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Today’s Health Upgrade
The dark side of multitasking
How to protect your muscle
Is “listening to your body” terrible advice?
Arnold’s Podcast
Want more stories from Arnold? Every day, Arnold’s Pump Club Podcast opens with a story, perspective, and wisdom from Arnold that you won’t find in the newsletter. And, you’ll hear a recap of the day’s items. You can subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Fact Or Fiction
Does Multitasking Make You More Efficient?
Many people believe that juggling many tasks at once is a superpower. However, it might be kryptonite.
Research suggests that while multi-tasking appears to save time, it splits your brainpower and could lead to worse performance and more time invested in the long run.
The myth of multitasking is that you’re not doing two things at once. You’re switching between tasks, and each switch comes with a cost. Research suggests that multitaskers perform worse on memory, attention, and task-switching tests compared to people who focus on one thing at a time.
One study found that jumping between tasks can reduce productivity by up to 40 percent and increase mental fatigue. The reason? Your brain has to reset constantly, using up precious cognitive resources and making it harder to concentrate.
If you want to get more done in less time, the answer isn’t doing more at once — it’s focusing deeply on one task, finishing it, and then moving to the next.
Together with Eight Sleep
Is Your Bed Stealing Your Muscle?
Think one bad night of sleep can’t do much harm? Science says it could sabotage your muscles before you even hit the gym.
Researchers found that your body starts breaking down muscle instead of building it when you don’t get enough rest.
Researchers compared participants who enjoyed a typical night of sleep to those who went a whole night without sleep. The next day, they measured the process that helps repair and build muscle after eating or training (muscle protein synthesis) and anabolic (muscle-building) hormones, such as testosterone, and catabolic (muscle-breaking) ones, like cortisol.
After a sleepless night, muscle protein synthesis dropped by 18 percent, cortisol levels rose by 21 percent, and testosterone levels dropped by 24 percent.
This suggests your body’s ability to make new muscle slows, even before it starts breaking down existing muscle.
The researchers believe that sleep loss disrupts the hormonal signals your body uses to maintain an anabolic state. Over time, if sleep loss becomes chronic, this imbalance can drive muscle loss, fat gain, and metabolic issues.
To protect against this downfall, prioritize consistent, high-quality sleep—aim for 7–9 hours per night. If you do miss a night, try to normalize your sleep as soon as possible. Consistency matters more than perfection, but chronic sleep deprivation can sabotage your muscles and metabolism faster than you might think.
If sleep is a struggle, a mattress upgrade could be a health upgrade that instantly improves your sleep. Multiple studies suggest that a poor mattress is a primary cause of poor sleep quality.
And new research suggests that having a slightly cooler mattress can make it easier to fall asleep and lead to higher-quality rest.
Those who had lower core body temperature had lower heart rates during their sleep (this is a good thing), and — most notably — more time spent in stage 3 sleep (your recovery sleep) and better heart rate variability (HRV).
Eight Sleep’s Pod 5 is scientifically proven to make a real difference. This isn’t just a mattress cover—it’s a complete sleep optimization system clinically proven to give you up to one hour more quality sleep each night.
The Pod automatically adjusts your temperature, elevation, and even your bed position, and is proven to reduce snoring by up to 45 percent. It can also help you fall asleep faster with white noise and guided meditations from experts, played directly through the Pod’s built-in speakers.
The bottom line: you’ll gain up to 34 percent more deep sleep, fall asleep 44 percent faster, and increase daytime energy by 34 percent.
If you’re serious about muscle, performance, and recovery, better sleep isn’t optional—it’s your greatest advantage. The new Pod 5 makes elite-level sleep accessible every night.
To upgrade your sleep, use the code “PUMPCLUB” to save up to $350 OFF the new Pod 5 by Eight Sleep. This is a special offer just for Arnold’s Pump Club. Eight Sleep currently ships within the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and select countries in the EU. And it includes a 30-night trial. To us, it’s one of the best health investments you can make.
