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Today’s Health Upgrade
Arnold’s corner: Monday motivation
Why most people quit exercise
The plastics in your diet
Workout of the week
A Little Wiser (In Less Than 10 Minutes)
Arnold’s Pump Club Podcast is another daily dose of wisdom and positivity. You can subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Arnold’s Corner
Monday Motivation What Can You Do In 90 Days?
I love statistics.
I have enjoyed math since I was younger. It was always a better subject for me than reading or English (you probably could have guessed that).
Being good with numbers has helped me throughout my life.
When I had my own kids, they were subjected to math ladders to add up and subtract down or multiply up and divide down because I believe being good with numbers helps you in life.
So today, I want to share two numbers, and I want to ask, which one are you? But more importantly, which one do you want to be?
The beauty of having my own app is that I get to do a giant study on what works and what doesn’t work in my fitness crusade. I have the clearest view I’ve ever had of where people freeze and what makes them succeed.
I’m lucky; I have a sample size of hundreds of thousands who help teach me how to be better at helping all of you get fit.
I’ve been digging into the numbers, and there were two in particular I wanted to share.
The first number is 9 Percent: Of the hundreds of thousands of people who have started the app process, only 9 percent ever completed their first workout.
You’ve probably read articles about how gym owners love that everyone signs up in January and 80 precent of people don’t actually use their gym memberships, because that means less work for the business for the same money.
That’s not my style. I define success by the success stories we create, not by a spreadsheet.
That 9% is brutal. But it shows you something we know: for most people, the hardest step will always be the first.
I want to help all of you be part of that 91 percent. I don’t want you to be the ones who freeze, whether it’s because you are waiting for the perfect time (it never comes), you’re still doing the research (you will learn more from failing at the wrong way than you ever will from reading about the right way), or you just don’t think you’re worth the work (my greatest mission is convincing you that you are).
I know some people also get tied up in their past failures, and they have a self-fulfilling belief that every time will be the same.
We know that it doesn’t have to be the same.
Because we have a number for that, too.
83 Percent: That’s the percentage of people who finished their first program who are STILL training regularly.
Think about that: 83 percent made fitness a habit. And all it took was one 90-day program.
In 3 months, people have the power to totally change their lives. They just have to show up for themselves.
The people who join the 83 percent who make fitness a habit are not different genetically than the 91 percent who never do their first workout.
The programs and the community are no different.
The injuries and illnesses and setbacks they face are no different.
The only difference is that the starters just kept showing up.
They might miss a day. They might miss a week. They’ve learned that doesn’t matter, as long as you come back.
They don’t worry about the perfect anything. They just put on their shoes and go.
They don’t start next Monday or January 1. They start now. They changed who they are. They shifted their identity. They became the kind of person who trains.
I know that many of them started out with the identity of someone who never stuck to any new habit. They had joined gyms or started programs and stopped, just like the majority of people everywhere.
They rebuilt who they are. They changed how they see themselves. They’re a different person now.
That gives me so much hope. Because all it took was 90 days.
If you’ve found yourself in the group that just can’t get going, they should also give you hope. You can do that — 90 days is the blink of an eye in our lives.
It’s nothing. But it is enough to change everything.
My mission is helping more and more people become the person they want, 90 days at a time.
My vision is that the awful statistics about New Years Resolutions, where 90 percent of people give up on themselves, are terminated.
I want you to sit down today and think about the things you’ve said you want to do that you keep putting off.
Whether it’s reading every day, learning a language, painting, eating better, or training.
Find one thing you’ve always wanted. Tell yourself you’re the kind of person who does it. Make a plan to do it a little bit every day.
If it’s training, you could use my 20-minute insurance policy, and do a free workout we share here each week and walk every day. You could join the app for a more regimented, customized program that starts where you are right now and builds you up gradually to the goal you choose.
If it’s reading, just make 15 minutes when you wake up or before you go to bed your priority.
The key is you start. And for 90 days, you show up for yourself every day.
There will be days you don’t want to show up. On those days tell yourself this is just 90 days.
You will still have days you miss and feel like you failed. When that happens, you just keep going the next day without beating yourself up. We all miss. It’s not a failure.
I know you can change your life because I’ve seen too many people do it for me NOT to believe in you.
Now the only question is, who will you be 90 days from now?
Habits
Why Most People Quit Exercise (And How You Won't)
If you've ever started a workout routine with the best intentions, only to find yourself struggle to stick to the plan, you're not alone.
Scientists found that nearly 9 out of 10 people quit their exercise routine within the first 6 months, with almost half dropping out in less than two months.
The reasons are what you have probably experienced: your initial motivation often isn't sustainable long-term, life stressors occur, schedule changes, and unrealistic expectations create perfect storms for quitting.
We know it’s hard to start, and we know it’s harder to stick with something.
That’s why we’ve built the Pump Club app around the science that helps people get through the critical window of failure to the point where fitness becomes a habit.
One of our favorites is the simple Workout Reminder notification. Turn on the app notifications, choose the time you want it to go off on your training days, and it will turn your phone into an accountability partner and ask, “Are you ready to train?”
