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

• Arnold’s Corner: Monday motivation

• Microplastics are popping up everywhere

• “The fresh start effect”

• Workout of the week

Arnold’s Corner
Monday Motivation: What Can You Do?

What can you do?

I’m willing to bet the answer is more than you think.

I’ve noticed a big problem. Let’s put aside fitness for a minute because this is a life problem.

People get extremely focused on what they CAN’T do, and give almost no thought to what they CAN do.

It happens every time I share a message like I did over the weekend, encouraging people to look beyond themselves and lift up others.

“I don’t have your money, Arnold.”

“I don’t have time once I take care of my family.”

Those things are both probably true, and I won’t even ask the people without time to open their phone and tell me how much time it says they spent on social media this week to check.

But it’s also a limited way of thinking. You don’t need money to lift people up. You don’t even need much time.

It’s not just that you’re limiting how much you can help people that bothers me.

You’re limiting your own power. Making yourself powerless.

Because instead of asking: “What can I do?”, you shut down and say “I can’t.”

There are a million ways to make the world a little better every day.

Stop limiting yourself by comparison. You don’t have to do what I do, what your neighbor does, what you read about on the news.

You can lift someone up by just asking how their day is going. You can lift someone up with a big smile and “I hope you have a fantastic day!”

Today, when most people can’t even look up from their machines and the default is walking right past the little human interactions we used to have every day, the tiniest moments become more meaningful.

Imagine what you can do if you just don’t keep your head down and keep walking.

You can help an older person with their groceries at the store. You can stop and throw the ball that rolled into the street back to the kids. You can compliment someone’s cute dog.

It does not take time or money to make someone smile.

But most people who say they can’t do anything to make an impact don’t even consider that an option.

I think this is what these phones have done to us. They give you the illusion of power. You have a computer in your hand that would have been magic to every previous generation, and you can find any information right away.

But really, they take your power away. They make you compare your impact to the impact of everyone you see on social media, which makes you feel small and meaningless. On top of that, they remove all those little moments that used to make us smile throughout the day because most people miss the human moments while clicking away with the machine.

It can be overwhelming when you think about the way things have changed, just like it can be overwhelming when you think about making an impact and comparing yourself to someone like me.

The way to stop the overwhelming, powerless feeling is to stop and ask:

“What can I do?”

This isn’t some bogus, voodoo self-help crap where I’m going to tell you that you can do anything.

I’m telling you to just reframe your thinking to focus on what you can do rather than always worrying about what you can’t.

I’ll be honest: I believe you’ll have a very hard time ever feeling happy if you always focus on what you can’t do.

The powerless feeling of always worrying about what we can’t do brings us down.

The power of realizing there is something — no matter how small — we can do lifts us up.

You will run into a hundred moments every single day where you’ve got no power. I know it because I’m a little bit crazy and really love doing the impossible, and I still have so many things I see every day where there is nothing that I can do.

As soon as that terrible feeling of being powerless sinks in, I simply choose to ask, “What can I do?”

It might be tiny. Anything counts.

That’s what you have to learn. The tiny stuff counts. Your impact doesn’t have to go viral. You just need to lift up one person.

What can you do?

Make your commitment. This is the week you embrace the power you have instead of lamenting the power you don’t. Reply and let me know the little moments you will claim back this week to make an impact.

Together With Our Place
Researchers Found Microplastics Inside Clogged Arteries. Here's What That Means

You've probably seen the stories: microplastics in the air, in drinking water, in blood. Now researchers have found them inside the walls of human arteries. 

Before that sends you down a spiral, it's worth understanding what the science actually says.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found tiny plastic particles inside the artery buildup of patients with serious heart disease. 

Researchers examined tissue removed from the clogged arteries of patients who needed surgery to clear dangerous blockages. In more than half the samples, they found polyethylene particles, the same plastic used in grocery bags and food packaging. 

Patients with plastics in their artery tissue had a much higher rate of heart attack, stroke, or death over the following three years compared to those without. 

However, the study cannot tell us whether the plastics caused the problem, and the people studied were already sick cardiovascular patients. The researchers themselves were careful to say the results "do not prove" plastics caused those outcomes.

The scientists believe there might be a link between microplastics and inflammation, which is one of the primary ways heart disease gets worse.

Before you panic, remember that microplastics are essentially everywhere now: in food, tap water, indoor air, and the ocean. Your body can remove them and limit their damage. So the goal isn’t to live in a bubble; it’s to reduce exposure where it’s practical.

