart research, which tends to focus on traditional saunas (not infrared) and requires anywhere from 4 to 7 days per week of sauna for 12 to 20 minutes at 170 degrees or higher. 

And that’s it for this week. Thanks for being a part of the positive corner of the internet. And remember: don’t wait to make a change. Take action on any goal, don’t quit in the hard moments, and the results will come. Have a fantastic weekend!

-Arnold, Adam, and Daniel

The Positive Corner of The Internet
About Arnold’s Pump Club Editorial Standards

We do things a bit differently here, starting with transparency.

1. The Content: All APC emails are researched, written, and fact-checked by the APC editors (see bottom of the email), with written contributions from Arnold (noted with “Arnold’s Corner”). Links take you to original studies (not second-hand sources).

2. Does AI play a role? Not for the primary content, but it is used in two ways. The main items are original content written by the APC team. The summaries at the end are AI-generated based on the human-written content above. We also use an AI tool to edit and review our interpretations of the research, ensuring scientific accuracy. We don’t assume AI is right, but we use technology to hold ourselves accountable.

3. Yes, we have partners (all clearly noted by “Together With”). Why? Because it allows us to keep the APC emails free. We first test products, and then reach out to potential partners who offer ways to help you improve every day. The bar is set high, and to date, we have turned down millions in ad deals. (Example: we will not partner with any non-certified supplements or those without evidence in human trials). If we won’t buy the product, we won’t recommend it to you. And if there’s no evidence it works, then there’s no place for it here.

—

Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger​

Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell