Books & Biceps is the only weekly e-mail that combines reading recommendations, exclusive workouts, short biographies of fascinating people, dad highlights & more…

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BOOKS

Early this summer I recommended the novel Heat 2 by Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner. Michael Mann, obviously, I’d heard of from his movies. Meg Gardiner, incredibly, I hadn’t. Gardiner is an Edgar-winning thriller writer who has received praise from just about every icon in the thriller/mystery/detective space. Stephen King. Lee Child. Janet Evanovich. Don Winslow. The parade of heavy hitters who love her work goes on and on…

I’ve been reading a ton of biographies and non-fiction lately. Lots of athlete stuff and because of the Macho Man biography, lots of wrestling. I wanted to get a fast-paced fiction book to switch things up and after checking out a few titles by Gardiner, I settled on this one: The Dark Corners of the Night.

The who’s who of endorsements helped… And so did the plot about an investigation into The Midnight Man, a psychotic murderer haunting Los Angeles. Also, this cover kinda scared the shit out of me:

The book reads like the downslope of a roller coaster and it’s set in Los Angeles, which I love. If you like thrillers and detective stories, this is one of the coolest I’ve found. You can buy it here.

BICEPS

My weekly workout breakdown is basically lift, swim, lift, swim, lift/hoops, swim…

Over time, lots of people have written me to say they just started swimming or they want to start swimming. I love it. The more swimmers the better… It’s arguably the best exercise you can do along with strength training.

I posted this sprint workout that just about anybody with a decent swim background can do. If you’re really moving and keeping your rest to a minimum, it shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes. If you rest more between sets, which is fine, then it could be 45 minutes:

1-mile speed work set:

600 alternate 50 sprint / 50 easy

6 x 100 sprints

6 x 50 sprints

6 x 25 sprints

cool down

QUICK FLEXES

ONE

Speaking of swimming, this house was posted on Zillow on Wednesday. It’s for $1.35 million in Indiana. Someone converted an old community clubhouse into a giant single family home with… I think… the greatest backyard pool of all time…

6 full-sized lanes. starting blocks. racing lines. jacuzzi. it’s GLORIOUS:

TWO

After I announced my new Macho Man project, lots of people wrote and asked what it’s like to start a major biography like this… So I put together a thread:

100% of people who start their 1st non-fiction book have never written one before.

My 1st book (11 years ago!) I didn't know what the hell I was doing.

Now Macho Man's biography will be my 10th.

Here are 9 non-digital, old school tips & tools to save you a TON of time: READ IT HERE.

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Have a great weekend! - Jon