There are several low-effort habits that can reduce how much plastic you take in, such as heating food in glass or ceramic rather than in plastic containers. Plastic leaches more when it gets hot. 

You can also choose a stainless steel or glass water bottle over single-use plastic. And try not to leave food sitting in plastic packaging in a hot car or direct sunlight for long periods. 

If you're looking for one swap that moves the needle, given how much you use them, pans are a good place to start. Plastic doesn't just come from bags and bottles — a lot of it comes from the coating on the pan you cook in every day, especially once that coating starts to wear off.

Cooking at high heat accelerates the breakdown of the coating itself. The surface just can't withstand sustained, aggressive temperatures. Metal utensils scratch it, and every scratch is a new release point. A pan that's visibly worn or flaking is already shedding, whether you notice or not. And even a pan that looks fine eventually gives out. Nonstick coatings don't last forever. Nothing does.

Researchers in Australia found that a single crack in a Teflon coating can release roughly 9,100 plastic particles into food, and a more damaged coating can shed up to 2.3 million.

None of this is cause for panic. The researchers themselves said the health effects of ingesting these particles are still being studied, and they're honest that a lot is unknown. But when the fix is this simple, why wait for certainty?

That's where Our Place comes in. Our Place cookware has been made without forever chemicals since day one. Their most popular piece, the Always Pan, is a 10-in-1 nonstick that replaces half your cabinet: sauté pan, steamer, sauce pot, spatula holder, all in one. 

Used by home cooks and professional chefs who wanted the same thing you probably want: one less thing to worry about every time they cook dinner.

Upgrade your kitchen with Our Place today, and use the code APC for 10% off sitewide. With a 100-day trial, you can try it completely risk-free.

Small swap. One less variable for you to think about.

Start Your Week Right
How To Take Advantage Of “The Fresh Start Effect”

If you live in the US, the long weekend is over. Maybe you ate more than you planned, skipped a couple of workouts, stayed up too late for multiple nights.

There are two ways you can take this: either spiral and act like you’ve blown it, or you can see this as an opportunity. 

A new week, especially the one right after a holiday, is one of the most reliable moments to restart a habit, because your brain files the stretch behind you as "the old me."

Researchers examined behavioral changes and found people don't restart at random. Google searches for diets, gym visits, and commitments to pursue goals all climbed right after “landmarks” like the start of a new week, month, or year, a birthday, or a holiday. They saw the same pattern across three separate field studies and gave it a name: the fresh start effect.

A landmark like a new week draws a line between your past imperfections and the version of you starting now, which makes the next stretch feel worth showing up for. This is why so many people enjoy New Year’s resolutions and seem more effective at starting and generating momentum (the problem is with staying consistent, even through changes and disruptions).

Our recommendation: use the free momentum in front of you. Today is a Monday, and it's the Monday right after the Fourth of July. That's about as clean a line in the sand as the calendar hands out, without needing to wait for the start of the year.

Pick one habit you want to make part of your routine, and do the smallest version of it today. One workout, even a short one. One home-cooked meal. No social media within an hour of sleep. You're not paying off the weekend. You're using the date to start the next stretch. 

Workout Of The Week 
The Big Five Strength Day

Last week we built your engine with threshold intervals. This week we go the other direction. Heavy, brief, simple.

Most people overcomplicate strength. You don't need fifteen exercises and ninety minutes. You need a few big movements that cover your whole body, loaded hard enough to matter, a couple times a week.

This session hits every major muscle with five moves, two to three hard sets each, stopping a rep or two before your form breaks. You chase the hard reps, and you’re in and out. 

How to do it

1. Perform 2-3 work-up sets of each movement, progressing from 50% up to about 75-80% of the weight you’ll use. (If you would use 100 pounds, then on your final work-up set, you’d use 75-80 pounds.) Keep reps between 3-6, so you prepare your body without exhausting it.

2. Perform 2 to 3 sets of each exercise for 4 to 7 reps, resting 2-3 minutes between sets. The last 2-3 reps of each set should feel hard, like you had maybe one rep left in you. That's the sweet spot.

3. Pick one option per pattern based on your equipment and what feels good for you

Squat: back squat, goblet squat, or leg press
Hinge: deadlift, Romanian deadlift, or hip thrust
Push: bench press, overhead press, or push-up
Pull: row, lat pulldown, or assisted pull-up
Carry: grab something heavy (dumbbells, a loaded bag) and walk for 30 to 40 seconds

Short on time? Cut it to one hard set each. Do the work-up sets and then perform a single all-out set of five movements.

Give it a try, and start your week strong.

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 review our interpretations of the research and ensure 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