Boom! This is Books & Biceps #318!

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BOOKS

Werewolf Lawyer - A Thomas Atwell Legal Thriller by Shea Serrano

I don’t keep a running list of how many books I’ve recommended from individual authors in the 300+ issues of Books & Biceps I’ve sent, but if I did, Shea Serrano would be in the Top 10 for sure. I know I recommended Basketball and Other Things and Movies and Other Things and I recommended Action Hero Scouting Report in Issue #258 right here (including an interview with Shea about, you guessed it: action movies).

As an author, one of my favorite things about Shea is that in addition to cranking out traditionally published books, with hardcovers and press tours and long release dates, he also puts out passion projects that are awesome under his own imprint: Halfway Books.

These books are equally as entertaining and well-written, but they’re often shorter or more unique or they simply explore an idea Shea has that he wants to put out under his own imprint. (This is exactly what I do with Meathead Media, by the way. The Dadvantage, Jocks-in-Chief, Meathead Movie Workouts, etc…)

Shea’s most recent Halfway Books release came out this week and it’s awesome. It’s called Werewolf Lawyer and it’s about, yes, a lawyer who defends werewolves because in the world of the book, people are suddenly turning into werewolves.

First, a small amount, then a few more, then a few more and over the course of several years there are now almost ten thousand werewolves living among us.

Some commit crimes. This is where Thomas Atwell comes in.

Is this an absurd premise? Sure. But just about every unique, memorable movie or book has an absurd premise… but the beauty of stories based on absurdity is that when a talented author takes them seriously, they’re as entertaining as it gets.

I even love the tagline for this book: When you have an unwinnable case… you need an unbeatable lawyer.

Shea clearly did a lot of research on the law (well, courtroom procedurals at least haha) and of course werewolves. Another cool thing he did was sprinkle mock newspaper stories throughout the book, adding to the “Trial of the Century” feel. Also, the book is 100 pages and rolls by. This is a really clever, fun read. You’ll enjoy this one.

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BICEPS

It should shock nobody that Rob Gronkowski has a gym of his own called the Gronk Zone. Now, as someone who takes great pride in home gym names (hell, I even made my own line of Flex Factory clothing and the Flex Factory is just my garage gym) I think the name could use some work.

I’d have gone with simply “Gronk’s”.

It’s cleaner. More memorable. More personal.

Either way, this fitness YouTuber named Jesse James West, who I’ve never heard of but of course has 5.5M followers, recently worked out with Gronk at his gym.

The workout was mildly interesting as JJW (as I now call him) was put through an NFL lifting workout - basic stuff that the big guys in the NFL train with.

More interesting to me was the gym itself. I loved that it had an entire wall that paid homage to his dad, the father of the five Gronk boys who got them into their meathead ways. They call him “The Creator”. The walls are also covered with the other stats and feats of the Gronk boys… The video is worth checking out for a behind the scenes look at his gym, but you can definitely speed through the 20 minutes like I did because JJW’s questions are annoying haha.

QUICK FLEXES

Last week we had a poll asking the B&B Crew how many pull-ups they think they could do in 24 hours. Here’s the results:

Now, the votes were anonymous, but I’d LOVE to hear from the 3 of you who said you could do either 1,000+ or 2,500+. Seriously. DM me. Mostly curious about how you’d game plan this and maybe we can do a challenge.

I’m wondering if I could do 1,000+. I feel like 500 is very doable over the whole day.

Basically 50 an hour for 10 hours. Or 5 every ten minutes, which seems okay.

But 1,000???? That seems nuts

The International Swimming Hall of Fame Pool Tour

Whenever I have to travel for a meeting (long distance or not) I do two things:

1) Google the address

2) Google nearby pools

Yesterday, I got to work out at swimming nirvana, AKA, the International Swimming Hall of Fame and Fort Lauderdale Aquatics Complex.

They have three pools: long course 50 meters, short course 25 meters and short course 25 yards… all next to $50 million yachts on the intracoastal. I knocked out a 3,000 meter swim in these pristine waters. (NOTE: Long course 200 IM repeats are brutal. You really miss the flip turns in the middle!).

I have a Masters meet here in November. Can’t wait.

BONUS: WATCH MY QUICK 30-SECOND TOUR OF THE FACILITY HERE

THANK YOU ALL!

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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!

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