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Today’s Health Upgrade
Are regular sets enough to build muscle?
Brain fuel for mental health
How a mother’s diet can shape a baby’s taste
Arnold’s Podcast
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Fitness
Are Regular Sets Enough To Build Muscle?
If you want bigger, stronger muscles, do you need complex training methods to deliver better results?
A new study suggests that traditional straight sets lead to as much muscle growth as a more advanced training method.
The researchers compared cluster sets, which involve breaking up a set into smaller "mini-sets" with short rest periods, to traditional sets, where you complete all reps before resting.
The study randomly assigned resistance-trained individuals to either method, performing volume- and effort-matched workouts. The cluster set group performed 3 clusters of four reps, separated by 20 seconds. In other words, they would perform three reps, rest for 20 seconds, then another three reps, 20 more seconds of rest, and so forth until 12 reps were completed. That was one cluster set, and five sets were completed (with three minutes of rest between sets).
On the other hand, the straight-set group simply performed five sets of 12 reps with three minutes of rest between sets.
After months of training, both groups saw comparable increases in muscle gain. This means whether you spread out your reps with short breaks or complete them all at once, your muscles will still grow—as long as you're pushing with the same effort and total volume.
The lesson: progressing your workout and maximizing intensity matters more than adding every special training technique.
Instead of overthinking every variable and exercise, focus on consistency, progression, and intensity.
Together With Momentous
Is Your Brain Starving For Creatine?
Many people use supplements before a workout to level up their physical performance. But what if the same is true for mental health and brain performance, too?
Recent studies suggest that taking creatine monohydrate could enhance the positive effects and mood-boosting benefits of therapy — and strengthen memory and processing.
Researchers conducted an 8-week double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial to explore whether creatine could enhance the effects of therapy. Participants suffered from major depressive disorder and received either oral creatine monohydrate or a placebo in addition to cognitive behavioral therapy.
Those who took creatine experienced greater improvements in depressive symptoms and felt significantly better compared to the placebo group.
Creatine is already widely used for muscle recovery, cognitive function, and energy production. And more research is making it harder to deny that it can also improve mood and support mental health.
Low creatine stores are connected with several neurological disorders, including depression. And supplementing with creatine has increased creatine stores in your brain. The scientists believe that the extra creatine may activate dopamine and serotonin receptors, which could provide extra mood-boosting benefits.
If it seems like creatine makes it into the newsletter almost weekly, you’re not losing your mind. It continues to be one of the most studied supplements, and — if the newer studies are any indication — the best reasons to take creatine might not be why it was originally used.
Creatine can still improve strength and muscle, but the latest science shows many potential benefits for your brain.
That is because your brain neurons rely heavily on ATP (adenosine triphosphate) to function—think of ATP as the brain’s fuel for everything from memory processing to problem-solving. And think about creatine as a way to replenish ATP.
Your hippocampus and prefrontal cortex metabolize creatine, so supplementing might boost working memory, mental fatigue resistance, and positive mood.
In an industry (supplements) where most ingredients have little to no research to support effectiveness, creatine has thousands of studies. If you want the brain-related benefits, some studies suggest using as little as 5 grams per day, while others have found that you need 10 grams per day. Both levels are completely safe and are not connected to any problems in healthy individuals.
Still, the poorly regulated supplement industry makes it almost too easy to sell bad versions of creatine that won’t deliver benefits.
If you’re going to buy creatine, do yourself a favor and make sure it’s either NSF Certified for Sport or Informed Sport. Companies with the extra testing invest tens of thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of dollars to ensure that your creatine is high-quality, has no banned substances, and doesn’t have dangerous levels of toxins or metals.
Our preferred choice is Momentous Creatine, which is the gold standard for quality and purity. As a member of The Pump Club, you get 20% OFF your purchase when you use the code “PumpClub.”
On Our Radar
How a Mother’s Diet Can Shape a Baby’s Taste
Do you have taste buds similar to your mother's? It might be much more than a genetic coincidence.
New research suggests that a mother's diet during pregnancy influences an infant's future taste and odor preferences.
The study reviewed prior research and experimental data to determine how early taste and odor experiences shape long-term preferences.
The scientists believe that amniotic fluid and breast milk act as the baby’s first exposure to flavor. When a mother consumes certain foods, compounds from those foods are transferred to the amniotic fluid, where the baby begins to experience them in utero. This means babies can develop familiarity with flavors—like garlic, vanilla, carrots, or even spicy foods—before they taste solid food.
One study reviewed showed that when mothers drank carrot juice regularly during pregnancy, their infants were more likely to enjoy carrot-flavored foods after birth. Another found that babies of mothers who consumed garlic had a stronger preference for garlic-scented breast milk compared to babies whose mothers had not.
It could also be that early exposure builds sensory memory. A baby’s olfactory (smell) and taste systems develop in the womb, and these early exposures may create a sense of comfort and familiarity with certain flavors, making babies more receptive to them later in life.
If you want your child to enjoy a variety of foods—especially nutritious ones—consider eating a diverse diet while pregnant. Exposing your baby to various flavors in utero may make them more open to trying and enjoying different foods as they grow. That could mean fewer picky eating struggles down the road and a greater appreciation for healthy eating habits from the start.
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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
