The Drink That Improves Muscle Mass?

Welcome to the positive corner of the internet. Every weekday, we make sense of the confusing world of wellness by analyzing the headlines, simplifying the latest research, and offering quick tips 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

• FUBAR Season 2: First look

• How dehydration prevents muscle growth

• The usual suspects

Arnold’s Corner
FUBAR Season 2: First Look

I have told you that my Pump Club subscribers will always know everything before the rest of the world.

So I am excited to announce to all of you that FUBAR Season 2 is coming June 12 on Netflix.

It is bigger, it is better. There are more laughs. There is more of everything.

Including one more legend! I had such a fantastic time filming with Carrie-Anne Moss. She’s a badass in every way.

And my team from season one became even more of a family.

I promise, you’re going to love it. And it’s perfect timing — Father’s Day weekend.

I’m pumped up to share a first look at next season with all of you before anyone else sees it.

Together With LMNT
Does Dehydration Limit Muscle Growth?

You lift hard, you fuel with protein, and you sleep like a champion—but if you're not hydrating properly, you might be leaving muscle on the table.

New research suggests that being even slightly dehydrated can reduce muscle thickness after lifting weights—potentially limiting growth and recovery.

Scientists wanted to understand how passive dehydration (sweating without drinking) impacted muscle recovery after resistance training. They put the participants through a full-body strength workout where one group drank during the workout and the other didn’t. 

After the training session, researchers used ultrasound to measure muscle thickness in the quads and upper arms at multiple time points.

When participants were well-hydrated, they experienced a 13 percent increase in muscle thickness. 

Because the post-workout "muscle pump" isn't just about aesthetics — it plays a role in muscle hypertrophy by increasing cellular signaling for growth. 

Put another way: dehydration not only blunted the post-workout muscle pump, but could also impair the early stages of muscle recovery. The researchers believe the difference comes down to muscle water, which play a role in nutrient transport and anabolic signaling. 

Other studies suggest that being dehydrated by even 2 percent—which can happen just by skipping fluids for a few hours—can compromise your results in the gym.

If you’re sweating heavily or training for more than an hour, hydration becomes even more important. Electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and magnesium are key for your muscles and neurons to fire correctly. When you sweat, your body loses these critical nutrients—and water alone won’t replace them. 

If you struggle with hydration, LMNT replenishes the electrolytes you lose when you sweat — without any added sugar, artificial ingredients, or unnecessary colors. 

As an APC reader, grab a free 8-packet sample pack (all flavors!) with any purchase through this link. If you’re not satisfied, their no-questions-asked refund policy has you covered.

As a rule of thumb, drink 16 to 20 ounces of water 1 to 2 hours before training and sip another 8–10 ounces about 15 minutes before your workout.

Adam’s Corner
The Usual Suspects (Are Usually Ignored)

Every year, there’s a new villain. 

Seed oils. Toxins. Hormones. EMFs. How could you expect to be healthy if you’re not fasting, detoxing, or timing your meals to a moon cycle?

It's a revolving door. And if you take look back at history, you'll notice something that should cause you to stop and question if the next health trend is really a solution or just another distraction. 

There are many things I don't know about health. But there's one thing I know with a high degree of certainty: there's a dangerous pattern in wellness that deceives you with empty promises disguised as solutions to your biggest health frustrations. In reality, the quick-fix, scapegoating approach tends to be a detour that takes you farther from your goals while increasing frustration and stress. 

I know because I've written different versions of the same warning for nearly 20 years. (Goes back and checks columns originally penned in 2007)

Back then, it was carbs and gluten. And then it was sugar. And then fat (again). And then protein (again). And somewhere along the line, breakfast was both the best and worst meal, and we even implicated kale and lectins. (Yeah, that really happened.)

This is the health influencer playbook: introduce a problem you didn’t know existed, amplify the fear, and then—magically—offer a solution that sounds too good to be true and yet oh-so-hard to resist. Usually, it just so happens that the solution offered is one you must buy.

The truth? It’s a sleight of hand.

It's time to stop acting like we've made a new discovery and finally figured out why people aren't healthier. I will never tell you it's easy to be healthy. It requires consistency in a life filled with daily chaos, interruptions, and roadblocks. But it isn’t complicated, either.

Your health is your greatest asset. You can either take care of it, prioritize it, and benefit from it, or let it slide and become vulnerable to more problems that you certainly want to avoid.

So, it's time to address the elephant in the room: you are asking the wrong questions and looking in the wrong places for answers. 

Most people ask, “What do I not know about that’s causing my issues?”

In reality, it's more helpful to ask: "What am I not doing that I know I should be doing?"

Healthy Living Is Surprisingly Boring

Good health is not exotic and exciting. It’s boring, mundane, and fairly repetitive. 

