Books & Biceps is the only weekly e-mail that combines reading recommendations, exclusive workouts, fascinating stories & more…

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BOOKS

The Professional by W.C. Heinz

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 over 60 years ago, in 1958

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, how’s this?

When the book debuted, he 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.

In addition to sharing new books you may not know are coming out and personal favorites, one of the reasons I started writing Books & Biceps was to share books with you that you didn’t know about - but that I’m confident you’ll love. This is one of them.

It’s 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 this.

BICEPS

I like to post cool pictures from my swims like this one from last night:

Whenever I post about swimming, a couple DMs will always trickle in that sound like this: “awesome, Finkel. I’ve wanted to start swimming again, I just don’t know where to start.”

I hear this more around the New Year and I’m always happy to help.

If you’re thinking of starting a swimming routine (and you already know how to swim at least a basic freestyle) then this is what you need:

Goggles. Swim Suit. Lap pool (Google ‘lap pools near me’ and check the times).

Now here’s an easy starter workout that you can cut in half or double depending on what level you’re beginning with:

Beginner Swimmer Pyramid Workout

Note: beginners often get tripped up converting swimming yardage to laps (50s, 100s, 200s, etc…) Some dorks quibble about the difference between a length and lap, but when most of us say ‘lap’ we mean one way down the pool, so that’s what we’re going with.

Warm-Up: 2-4 Laps

Main Set : 2 laps, 4 laps, 6 laps, 8 laps, 8 laps, 6 laps, 4 laps, 2 laps (1 min. b/w sets)

1100 yards total you're on your way🏊‍♂️🏊‍♂️🏊‍♂️

And like I said, if that seems like A TON of swimming, cut it in half:

1 lap, 2 laps, 3 laps, 4 laps, 4 laps, 3 laps, 2 laps, 1 lap

If you’re just starting out and you try this, reply to this e-mail and let me know how it goes.

QUICK FLEXES

My son earned his yellow belt in Taekwondo this week and I loved this comment by his instructor:

“Everything we do in life we start as a white belt. The yellow belt signifies that not only did you try something new, you stuck with it. You worked hard. And you improved.”

I also took this bad ass photo:

And since I recommended a boxing book earlier, I also loved this thread by my friend, Ed Latimore, an ex-heavyweight fighter:

5 Things You Learn if You’re Dumb Enough to Pick a Street Fight with a Trained Fighter

You should also follow Ed on Twitter. Great dude and his writing is philosophical, funny and sharp.

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Have a great weekend! - Jon