The Real Benefits of One-Minute Of Exercise

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Today’s Health Upgrade

Grill up your sausages and, most importantly, surround yourselves with friends and family. Happy Labor Day!

Monday motivation
Eat this, sleep better
Snack on this
Jumpstart your week
Workout of the week

Arnold’s Podcast

Want more stories from Arnold? Every day, Arnold’s Pump Club Podcast opens with a story, perspective, and wisdom from Arnold that you won’t find in the newsletter. And, you’ll hear a recap of the day’s items. You can subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Arnold’s Corner
Monday Motivation

What if I told you there was an investment you could make that would give you 5 dollars back for every dollar you put in?

You’d make it, right?

What if I told you that you can make that investment in yourself right now, to buy time instead of money?

I heard a stat recently, and I need you to hear it. Because I know from your emails that many of you exercise — you use our Pump app and tell me you are finally sticking to a routine, or you use our free weekly workout here in the newsletter and tell me you love the benefits of training.

But I also know that many of you struggle to start, so I need you to hear what I heard.

Every minute of exercise buys you five more minutes of life.

That means if you train for one hour, three days a week, at the end of 8 weeks, you’ve added a full day to your life.

I heard it in an interview with the chair of the Department of Medicine from Stanford University, Euan Ashley, and I loved it.

I love these kinds of statistics because they wake people up. They inspire action.

It reminded me of trying to get politicians to invest in after-school programs more than two decades ago. When I asked them to endorse my initiative to provide programs for all the kids in California, at first, they just saw a huge price tag, $450 million, and worried about taking the money from their own pet projects. They treated me like another outsider trying to get them to invest in his favorite project.

But when I shared a study that showed that every dollar spent on after-school programs saved four dollars down the line in reduced costs from the reduction in drug use, teen pregnancy, and crime and the increase in graduation rates that after-school programs provide, the politicians woke up.

Suddenly, they got it. Politicians from both parties endorsed the initiative, Proposition 49, one after another. I campaigned all over the state for it in 2002, and California voters passed it in a landslide. It’s still providing programs for kids today.

Now, I’m here to use a similar statistic to wake you up.

We have shared study after study about the benefits of training. It fights diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, depression and anxiety. It strengthens bones, relieves some of the pain of aging, and builds confidence.

In this interview, Dr. Ashley rattles off some of the benefits:

“I mean, you name the system in your body, and exercise improves it and makes your chance of disease in that system:

60 percent less likely to have atrial fibrillation
50 percent less likely to have diabetes
70 percent less likely to fracture your hip
50 percent less likely to have colon cancer
25 percent less likely to have breast cancer
I think 25 percent less likely to get depression;
70 percent of people who are active in their daily lives report better sleep.
And over many years, you’re much less likely to die. So, I mean, you pick your system. Exercise, it really is the magic pill.”

I’ve been telling you for years that there is no magic pill.

But there is; it just requires you to put in a little bit of effort.

That’s why we share the benefits of exercise with you here every day. It’s why we cut through the noise and the bullshit in the wellness world to bring you the truth.

It’s why I’ve been on a fitness crusade for more than 50 years.

I want everyone on this planet to find the benefits of exercise, which has made my own life undeniably better at every turn.

If you’ve been putting it off, let this be your wake-up call.

You can listen to the interview with Dr. Ashley today for some extra motivation while you do our weekly workout:

Put in the effort. Put in the time. It will be worth it. It will pay you back five times over.

You are worth the investment.

Nutrition
Eat This, Sleep Better

Yesterday, we shared a special report on how improving sleep can protect your health. It also included nine ways to upgrade your rest. You loved it but had one request — do any dietary changes improve sleep?

Cutting off food two to four hours before bedtime will improve your rest, but it does appear that a slight dietary shift will make a difference you can feel.

Research suggests that eating more fiber and less saturated fat can improve the quality of your sleep.

Scientists explored how dietary fiber and saturated fat affect sleep arousals (brief awakenings during the night) and slow-wave sleep (SWS), the deep sleep associated with disease prevention, brain health, muscle recovery, and anti-aging benefits.

The study found that higher fiber intake was associated with more time spent in slow-wave sleep, which is crucial for physical and mental restoration, memory, and overall sleep quality. Participants who consumed more fiber from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains experienced deeper, more restorative sleep.

For every 10 grams of fiber you eat, researchers noticed that you have four fewer sleep disruptions per hour of sleep.

