💪Books & Biceps - Issue 173

Every Friday I write an email recommending books & workouts including exclusive interviews with the authors and trainers who wrote them. Get smarter & stronger for free.

BOOKS

The Lives of the Stoics by Ryan Holiday.

I’ve recommended several of Holiday’s books here, including The Obstacle is the Way and Ego is the Enemy. Both of those books are built on different facets of the ancient philosophy of Stoicism. This new book by Holiday is about the lives of the Stoics themselves, from Zeno to Epictetus, to Marcus Auerelius, Cato, Cicero and more.

If you’re into the Stoic philosophy at all, meaning, if you’re curious about how to live a life based on the pursuit of knowledge and reason, while working towards an ability to be immune to the swings of fortune and pain, then this is your book. Everyone from Patriots Coach Bill Belichick to record-setting podcaster Tim Ferriss to athletes and coaches all over the world swear by the Stoic principles.

This is a very interesting read about the lives of the men whose thousands-year-old thoughts have shaped some of our most impressive modern leaders. Check it out here.

BICEPS

Today we’re going to focus on recovery with my absolute favorite device: the dreaded, but oh-so-necessary, rumble roller. Part torture device, part Godsend, the rumble roller is a supremely hard foam roller with knobs on it that punish your muscles in all the right ways. This is what it looks like. 

I’ve had the back-to-back pairing of late night writing and a ton of physical work to do with an upcoming move (building boxes, loading boxes, carrying boxes, you know the drill) and the mid-afternoon rumble roll is second only to my pre-bed time rumble roll for loosening up, relaxing and otherwise de-stressing my muscles - particularly my back muscles. Here’s a short video routine you can start with for your upper back.

QUICK FLEXES

My old pals at Muscle & Fitness magazine asked me to put together a list of the All-Iron, All-Enforcer NBA Playoff Squad; guys like Anthony Mason and Xavier McDaniel and Rick Mahorn. Here’s the link for the rest of this bad ass team I assembled.

I’ve been having some fun placing the ‘1996’ book into classic ‘96 pop culture moments. For instance, you obviously remember the movie Jerry Maguire, but did you remember that Maguire kept a copy of ‘1996’ on his office desk right here?

QUOTE OF THE WEEK ON CREATIVITY

“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”

- Albert Einstein

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PS: Most importantly…

BUY YOUR COPY OF 1996 RIGHT NOW