Lift weights, move daily, eat protein and fiber, hang out with friends, get sleep, and manage stress. That advice won't break the social media algorithms. But, simple habits and behaviors can make you a health billionaire if you’re willing to commit, stay consistent, and avoid the temptation of distractions that push you towards restrictive and extreme behaviors. 

It’s not that some of these issues you hear about don’t exist. It's just that trying to control cortisol 24 hours a day or optimize autophagy is NOT the reason most people struggle to feel good, lose fat, build muscle, age well, or boost energy. They’re distractions. It's misdirection and misinformation dressed in a lab coat of authoritative language and sciency-sounding recommendations.

The real changes you need that will feel life-changing are hiding in plain sight.

You don’t need a hormone whisperer to tell you why your energy crashes at 3 p.m. If you didn’t sleep 7 hours last night, that’s your answer.

You don’t need a parasite cleanse to explain your cravings. If you skipped meals, didn’t eat enough protein, and avoided fiber like a deadly drug, then you’re not battling a bug—it’s biology.

You don’t need a magical metabolic tea to “balance” your insulin. You need to move. Lift something. Walk. Exercise with some regularity and intensity.

The same goes for bloating, aches and pains, mental fog, and the stubborn scale that won’t budge. 

If your habits swing between “on a plan” and “eat whatever, whenever,” and exercise when everything in your day goes just as you planned, your answer is right in front of you. 

You just have to start asking the real questions and be painfully honest with yourself. 

The most uncomfortable part of getting healthier isn't the diet or exercise. It's swallowing the truth serum that many of us struggle to do the things we know are good for us. 

Your excuses, reasons, and barriers are real. But so is the reality that no cleanse or pill can fix those issues. It's up to you to make the small daily changes that build over time and create a foundation of health, vitality, and happiness.

For more than twenty years, I've written about health and invested thousands of hours coaching people. I promise you the problem isn’t your supplement routine or some elusive imbalance that doesn't address what will make you better.

No one wants to say the boring part out loud, so let me do the honor: you need more consistency with the basic behaviors.

Here’s the uncomfortable, invaluable truth: if you haven’t mastered the obvious, don’t waste a minute on the obscure. (And this goes for more than just health information)

Drink more water, eat nutritious foods, move your body, go to bed earlier, connect with your friends, find time to laugh, and take more deep breaths.

Notice I didn’t push a particular diet or food. 

I didn’t say you must follow a specific exercise protocol. 

I never said you must take supplements. 

Most of the decisions you must make will be based on your lifestyle preferences, budget, and schedule. But — and this is what matters most — you need to stop looking for the quick fixes and revolutionary breakthroughs and start looking in the mirror. The solutions you need are likely as old as Arnold (no offense to the original influencer, who got more things right 50 years ago and continues to push people toward better health behaviors without the BS). 

If you do all the big things consistently right (like exercise, sleep, and nutrition) for a long period of time (think 6 months not 6 days)—and you still don’t feel right—please don’t take an influencer’s diagnosis at face value. Don’t just pop supplements based on symptoms. See a doctor. Get blood work. Look under the hood. Don’t guess. Please do yourself a favor and assess, analyze, and address by taking action. 

Too many people are playing a blindfolded game of darts. Only it’s not a game —it’s your health and well-being. You get one body. Don’t take it for granted.

We chase symptoms with solutions that never address the real problem. If you keep tripping and ripping open your knee, bigger bandaids don't solve the problem. They just make you feel better in the moment...until you trip again. 

So let’s start fresh with a new approach, so we can stop having the same conversations. 

Today — not tomorrow — ask yourself:  “How well am I doing the obvious things?”

Don't judge yourself. This isn't about guilt and shame. It's about being honest so you can create a plan that actually makes you better and healthier. Not one that robs you of time and money. 

Too many players in the wellness industry want you to keep looking for what’s missing. But 9 times out of 10, it’s not that something’s missing—it’s that the foundations are ignored.

It’s like blaming the roof when the house collapses, even though the foundation was never laid.

The usual suspects—sleep, movement, nutrition, and stress management—are boring. But they work and are worth your time and energy.

The flashy villains make headlines. But they rarely make a difference.

So, if you’re feeling off, don’t start with a TikTok trend. Start with what’s in your control. Track it. Tweak it. Own it. You don't need 100 pills or fancy equipment.

Create habits you can do consistently. Repeat those habits until they become automatic. If it's not getting the job done, don't shift your focus. Don't ask a new question. That is a distraction. Instead, do the hard thing and relentless work on a solution that solves whatever stands in your way. 

Because the truth isn’t hidden. It’s usually just inconvenient and frustrating. The moment you accept your responsibility and focus on what you control is the moment better health will find you. -AB

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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger​

Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell