Starting with the Pump Club

I have joined the Pump Club. It is a newsletter and app from Arnold Schwarzenegger. He shares tips on fitness, nutrition, and health. The goal is to help people build better habits. I like how it keeps things simple and fun.

I took the fitness test right away. Arnold calls it the Arnold Fitness Tests. You can do it at home with no special tools. It checks your strength, balance, and mobility. The tests are push-ups, dumbbell hold for grip strength, one-leg stand, and sit-to-stand. They link to health markers like heart risk and longevity.

Push-Ups and Heart Health

The push-up test sees how many you can do in a row. It measures upper body strength and heart fitness. A study looked at over 1,100 firefighters. Men who did more than 40 push-ups had a much lower risk of heart problems over 10 years.

Those who did fewer than 10 had higher risks. This work came from Harvard in 2019. It shows push-ups can hint at heart health better than some other tests.

Study about Push-up capacity linked with lower incidence of future cardiovascular disease events among men.

Grip Strength and Risk of Death

The dumbbell hold tests grip. You hold weights as long as you can. Grip strength ties to overall health. A big review of studies from 2015 covered 140,000 people in 17 countries. Weak grip linked to higher chances of death from any cause, up to 67 percent more for the weakest group. It also raised risks for heart issues. Experts see grip as a sign of aging and frailty.

Study about Grip Strength, a Powerful Predictor of Mortality and Fall Risk.

One-Leg Stand and Long Life

The one-leg stand asks you to balance on each leg for 10 seconds. It checks balance and nerve control. A 2022 study followed over 1,700 adults aged 51 to 75. Those who could not do it had almost twice the risk of death from any cause over seven years. Balance drops with age. This test spots early signs of decline.

Mayo Clinic study, what standing on one leg can tell you.

Sit-to-Stand and Aging

The sit-to-stand test has you rise from the floor without hands. It looks at lower body power and flexibility. A 2025 study found low scores predict higher risks of death from natural or heart causes. Earlier work from 2012 showed people who needed help were five to six times more likely to die soon. It marks how fast you age in function.

Study about Sitting–rising, test scores predict natural and cardiovascular causes of deaths in middle-aged and older men and women.

Join the club

Join the Pump Club today. Use my referral code XUHLSD. Arnold Schwarzenegger runs this group. It gives you daily tips on fitness, food, and health. The newsletter costs nothing. You get a free workout each week.