Is Social Media Anti-Social?

If you're going to become a more positive person, it's time to assess what you're creating and consuming on social media platforms....

Welcome to the positive corner of the internet. Here’s a daily digest designed to make you healthier in less than 5 minutes. If you were forwarded this message, you can get the free daily email here.

Today’s Health Upgrade

  • Monday Motivation

  • Fiber Won

  • Workout of the Week

Arnold’s Podcast

Motivation every day. Want Arnold to help you start your day? Each morning, we post a new podcast with tips you’ll find in the daily email and bonus stories, wisdom, and motivation from Arnold. Listen to Arnold's Pump Club podcast. It's like the daily newsletter but with additional narration and thoughts from Arnold. You can subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Arnold’s Corner: Monday Motivation

As I’ve been all over the place selling my book, I’ve tried to thank as many of you as I can on social media for letting me know you ordered it.

Some people tell me I’m crazy, or it’s wild that I thank so many people. I think it would be insane not to. What kind of person doesn’t thank someone for supporting a project they spent a lot of time on?

It has also made me realize something else. I’d estimate about 90 percent of the replies are friendly and fantastic. And then the other 10 percent are really angry and mean. I’ve told you before that my social media strategy is ignoring the haters. But I’ve taken note because I’m out there promoting a book to make people better because that will make the world better.

What I have found is this: social media makes a lot of people anti-social. When I read some of these messages, I know these people would never say this in real-life social situations, at the gym or a restaurant. If you start yelling at someone in the real world that they’re a commie liberal loser (very funny, by the way), you’re going to be ostracized.

On social media, you’re rewarded. I learned that there is research that shows people become meaner on social media because it’s the negative posts that get likes (Daniel sent me a few pages from Scarcity Brain).

I started to wonder, why don’t I ever hear this? I am a public guy. People come up to me after my workout every day to shake my hand or take a selfie. I have never once heard the crap I see on social media.

There are only two possibilities. One is those people who will say nasty things on social media but are different in the real world. The other is the people who say those things on social media don’t go out in the real world. I don’t like either of those options.

But I also know that I can’t control those people. What I can do is lead by example.

You’ll only see positivity on my social media, even if it means getting less likes or attention. I’ve got plenty of trophies; I don’t need fake internet awards.

I’ll keep building this positive corner of the internet because I see in your emails how it’s made each of you more positive. We’re almost 600,000 people — more a city than a village now, but we will keep that village feel, and one by one, we will convert people to realize that you feel a lot better about life when you choose positivity.

And I’ll keep promoting my book. I believe that Be Useful is the antidote to a lot of this bitterness out there in the world. People are angry because they feel powerless. They see governments doing absolutely nothing, companies lobbying governments, news that is never positive, and they think they are just a pawn with only one move: anger. I want to show them they have more power than they know, first to change themselves and then to change the world. The more people I can reach with that message and the more useful each of us feels, the less bitter the world will be.

If we are going to keep doing this social media thing, it’s time we use it for good. Are you with me?

Fiber Won

How much can one small dietary adjustment improve your health? Depends on whether you’re following a trendy diet or a proven upgrade.

Adding more fiber to your diet can help lower the risk of obesity, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.

That was the result of a massive review of 185 different studies investigating the relationship between carbohydrates and the quality of human health. Fiber is likely to help with heart health because it helps lower LDL cholesterol, which is associated with many cardiovascular issues. But that’s not all. Fiber is connected with lower blood pressure, blood sugar, and improved insulin sensitivity. If that wasn’t enough, it also assists with appetite control and supports better gut health.

Despite being a true superfood, most people fall far short of their fiber needs. Depending on your gender and body size, you’ll need anywhere from 25 to 50 grams of fiber per day. And yet, research suggests that about 9 percent of women and 3 percent of men eat the minimum recommended amount of fiber.

If you want to boost your fiber, start with options you might enjoy, such as whole wheat bread or pasta, oatmeal, popcorn, berries, edamame, lentils, beans, nuts, avocados, seeds, or lentils. Or, you can do it like the Pump team and just toss in a scoop or two of psyllium husk into a protein shake.

We don’t like overhyping anything, but we feel very confident that adding fiber is one of those changes that are likely to benefit almost anyone.

Workout of the Week

This week, we welcome Cory Gregory (who you can follow @coryg), who put together what he calls the “10/10 Workout.” You'll need a timer like the last couple of weeks, but this plan is different.

You’ll perform a short circuit consisting of two exercises. Perform one set of the first exercise followed by one set of the second. You’ll start by doing just one rep of each exercise. Then, you’ll perform two reps, followed by three reps, and so forth. Keep on adding reps until the time is up. For the weighted version (the advanced program), it takes some trial and error, but select a weight you can normally do for about 10 to 12 reps. It will feel very light at first, but then the reps will add up each round, and your muscles will be pushed to the limit. Once you complete the 10-minute workout, do 10 minutes of walking, and then you’re done.

Beginner version 

Exercise 1: Chair squat (squat down to the chair, and then stand back up)

Exercise 2: Wall pushup or incline pushup (put your hands on a wall, bench, or chair and perform a pushup)

Intermediate version

Exercise 1: Bodyweight squat

Exercise 2: Pushups

Advanced version

Exercise 1: Dumbbell or kettlebell squat

Exercise 2: Dumbbell chest press

Remember, once you’re done, don’t forget the 10-minute walk. Give it a try, and let us know how it goes!

Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger

Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell


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