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Today’s Health Upgrade

• A scientific analysis of Arnold’s morning routine

• The stress supplement that helps sexual health

• Do women have different protein needs than men?

Fact Or Fiction
Did Arnold Give Bad Advice About His Early Morning Coffee? 

Yesterday, Arnold wrote a column about building your “anchor.” And he mentioned how his anchor starts with coffee. Once he drinks it, his morning routine — which includes a bike ride and workout — feels automatic. 

Many of you emailed to point out a concern: you’d heard on a popular podcast that you need to wait at least 1.5 to 2 hours before having coffee. And you were worried that starting your day with coffee would do harm.

First of all, this is Arnold’s habit, not a published study. It’s worked for him for decades, and it’s hard to argue with the results. So there’s no need for him to adjust it.

However, just because something works for one person doesn’t mean it’s scientifically sound. 

But in this case, the concerns about early morning caffeine are misleading, and if you’re delaying your coffee, you might not be getting the benefits you think.

The promise is that by delaying coffee, you can manage cortisol and manipulate a signaling molecule (called adenosine) to prevent the afternoon crash. It sounds smart because it starts with real biology. The problem is what happens next.

Research suggests your afternoon slump is not a hangover from your morning coffee.

Adenosine is the molecule that piles up while you're awake and makes you feel sleepy, and it really is near its lowest first thing in the morning because sleep clears it. That part is right. The leap is assuming you need to wait for it to "finish clearing." It already cleared overnight.

If anything, the morning is when there's the least adenosine around for caffeine to block, which arguably makes that first cup the least harmful.

The crash story breaks for the same reason. Caffeine doesn't dam adenosine up behind a wall that bursts open later. It competes for the same receptors and then washes out, with a half-life of roughly five to seven hours. 

By mid-afternoon, you're sitting in the ordinary circadian dip that hits everyone around then, carrying the real adenosine load of a long day awake, while your morning caffeine fades. 

If you want to drink your coffee when you first wake (like Arnold), based on a very thorough review, there's no good evidence that morning coffee causes the slump or that delaying it prevents one.

Then there's the cortisol question.

The cortisol awakening response is a sharp surge that peaks about half an hour after you open your eyes. Caffeine does nudge it higher; one study measured a bump of roughly a third above placebo. 

But waiting to drink coffee doesn’t meaningfully affect cortisol. And maybe more importantly, research suggests in regular coffee drinkers the cortisol response blunts or disappears over time. 

If you want to use basic logic, consider this: a hard morning workout produces a cortisol rise, and nobody tells you to skip your sunrise lift to protect your hormones.

There is one reason to wait, and it has nothing to do with your health. If delaying coffee feels better for you or gives you more of a jolt, then do what works for you.

Just as Arnold built his cup of coffee not around science but around what helped his mornings become automatic. 

So put the timer away, don’t overthink, and drink your coffee when it actually fits your routine.

On Our Radar 
Is This Stress Supplement Also Good For Sexual Health?

Ashwagandha has a reputation as a stress-support supplement. But a new study suggests there might be another reason to consider the popular adaptogen. 

In a randomized, placebo-controlled trial, men taking ashwagandha daily for 8 weeks reported significant improvements in sexual desire and erectile function.

Men between 30 and 50 — all experiencing mild-to-moderate erectile dysfunction — were assigned to either ashwagandha or a matched placebo for 8 weeks. Those taking ashwagandha showed positive changes across the primary measurements of sexual health and function.

Interestingly, the researchers didn’t point to testosterone as the reason. Those numbers moved in the right direction but didn't reach statistical significance. 

The plausible explanation might be tied to ashwagandha's more established relationship with stress management.

Chronic stress is a well-documented disruptor of sexual function, and reducing that physiological load may create conditions where things improve.

That said, this was just 76 men, all of whom already had baseline dysfunction and were seeking clinical help. Whether these benefits extend to other men and to a larger population remains an open question that requires additional research.

That said, this is not the first study to suggest ashwagandha can support sexual health, so the signal is consistent with earlier research.

The study used a standardized dose of 600 mg of ashwagandha. As with all supplements, just make sure you’re taking a third-party verified supplement to ensure potency and safety.

If you're already using ashwagandha for stress, this adds an interesting layer to consider.

Fact or Fiction 
Do Women Get Less Out of Their Protein Than Men?

It's an old assumption dressed up as biology: men have testosterone, so women's bodies turn protein into muscle differently. If you've ever treated your training as a rigged game because of it, or if you’re not sure of how much protein you need, this one's worth a few minutes.

After a hard workout, women build new muscle protein at the same rate as men, even though men's testosterone levels are approximately 45 times higher in the hour afterward.

Researchers had men and women complete a single bout of heavy resistance exercise, then drink 25 grams of whey protein. Using an infused amino acid tracer and muscle biopsies, they measured the rate at which your body weaves new protein into muscle (also known as muscle protein synthesis). 

The men's post-workout testosterone was significantly more than the women's. But here’s the part that matters: the muscle-building response didn't follow it. Synthesis rose just as much in the women, despite the lower testosterone.

Testosterone gets the credit as the master switch for muscle, but that’s not what matters most (and it’s not even close). 

The mechanical tension you create when you perform resistance training exercise and the amino acids from your meals flip on a signaling pathway inside the muscle itself.

The pathway for growth first answers to the work you do and how close you train to failure, and then your nutrition supports that process. It’s not dictated by the hormones in your bloodstream. 

Testosterone behaves more like horsepower that builds over the years, which is part of why men carry more total muscle to begin with. But the body responds to muscle building in the same way.

And it’s not just that one study, either.

A meta-analysis of randomized trials found that pairing more protein with resistance training improves strength regardless of gender. 

And a 2025 meta-analysis on muscle growth found that women's relative gains remain close to men's. While men edge ahead in absolute size, the percentage gain from each person's starting point comes out nearly even. 

In other words, a smaller body needs fewer grams, not a different target for its size. 

A workable range for anyone is about 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or roughly 0.55 to 0.7 grams per pound. And some studies suggest, depending on your activity levels, that you might see benefits up to 2.2 g/kg (about 1g/lb of body weight), but those levels aren’t necessary for growth.

If you need a place to start, focus on including roughly 25 to 40 grams of protein at each meal, and lift weights with intensity and a good program at least 2-3 times a week. 

The Positive Corner of The Internet
About Arnold’s Pump Club Editorial Standards

We do things a bit differently here, starting with transparency.

1. The Content: All APC emails are researched, written, and fact-checked by the APC editors (see bottom of the email), with written contributions from Arnold (noted with “Arnold’s Corner”). Links take you to original studies (not second-hand sources).

2. Does AI play a role? Not for the primary content, but it is used in two ways. The main items are original content written by the APC team. The summaries at the end are AI-generated based on the human-written content above. We also use an AI tool to review our interpretations of the research and ensure scientific accuracy. We don’t assume AI is right, but we use technology to hold ourselves accountable.

3. Yes, we have partners (all clearly noted by “Together With”). Why? Because it allows us to keep the APC emails free. We first test products, and then reach out to potential partners who offer ways to help you improve every day. The bar is set high, and to date, we have turned down millions in ad deals. (Example: we will not partner with any non-certified supplements or those without evidence in human trials). If we won’t buy the product, we won’t recommend it to you. And if there’s no evidence it works, then there’s no place for it here.

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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger​

Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell