Arnold’s Corner
Monday Motivation: What Are You Waiting For? |
If you’ve been part of Arnold’s Pump Club for a while, you know how I feel about waiting for January 1 to set a big vision. And if you’re new, I don’t believe in waiting for anything to happen. You must go after what you want, and that starts with a clear vision. |
I love that so many of you set big goals and visions on January 1, but many of you probably haven’t checked in. So let’s do a little progress report. |
Three-quarters of 2024 are almost behind us. Have you moved closer to your goals? Has your vision become a little bit more real? |
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I hear from people who want to lose weight, from people who want to learn languages, from people who want to start a fitness routine, and from people who want to read more. |
Some of you tell me you want to be more present with your family, lose 30 pounds, eat more vegetables, or wake up earlier. |
I love hearing from so many people about how you just want to be a little better every day. It’s the best part of having a daily newsletter with almost a million members of this little village. |
But now it’s time to get real. You have had almost 8 months of 2024 to work on your vision. |
How is it going? Are you kicking ass and doing what you wanted to do? Or are your wants still just wants? |
Be honest with yourself. It’s OK. You aren’t alone if you haven’t accomplished what you wanted so far. |
But before you get down on yourself, you’ve got a little more than four months to turn the ship around and start doing instead of wanting. |
You need to be brutally honest. What’s held you back from what you wanted to do? |
Look in the mirror. |
Thousands of people are also looking in their mirrors right now, realizing they’re holding themselves back. |
Yes, I know your schedule might be busy, your family might have needs, and your boss might be working you to exhaustion. |
But you knew all those things when you said you wanted to do what you aren’t doing now. |
The reality is change is unbelievably hard. Our minds and bodies love the comfort of the status quo. |
Change requires the discomfort of doing things differently. It requires doing things in a way you aren’t familiar with. |
If you think it’s going to be all fun and games, you’re in for a rude awakening. |
But you set the goal. You wanted it. So right now, not January 1, and not the first of the month, I want you to recommit. |
What can you do for 5 or 10 or 30 minutes every day for the next 4 months to get you closer to your vision? Because that’s what it takes. That’s the difference between success and failure. |
And it’s time to realize success is within reach if you choose to commit. It’s time to stop wanting and start doing. |
All It Takes Is One |
The rules of exercise are rapidly evolving. If you think you need to live in the gym to change your health dramatically, you’re underestimating how well the human body responds to a little resistance. |
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Scientists studied what happens when untrained adults between 30 and 60 commit to six weeks of low-dose strength training. Unlike many complicated, long workouts, the participants performed just five sets of five reps of a lower body exercise — and that was it. |
After only six weeks of training, the researchers found improvements in the following: |
 Leg press strength
6-minute walk test time
Body fat
Muscle
Strength-to-body weight ratio
Sit-to-stand test |
Despite the short workouts, the participants increased their quality of life and desire to continue exercising. |
Often, the worst way to start a program is by making it so complicated and hard that it’s difficult to build a habit. Instead, if you want to create positive behavioral change and a routine that lasts, make it so easy that it’s hard to fail. |
Establishing consistency will positively affect your body, and then it’s easier to add more time or complexity to your routine (if you want). But even just one day per week, you’ll see tremendous differences, which can be the first domino leading to other healthy habits. |
