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Today’s Health Upgrade

• Monday motivation

• Up your “rizz”

• Workout of the week: Finish Strong Challenge begins

Arnold’s Corner: Monday Motivation

We talked a couple of weeks ago about how it is momentum, not motivation, that will give you sustained success.

As much as I love seeing motivational posters with my quotes in gyms, I know that it is not motivation that helps people gain strength and lose weight in the gym. That might get you into the gym. But it is consistency — showing up every day, day after day, even on the bad days, until the habit becomes automatic — that makes you successful.

I also know that people like to create arbitrary dates to start their fitness journeys. The day they pick to start is almost never the best day to start because the best day is today. The best time right now.

But how many times do we say, “The diet starts on Monday,” or “January 1st, I’m finally quitting smoking,” or “My New Year’s resolution is to lose 20 pounds?”

What’s the magic of Mondays, the first of every month, and even January 1? 

Let’s just call it what it is: procrastination.

It’s putting off something you know you need to do, maybe even something you WANT to do. It is easier to say you’ll start some day you pick in the future because it means you don’t have to do the work today.

It’s time to terminate procrastinating and make our lives better. That’s why we launched our Finish Strong challenge. You have the first workout today (see the workout of the week below), and you’ll get them every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until the new year. You don’t have to think about anything. You just have to do it.

It starts today. We want to grow this village and give you more motivation to start your momentum now so you aren’t flat-footed and starting from zero on January 1. We ask that you share your workouts on your favorite social media sites, tag me, and use #ArnoldsChallenge.

We will pick three random winners who post their workouts and give them one thousand dollars each. If you’re part of the Pump app, just keep doing your normal workouts and post those because you know we are fanatics about sticking to the program.

That’s pretty good motivation to start building your routine now, isn’t it? 

So what are you waiting for?

Increase Your “Rizz”

Last week, The Oxford Dictionary named rizz its word of the year. If you’re like us and weren’t sure what they were talking about, “rizz” is short for charisma and is used to describe “style, charm, or attractiveness.” (Won’t lie, even writing this makes us feel a little old).

We can’t teach you to increase your rizz, but if you want people to see the most charismatic version of yourself, research suggests you might want to look at your sleep patterns.

Research suggests that your charisma peaks based on your sleep schedule. 

The study found that your circadian clock — the 24-hour cycle most people think about for sleep but is also connected to your cognitive function and mood — determines when you’re most charismatic. In particular, early risers are more charming in the morning, while those who go to bed later tend to have more charm in the evening.

The research suggests that charisma isn’t necessarily something you learn; rather, it’s something that’s programmed into your sleep chronotype preference. In other words, you can use self-awareness of when you are most compelling and energetic to determine if you’re more of a morning person or a night owl. 

Or, while somewhat obvious, if you want to maximize your creativity or persuasion, time meetings, work, or activities around your sleep schedule. If you’re an early riser, try to schedule those moments earlier in the day, and if you stay up later, expect to peak in the afternoon. 

Workout of the Week: The Finish Strong Challenge

Today is the first day of The Finish Strong Challenge. Start with today’s plan, and then be prepared for a new workout on Wednesday and another on Friday. Do the workouts, post on social media, tag me (@schwarzenegger), and include the hashtag #Arnoldschallenge. 

At the end of the month, we’ll randomly select three people who are a part of Arnold’s Pump Club and have shared their workouts at least once per week on social media. Consider it a little extra incentive to keep training during the holiday season. 

The first workout is a full-body plan. It consists of three supersets with minimal rest between the exercises. So you’ll do the first exercise, then the second, rest, and repeat until all sets are done. Then, rest for 2 minutes between each superset, and move to the next pair of exercises. Once you’ve completed all three supersets, you’re finished. We’ve provided a dumbbell version and a bodyweight one.

Dumbbell version

Superset 1

• Dumbbell chest press: 3 sets x 12 reps

• Dumbbell row: 3 sets x 10 reps

Rest 2 minutes

Superset 2

• Kickstand dumbbell deadlift: 3 sets x 15 reps 

• Alternating dumbbell lunge: 3 sets x 12/leg

Rest 2 minutes

Superset 3

• Goblet squat: 3 sets x 8 reps

• Seated clean and press: 3 sets x 10 reps

Rest 2 minutes

Bodyweight version

Superset 1

• Pushups: 3 sets x 12 reps

• Superman pullup: 3 sets x 10 reps

Rest 2 minutes

Superset 2

• Bodyweight good morning: 3 sets x 15 reps 

• Alternating bodyweight lunge: 3 sets x 12/leg

Rest 2 minutes

Superset 3

• Bodyweight squat: 3 sets x 8 reps

• IYT’s: 3 sets x 10 reps

And you’re done.

We can’t wait to see your posts on social media!

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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger​

Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell