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Boom! This is Books & Biceps #315!

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BOOKS

Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui

Second to being in the pool swimming, I love reading books about swimmers, swimming feats and almost any story with a unique and exciting angle on the sport. In past issues of B&B I’ve recommended Glenn Stout’s excellent, Young Woman and the Sea, which is part history of ocean swims and part adventure about Gertrude Ederle’s record-breaking crossing of the English Channel.

I recommended the outstanding Three-Year Swim Club by Julie Checkoway, which follows a group of poverty-stricken kids in Hawaii who began training in irrigation ditches and made it all the way to the Olympics.

And this week, if you love to swim at all, even if it’s just a few cannonballs and splashing with your kids at the town pool, I highly encourage you to read Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui. Bonnie is a bad ass swimmer in her own right, using the frigid waters of San Francisco Bay as her home training ground.

She’s swum in Iceland and Australia and Hawaii. And Why We Swim peels back the layers of why humans, from our earliest ancestors to now, are drawn to water. Why it comforts us and challenges us and in many ways heals us. Filled with insane stories of ocean survival, Arctic swimming feats, Samurai swimming and even training in a war zone in Baghdad, the book is loaded with action while also examining the spiritual and mental side of being the water.

In short, it’s great, which is why I was thrilled when Bonnie responded to my request to do a short Books & Biceps Q&A that gives us a behind-the-scenes peak into the writing of the book. Let’s get to it:

FINKEL: I loved how you chose the topics of each chapter to highlight the different ways swimming can define us - from the cultural with the Moken, to the societal with Guolauger and the individual with Kim Chambers and more. How did you choose what to focus on in each chapter? Did you have an idea before starting or did you uncover the path in your research?

Tsui: I spent a lot of time thinking about how to structure the book. The title, Why We Swim, poses a question, and the book is organized into five different ways we can answer that question:

Survival, Well-Being, Community, Competition, and Flow. The stories that I included all came from years of following my curiosity: people who told me about cool things that happened to them, news stories I read, studies I came across in my research. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but I wanted to allow for serendipity, too.

My personal favorite little moment in the book came when you finished the *Guolaugssund with an individual medley. I do something similar in my races. When I lived in Los Angeles I did the Hermosa Beach to Manhattan Beach Pier to Pier swim and I’d do butterfly the last 50 yards into shore.

You mention that you did it to show that you were in good form. I think that would be my answer.... But I also think I do it as a way to show the swim hasn’t beaten me. Maybe. Was that the only time you finished a swim with a flourish of strokes? Why do you do it as well?

Hah, I loved that you asked that! Mostly because I just love the I.M., and I really enjoy swimming all the strokes in display like that. Also it just feels really good.

You interviewed so many intriguing people in the book, many of whom accomplished insane feats in the water.

What was the one story that has stuck with you since writing the book that still boggles your mind and why?

Well, I can't help but point to the Icelandic fisherman Gudlaugur Fridthorsson*. He is a special friend of my family by now: I view him as an extraordinary human being who survived, who persevered through impossible, tragic circumstances and lived to tell -- but I also see him as Laugi, the kind, funny guy who knows how to win my kids over with a mountain of treats when we visit him in Iceland. He's a national treasure.

*This man survived 6 hours in 41-degree water after his boat sank, swimming several miles to shore, then trekked another three hours over frozen lava fields to find help. You have to read the full story in the book.

BUY WHY WE SWIM HERE

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BICEPS

When you have a home gym like my beloved Flex Factory, you have to get creative to keep things fresh. There’s only so many lifts you can do with barbells and dumbbells and no machines…

BUT…

From that creativity comes GAINZ…

And one of the dudes who is constantly pushing the envelope and coming up with new lifts is retired Pittsburgh Steelers star linebacker James Harrison. He was always a beast in football, with monster arms and menacing hits, but in his retirement he’s become a cool strength training guy to follow on Instagram.

He introduced me to this barbell shoulder press move a while back and I’ve made it a staple of my shoulder training. I like it because it combines strength and balance and incorporates supporting shoulder muscles, including your core. He calls it the ‘Boulder Werk Single Arm Barbell Press’.

Watch it here (and by the way, a 135 lb single shoulder barbell press is ludicrous):

QUICK FLEXES

I’ve recommended a bunch of Ryan Holiday’s books in this newsletter, from Ego is the Enemy to The Obstacle is the Way and more. Ryan’s newsletter is one of the few that I subscribe to and read nearly every issue of.

This week, he wrote a column that was near and dear to my heart, about how he picked up the hobby of swimming and tries to find phenomenal pools to swim in whenever he travels. I do the same thing as well.

The column, titled, The Hobby that Changed My Life, is about more than swimming in particular. It’s about finding that something, whatever it is for you, that adds joy and peace and fun to your life. For you it might be something totally different. Obviously, this one spoke to me, but read it, and find the hobby that will change your life.

Here’s the column, where he shares all of the pools he’s traveled the world to swim in, including this one, the famous Bondi Icebergs in Australia, which is on my all-time swimming bucket list:

After reading the article I wrote Ryan sharing one of my favorite pool travel discovery experiences that I’ll share with you as well:

Back when I was promoting my Charlie Ward biography I did a signing with him in his hometown of Thomasville, GA. Very small southern town. Lot of old plantations… When they were booking my travel I asked about local pools (you never know what you'll find.)… And the lady said "I have just the place"...

So they put me up in an old plantation turned into a bed and breakfast... and on the property they'd converted a 150-year-old greenhouse into a pool... one of the coolest places I've ever done laps:

Don’t miss this classic column:

STRONG LINKS:

1) Running sucks! But I make myself do it.

Lately, I’ve become interested in learning about the mechanics of running, prepping for races and more. This newsletter, The Rundown shares unique stories as well as stretches, nutrition tips and even cool upcoming races you might be interested in. You can join here.

2) Do you run a start-up?

Have you ever wondered what tools and tactics the best founders use? This newsletter, Big Desk Energy, gives you deep insight into the ins, outs, dos, don’ts and definitely don’ts when it comes to starting a company - all with a little humor involved. Check it out.

PS: You still reading Gus and Mallory? Thanks for getting through the whole thing! No skimming!

If you enjoy reading this newsletter every week, let’s spot each other, just like in the gym. Let’s consider my writing and sending each issue of Books & Biceps my spotting you the best books, interviews and meathead content around. Your spot to me is that you share this issue with ONE person who you think would like it.

That’s the deal. I spot you. You spot me. Thanks!

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