Additionally, the study found that higher saturated fat consumption is linked to less slow-wave sleep. Scientists also found that people who eat more sugar and simple carbs—like bagels or white bread—wake up more at night and have less restorative sleep.

This doesn’t mean you can’t eat saturated fat. Instead, focus on good, better, best. Good is eating more fiber. Better means eating more fiber and less saturated fat. And best happens when you eat more fiber, less saturated fat, and less added sugar. To start, bump your fiber intake with vegetables, fruits (especially berries), grains, lentils, beans, seeds, nuts, or supplemental options like psyllium husk.

Together with Schaller & Weber
Snack On This

Long before technology gave us great-tasting shakes and smoothies, you had to fuel your body with protein the old-fashioned way.

But that meant inconvenient options that took time to prepare or were bland and not enjoyable to eat. Protein powders helped close the gap, but sometimes you want something with more flavor.

If you’re looking for a high-protein snack that doesn’t taste like anything you’ve ever had, we highly recommend Schaller & Weber’s salami sticks. It’s a throwback to how Arnold would fuel his body back in the day.

This isn’t a meat stick. It’s a reimagined approach to authentic charcuterie. Schaller & Weber combined their award-winning ingredients and eight decades of meat mastery to create a high-protein snack that is truly a cut above.

Instead of just creating something like jerky, they selected their finest salami that honors their Landjäger tradition while introducing an exciting new array of flavors. Mike's Hot Honey salami stick expertly melds the Schaller & Weber salami with the sweet heat of the signature Mike's Hot Honey to create the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. Hudson Whiskey’s "Do The Rye Thing" stick seamlessly infuses salami with the bold essence of Hudson Whiskey's premium rye, capturing the rich, spicy notes of rye whiskey for a robust flavor experience. The Crown Maple salami stick masterfully blends the rich salami flavors with the natural sweetness of maple syrup enhanced by an undertone of hickory smoke.

Schaller & Weber’s premium protein snacks are for people who live active lives and still want to enjoy the flavors of authentic charcuterie.

As a member of the positive corner, you can get 25% off any order of Schaller & Weber salami sticks. It’s the type of snack that will make you feel good about being healthy. Just use the code PUMPSTICKS25 at checkout.

Jumpstart Your Week

ACT
Some health tips take a lot of effort, and others just require a commitment to make small changes.

Research suggests reducing your sitting time can help reduce your likelihood of developing dementia.

Scientists reviewed data from nearly 60,000 people to determine the risks associated with too much sitting. People who sat for more than 10 hours per day were nearly 10 percent more likely to develop dementia. And that risk skyrocketed when sitting for 12 or 15 hours per day.

To be clear, this is not about finding more time to exercise. It’s about reducing how much time you stay seated. So, when possible, find ways to stand up or avoid being sedentary for too long.

LISTEN
We mentioned it above, but in case you missed it, we recommend you listen to this podcast between Ben Thompson and Euan Ashley, a professor of genomics and cardiovascular medicine and the chair of the Stanford Department of Medicine.

THINK
Reading isn’t just good for your brain; it also helps your mood. A little reading each day might help reduce stress by more than 60 percent, and studies suggest that it could be more effective than yoga at improving relaxation. Even 10 minutes per day can make a difference.

Workout of the Week

When people think about Arnold’s training programs, they usually remember his “double-split,” a grueling workout routine that was performed twice daily.

But people don’t realize that approach was his physique's finishing touch. Arnold built the bulk of his legendary muscle with full-body workouts focused on big movements, high intensity, and plenty of recovery to prioritize consistent progress.

It’s why everyone in the Pump app starts with “The Foundation;” it’s the same blueprint that pays off, even for people who have been training hard for 20 years.

To give you a taste of how a full-body workout can pump up your upper and lower body, we created a lightning-fast program that you can do in less than 20 minutes. It’s not the same program as The Foundation, but it’s designed the same way to give you a taste of efficiency and effectiveness.

How to do it
The workout is a 5-exercise circuit. You’ll do all five exercises in a row, resting 30 to 60 seconds between each exercise. So you’ll do the first exercise, rest 30 seconds, then the second exercise, rest 30 seconds, and so forth. Once you complete the fifth exercise, rest, and then return to the first exercise. You’ll do a total of 2 rounds and be done in less than 20 minutes. If you want to push yourself, you can do up to 4 total rounds.

The Workout