Adam’s Corner
“Listen to Your Body” Is Terrible Advice — Until You Train It Right
I once coached a woman named Jess who told me she was finally “listening to her body.” What that looked like was adjusting every workout because she wasn’t “strong enough” on certain movements, reaching for comfort food because she felt low energy, and abandoning any new routine the moment it created stress.
You might read this and roll your eyes, but here’s the thing: She was not lazy or unmotivated — she genuinely believed she was honoring what her body needed. But what her body was really telling her was shaped by years of sitting, scrolling, and stress-eating.
We’re taught that our bodies are wise narrators. That if we slow down, tune in, and “listen,” we’ll find the path to health.
But what if your body’s signals are wired by years of habits that make anything new feel wrong — even when it’s exactly what you need?
When New Feels Like a Threat
Think about your first week of trying to eat more vegetables. Or your first early bedtime after years of late-night Netflix. Or your first time stepping into a gym. Your body probably resisted with discomfort, restlessness, or a voice in your head saying, “This feel off.” But discomfort during change isn’t danger — it’s adaptation in progress.
This is the quiet trap that derails so many people: your body doesn’t just reflect your biology. It adapts to your behavior.
If you’ve taught it to expect sugar during stress, late nights as normal, and inactivity as safe, then your instincts are trained to crave what keeps you stuck. Discomfort feels wrong because you haven’t taught your body what right feels like yet.
The Pavlovian Plate
Ivan Pavlov taught dogs to drool at the sound of a bell — proof that repeated patterns can train a body to respond in ways disconnected from what’s actually happening. We see the same with humans. If every time you’re sad, you eat a pint of ice cream, your brain links “sadness = sugar.”
Soon, you’ll crave sweets at the first hint of loneliness. It’s not intuition — it’s a conditioned reflex.
It reminds me of a client who asked, “Why do I always want cookies when I’m stressed?” Because for years, cookies were his relief. His body wasn’t sending a wise signal; it was just following a well-worn path.
It’s like telling someone to “follow the map” without first checking if it leads to where they want to go.
How to Teach Your Body to Tell the Truth
The good news is you can retrain your instincts. Listening to your body isn’t useless — it’s just dangerous if you haven’t taught your body what “good” actually feels like.
Here’s how to start:
Look for Patterns, Not One-Offs
One night of bad sleep doesn’t mean you should cancel your workout. But if you’re exhausted every day, your body might be telling you something real.
Discomfort vs. Damage
Soreness, awkwardness, and feeling challenged are signs of growth. But sharp pain, persistent injuries, or total exhaustion? Those are warning signals worth listening to.
Build a Baseline of Health
Allow yourself at least 4 weeks of consistent sleep, balanced meals, and regular physical activity. Only then should you start paying attention to how your body feels — because now it’s speaking from a state of stability, not chaos.
Many of us overestimate what we can accomplish in the short term and underestimate what we can do in the long term.
So, stop reacting to just a few days or weeks. Commit, be patient, and let your body adjust. You might be surprised by what you see.
Ask: “Does This Move Me Toward My Goals?”
A craving or impulse isn’t good or bad on its own. But if it repeatedly pulls you away from the person you want to become, it’s a sign you need to teach your body new instincts.
Rewiring the Compass
Jess eventually agreed to stick with a simple plan: move her body for 20 minutes a day, eat protein with every meal, and go to bed before midnight. Was this the ultimate goal? Of course not. But it was about recharting her course and committing to doable changes that she could master.
At first, everything felt wrong. She was tired, sore, and missed her comfort foods. But after three weeks, she noticed something: the soreness turned into strength, the sleep felt refreshing, and the healthy meals left her energized instead of bloated. For the first time, listening to her body helped her move forward — because she’d trained it to give her the right signals.
The Path Forward
Listening to your body isn’t about blind trust. It’s about building a relationship with your body worth listening to.
So before you take advice to “just listen,” remember: a broken compass won’t guide you home. But if you take time to recalibrate — to teach your body what it feels like to be nourished, rested, and strong — you’ll find your instincts can become your most powerful guide, not your greatest obstacle. -AB
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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
