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Today’s Health Upgrade
How food can help fight microplastics
The muscle gain and fat loss killer
Do you need to train to failure
Arnold’s Podcast
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On Our Radar
Could Fiber Help Defend Against Microplastics?
Microplastics are everywhere—in the air, water, and even in your food. You can avoid them and don’t need to fear them completely, but you do need to find ways to cut down and fight back.
Scientists found that eating more fiber could help reduce microplastic absorption and minimize its harmful effects on your body.
Researchers analyzed data from individuals with varying fiber intakes and measured microplastic concentrations in their digestive systems.
The study found that people who consumed more fiber had lower levels of microplastics in their bloodstream and tissues. Fiber appears to act as a natural barrier in the digestive tract, trapping microplastics and helping your body eliminate them before they enter circulation.
Those who consumed at least 30 grams of fiber per day showed a significant reduction in microplastic absorption compared to those with lower fiber intake.
The researchers suggest that the binding properties of fiber—found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes—help prevent microplastics from crossing the gut barrier and entering the bloodstream, where they may contribute to inflammation and other health risks.
Cutting back on using plastics in your home, microwaving food in glass or ceramic, and limiting single-use plastics (like water bottles) can all help you reduce exposure.
And increasing your fiber intake could be a simple and effective way to provide more protection while improving overall gut health and reducing cholesterol. You can boost your daily fiber intake from oats, chia seeds, lentils, beans, chickpeas, berries, avocados, and leafy greens.
Together With Eight Sleep
The Muscle Gain And Fat Loss Killer
You’re eating the right foods and making your way to the gym. But the process still doesn’t seem to be working as you expected.
Do you need a new workout and diet plan — or just a better sleep plan?
Research suggests that sleep deprivation has a more significant effect on muscle gain, fat loss, and recovery than you might believe. And it can happen almost immediately.
We know that sleep plays an important role in almost every health function, but scientists wanted to understand how quickly sleep loss affects your body. So they compared a group of people who got a good night of sleep to those who had the night from hell and almost got no rest.
The effects were worth your attention.
Sleep deprivation led to an 18 percent decline in muscle protein synthesis, meaning your body's ability to repair and grow muscle after exercise is impaired when you don’t sleep.
Researchers also found that sleep deprivation decreased testosterone by 24 percent and increased cortisol—a stress hormone that can break down muscle tissue— by 21 percent.
Aim for at least 7 to 9 hours per night to prevent sleep from being your Achilles heel. And, at the very least, do your best to not drop below six hours per night.
If you struggle with sleep, focus on consistent sleep schedules, reducing screen time before bed, and limiting caffeine intake in the afternoon.
If you do all that, it might be time to upgrade your mattress. Our readers selected The Eight Sleep Pod 4 as Pump Club’s 2024 “product of the year” for a reason.
Pump Club members said it was “their best investment,” the change they wish they had made sooner, and the purchase that led to the biggest upgrade in overall health.
Dozens of studies suggest that a bad mattress is the reason for poor sleep quality. Many mattresses claim to keep you cool, but only one has published research to support its claims.
The Eight Sleep pod is clinically proven to give you up to one more hour of quality sleep per night — and it includes a risk-free 30-day trial to ensure it works for you.
In the study, those using the sleep pod fell asleep faster, slept longer, had fewer sleep disturbances, and had more energy the next day.
As members of the positive corner of the internet, use the code “PUMPCLUB” to save up to $350 OFF the new Pod 4 by Eight Sleep. Eight Sleep currently ships within the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and select countries in the EU.
Fitness
Do You Need to Train to Failure?
“Go hard or go home” sounds great. However, if you’ve been grinding every set until you can’t move a muscle in hopes of maximizing growth, it’s time to rethink your approach.
New research suggests that training to complete failure isn’t necessary for muscle growth and could slow your progress.
Researchers compared training to momentary muscular failure (pushing until you physically can't complete another rep) to a "repetitions-in-reserve" (RIR) approach, where lifters stopped a few reps short of failure.
At the end of the study, both groups experienced similar muscle growth, suggesting that pushing every set to absolute failure isn’t required to get bigger and stronger.
However, there was a difference worth mentioning.
The failure group experienced significantly more muscle fatigue, which meant longer recovery times and a higher risk of burnout. Meanwhile, the RIR group maintained similar growth while recovering faster and sustaining higher training quality over time.
If you want muscle growth without unnecessary fatigue, push yourself hard—but leave 1 to 2 reps in the tank on most sets. This means rep speed should slow down, and you should strain on your final 1 to 3 reps while maintaining good form.
Pushing every set to the max might feel productive, but more can oftentimes mean fewer results.
That doesn’t mean failure is the enemy, but you want to use it as a strategic boundary of how hard you need to push without taking yourself to the point where you can’t move the weight.
At the same time, if you want to use reps in reserve effectively, you need to know what failure feels like. That’s why it’s helpful to take a few workouts to failure (with spotters), and that means you can adjust your intensity as needed to find the sweet spot for growth without too much fatigue.
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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
