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Boom! This is Books & Biceps #327!

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BOOKS

The Professional by W.C. Heinz

Setting aside the record viewing numbers for the Tyson vs. Logan Paul event, the fight itself sucked and was the worst of what boxing can offer. If you’re looking for the best of what boxing can offer from a literary perspective, I am recommending this masterpiece of a book, The Professional.

Now, I know that most of you have never heard of this slightly obscure, but incredibly brilliant boxing novel. And that’s understandable. It was the debut book from journalist W.C. Heinz almost 70 years ago, in 1958. But that’s why I’m here. That’s why Books & Biceps exists. To showcase books you don’t know about that you should definitely read.

Heinz was a war correspondent and sportswriter and even though the name doesn’t ring a bell for you, he was a master wordsmith in the 50s, 60s and 70s. He won the E.P. Dutton Award for “Best Magazine Story of the Year” 5 times.

He’s also in the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame and the Boxing Hall of Fame as a journalist.

If that’s not enough resume padding, check this out:

When the book debuted, Heinz received two congratulatory notes upon its publication: one from Elmore Leonard and the other from Ernest Hemingway, who said it was “the only good novel I’ve ever read about a fighter.”

So. Yeah. You’ve never heard of him but the man was a brilliant writer, which brings me back to his debut book.

The Professional is a story about focus. About goals. About desire. About self sabotage and self reflection. About what it takes to win. And lose.

You’ll root for the boxer, Eddie Brown. And you’ll curse and enjoy the hell out of his trainer, Doc Carroll, who hates the advent of boxing on TV and boxer’s families and every distraction under the sun.

I’ve gifted this book several times and it never disappoints. If you like boxing and Hemingway and perfect prose along with a brilliant character study and storyline, you should read it.

BICEPS

If one of your goals in 2025 is to get super strong, then you should start following my buddy Jeromy Bryk of the Bryk Squad.

I really enjoyed his article this week called the Trifecta of a Freaky Strong Lifter. While I’ve been personally trying to figure out how to balance strength/power in the weight room with speed and agility in the pool, the principles that Jeromy discusses about how to get strong hold regardless of your personal goals.

This is one of my favorite lines from his article:

“The best lifters out there are bull strong, with precision technique and JACKED.”

This is a fast read that covers the basics of what you’ll need to work on to truly upgrade your strength. Whether your goal is to bench 300 or squat 400 or deadlift 500 in 2025, give this a read for some great tips and strategies.

QUICK FLEXES

After 3 months of training and nearly 30 years between swim meets… I made my triumphant return to competition this past weekend!

You can even watch my 100 fly here:

Man, what a day! I couldn’t be more pumped about how I did at the Florida Masters Invitational…

The highlight of the day has to be taking the GOLD in the 100-meter butterfly for 45+...

Yeah, that’s right, gold, baby! First place.

When I first joined a team to train seriously in August I did a bunch of baseline swims, one of which was the 100 meter fly, which I finished in 1:20 and my arms almost fell off. About two weeks ago I did one at the end of practice when I was feeling good and hit 1:12. Not bad, but not nearly where I wanted to be at… My goal was to hit my first 50 in 30 seconds or under and I was stuck around 33/34…

After a light taper and week of just bodyweight lifting, it worked… I went out in 30 seconds on Sunday and came home in 36 (a biiig drop I need to fix haha) but finished in 106 to come in 1st for my age group and win a blue ribbon like back in the day. I have so much room for improvement but it felt awesome.

I also took 3rd for 45+ in the 100-meter freestyle and the 3rd in the 50-meter backstroke.

It was a long, exhausting day with all the warm-ups and cool downs and races, but it was phenomenal. My daughter came down for a quick overnight trip and cheered me on with my parents who hadn’t seen me swim competitively since my high school Speedo days. Back 25 pounds ago when your boy weighed a trim 175 haha.

My main takeaway is that it’s fine to train to “stay in shape” - I did it for years, but I swear, once you start training for something big: a meet, a triathlon, powerlifting, marathon, 5k, whatever you’re into… If you were a competitive athlete in HS or college, the juices start flowing again and race day or game day rules. Your practices and lifts gain intensity. Everything turns up a notch and it’s much more gratifying. Get back into it. You won’t regret it.

STRONG LINKS

1) KNEES OVER TOES

This is the EXACT workout I’m using to cure my longstanding low back pain, along with my longtime pathetic mobility and flexibility. The program is called Knees Over Toes. I’ve been doing it for 3 weeks and the results have been remarkable for me. My tight hip pain has disappeared and my low back pain has gone from a constant five down to a two. Doesn’t even hurt to bend and put on socks and shoes, haha.

If you’d like to sign up, please USE THIS LINK FOR BOOKS & BICEPS READERS.

2) MIDLIFE MALE

If you’re a dude over 40 and you used to read Men’s Health or Esquire or GQ, and you’re looking for a digital magazine to get you on top of your game and keep you on top of your game, with incredible A-List interviews (Troy Aikman, Don Saladino, Gunnar Peterson and more), original columns and a curated list of weekly items second-to-none, subscribe to Midlife Male Magazine.

I’ve been helping build this publication from the ground up and it’s the magazine I used to wish existed - and now it does:

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In fact, one of our course members just landed his first piece and wrote me:

4) Readers always ask me what supplements I take or what post/pre-workout I use.

I’ve been using the same brand since they launched about a decade ago: Jym Supplements. I’ve known the owner and founder for fifteen years and it’s the best tasting, highest quality stuff around. Try my favorite pre-workout (Blue Arctic Freeze) and protein powder (S’mores) here.

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