If you click yes, that one click launches your workout.
If you click no, you receive a video from Arnold to get you going.
Our members call the notification “The Arnold Alarm” because it’s easy to say no to yourself, but it’s hard to say no to the big guy.
This week, we’ll share a feature every day that we’ve designed to make fitness a habit.
But because we’re truly a village, we’re always listening to our members to add features that make their success stories more certain.
So, if you have more ideas that would help, share them! Please respond to this email with the subject line: “APP” and give us your idea.
We don’t have a board or a private equity fund to listen to, so we just listen to our members and then build what works.
Together With Our Place
The Plastics In Your Diet
You’ve swapped plastic water bottles for a stainless steel tumbler. You eat wild-caught fish and avoid packaged junk. But the biggest source of microplastics in your diet might be something you use every single day.
Plastic cutting boards and cookware may be releasing up to 50 grams of microplastics into your food every year.
That’s the sobering conclusion of a comprehensive review that examined the overlooked role of kitchen equipment in microplastic exposure. Researchers reviewed dozens of studies analyzing utensils, cookware, storage containers, and food prep tools — excluding single-use plastics and the food itself — to identify hidden sources of contamination.
Their findings? Cutting boards made from polyethylene or polypropylene can shed between 7.4 and 50.7 grams of microplastics per person annually. Polypropylene boards were especially problematic, releasing 5 to 60 percent more microplastic mass than their polyethylene counterparts and up to 71 percent more particles.
Even non-stick cookware — especially when scratched or heated repeatedly — can release thousands of plastic particles per year into meals.
Why does this happen? Everyday cooking habits like chopping, scraping, whisking, and heating put physical and thermal stress on plastic items. Over time, wear and tear lead to microscopic fragments being transferred to your food. Even the temperature swings in your freezer or dishwasher can break down plastic over time, accelerating this process.
But don’t panic — just pivot.
Switch to bamboo or wooden cutting boards, especially if you prep food daily. Research showed that zero microplastics were detected when meat was processed on bamboo boards.
Or, consider a safer alternative to your most-used plastic tools, especially non-stick pans or microwave-safe containers. Focus on replacing high-heat, high-use items first.
And you don’t need to panic. Microplastic exposure from food prep is real, but it’s also manageable. Your body is also built to process and filter microplastics, so you don’t need to eliminate all exposure — but it can be helpful to reduce it.
Treat this like a long-term kitchen upgrade plan — the same way you’d phase out dull knives or worn-out pans.
If you need a place to start, Our Place is the easiest way to cut down on microplastics in your kitchen — and save over 40 percent in the process.
Their Titanium Pro Cookware Set is the first truly nonstick, zero-coating cookware that eliminates microplastic risks in the kitchen.
Our Place has no coatings, no flakes, no PFAS or other forever chemicals. That means it’s 300 percent harder than stainless steel, scratch-resistant, dishwasher-safe, non-stick, and built to last.
Our Place is having its biggest sale of the season through September 2nd. Enjoy 40 percent off (with bundle and sale savings), free shipping and returns, and a 100-day risk-free trial — so you can cook, clean, and decide for yourself.
Just use this link. No code needed. Just better tools, better food, and a better kitchen — for life.
Fitness
Workout Of The Week
Most workouts tell you to lighten the weight when you get tired. But with the right type of exercise selection on drop sets, you can keep the weight the same—or even go heavier — because the movement itself becomes easier. That means more intensity, less time wasted, and a quick and effective way to get the most out of your muscles without wasting sets and reps.
How to do it
Complete one set of each exercise, resting as little as possible between sets. After you do all three movements, rest, and then repeat once more. Then, move on to the next dropset.
Dropset #1
Rear-foot elevated split squat: 6 reps/leg
Dumbbell squat: 8 reps
Bodyweight squat: 10-15 reps
Rest 3 minutes and then repeat one more time.
Dropset #2
Pullup: 8-10 reps
Dumbbell row: 6-8 reps
Inverted row: 10-15 reps
Rest 3 minutes and then repeat one more time.
Dropset #3
Romanian deadlift
Dumbbell hip thrust
Bodyweight hip thrust
Rest 3 minutes and then repeat one more time.
Dropset #4
Dumbbell chest press: 6 reps
Floor press: 8 reps
Pushup: 10-15 reps
Rest 3 minutes and then repeat one more time.
Give it a try, and start your week strong!
Better Today
Better Today
Take any of these tips from today’s email and put them into action
Be The 9 Percent: The difference between those who succeed and those who are alway setting goals are those who show up no matter what. Find one thing you’ve always wanted. Tell yourself you’re the kind of person who does it. Make a plan to do it a little bit every day.
Build An Accountability Loop: Almost 9 out of 10 people never make it to 6 months. To build a better future, create a system that makes it harder to fail by helping you stay consistent, even when you don’t feel like it.
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Upgrade Your Kitchen for Better Health: Replace your most-used plastic cutting board with a wood or bamboo one to eliminate microplastics from your diet while prepping healthier meals.
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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
