I swear I’m not being paid by Arnold Schwarzenegger, although that would be super cool, but I’m here to talk about The Pump app.
On Sunday, Arnold sent an email out to the newsletter subscribers that an app was coming, and it was limited to the first 5,000 signups. The idea behind The Pump app is to create a positive fitness community that caters to people in all areas of fitness from beginners to bodybuilders. Arnold is going to be hands on with it, and while there is a membership cost, it’s going towards building a better second version of the app and maintaining the community. So, I guess this would be considered a beta preview of the app as a way to raise money and gauge interest.
The newsletters have been great and pivotal in keeping me motivated (as I keep talking about on here), I knew I wanted to try out The Pump app. I set my alarm early to make sure I was awake when the emails usually come, but it didn’t come on time. Instead of 6:10 AM, it came at 7:30 AM, and the invite to the app didn’t come till around noon. I tried to sign up within seconds of receiving the email, but there were a few technical difficulties. Luckily, it was all sorted out within a couple of hours, and I made my way into the app to make a difficult decision, what subscription do I want to pay for?
The annual subscription is $99. That includes the community, written articles by Arnold and his team, as well as customized workouts with videos from Arnold and his team plus more to come in the future. That seemed reasonable enough for an app with this content, but as part of the pre-launch, they also had 2,000 lifetime access passes that will only be available for the preview. The lifetime access was $249 and included some other perks such as:
-A free weekend pass to the 2024 Arnold Classic
-A special meet and greet with Arnold at the 2024 Arnold Classic
-A motivational conversation with Arnold via Zoom
-A Pump Club Founding Member t-shirt
It took me a while to make a decision, but after a discussion with my wife I decided to go with the lifetime. It was a bit risky, and the app isn’t perfect at this moment, but some of those perks were just too good to pass up.
The app itself is a bit clunky, and I’m excited that this is sort of a beta project. The articles and content are top notch, like expanded versions of the newsletter’s articles, and the workout videos vary from good-to-great. They have a very homemade feel to them, which is not something I was expecting, but in a way I like. It doesn’t feel sanitized or inauthentic. It’s like, “Here is how to do an incline push up” and they do it. They don’t spend too much time explaining or showing off, it’s quick and informational the way it should be.
The biggest complaint I have is the social aspect. After each post, you can leave comments or Pump someone up (a version of the Like button) but there is no way to see if someone responded to you or to even find your own comments. You have a profile page, but there is no way for someone to see your profile at this time. There’s no inbox, so it feels a bit empty. I spent over five minutes trying to track down my first comment just to see if someone responded and even if someone had, I had no way to directly contact them back. I’m sure this will be corrected soon enough.
I decided to go with a beginner bodyweight program called The Foundation: Starting from Scratch and completed my first workout. I liked the graphic I was given afterward, and the app does a good job at helping you with the workout. It’s has built in timers, rest periods, and quick access to the videos, and I’m sure most workout apps have these things, but workouts designed by Arnold and his team are the selling point here, along with the videos.
I’ll admit, after doing the Bodyweight Primer course, this workout was a bit tough. It had me squatting more than I was used to, and my legs feel like Jell-O today. It didn’t require any equipment, was organized well, and I felt like it was a great first workout. So far, I am very satisfied with the workout designed.
I’m happy with my purchase. I look forward to seeing the community aspect develop a bit more and I’m hoping groups and stuff will take shape within the app. I’m also hoping the promise of no trolls is upheld through heavy moderation, because as strange it may seem, I’ve seen some terrible folks on some calorie counting apps. I’d like to think the price of admission will keep most of them out.
I’m not completely sure what the plan is for the social aspect, but I’m hoping if it does turn into something a bit more like a social media platform, it isn’t dominated by photos of food, which most fitness app seems to be these days. I’m all for sharing a new meal or something you made healthy, but I really don’t want to see every meal and snack you eat all day long.
From the comments, it sounds like The Pump is going to evolve a bunch, including smart watch integration, and all the normal features of fitness apps. I’m super excited to be here from the beginning and I’m really hoping I can utilize this app to become healthier and stronger. Now, I just got to start planning to head to Columbus, Ohio next year for the Arnold Classic!
I’m glad you’re enjoying the new app so far. I hope it co to use to evolve in the direction you’d like to see it go.
Something you said in another post where you talked about advice from Arnold…you quoted him as saying something to the effect of eat stuff your grandmother would recognize. A few weeks back, I started converting to clean eating. I’m not someone who likes to waste food , so it’s a gradual change as I finish off food stuff that was already on hand. But I’m at about 70% clean eating now, and I’m already starting to feel changes. I just feel better in general.
Gone are the pop tarts and eggos for breakfast, and in their place are bananas, apples, and natural peanut butter. Salads for lunch has been a nice change too. Real cheese, hard boiled eggs, and nuts have snacks covered. And as soon as the bad food is gone, veggies and fresh meat will be on the plate for dinner.
Don’t skip that piece of advice from Arnold. It’s working for me.
That’s awesome man! Good for you!
Yea it’s amazing what some small changes in diet can do for how ya feel as well as your energy levels. I’m eating much healthier as well and it’s been wonderful so far.