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BOOKS

Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man’s First Journey to the Moon

You’ve no doubt heard by now that a SpaceX rocket blew up this week after take off. Thankfully, it was unmanned.

The explosion got me thinking about one of the best books ever written on mankind’s quest to travel amongst the stars, Rocket Men by the great Robert Kurson.

While the story is ultimately about NASA’s triumph, it is set against the backdrop of epic and almost cataclysmic failures. In a frantic, pressure filled race to meet President Kennedy’s milestone to put humans on the moon before 1970, mistakes were made and lives were lost.

The book chronicles extraordinary men trying to do an extraordinary thing and overcoming disaster after disaster along the way. Matched up against Russia’s successful Sputnik launch, the real-time mocking of the program in the news was brutal. The press even began to nickname the failed rocket launches one by one: Kaputnik… Flopnik… Dudnik…

And yet, through guts and perseverance, NASA and the United States put astronauts on the moon before Russia. This is an educational, action-packed, awesome read.

BICEPS

For a few years in my late 20s, I sat across from Dr. Jim Stoppani in the Muscle & Fitness Magazine headquarters in Los Angeles every day. He had a cool office with random barbells and protein powders and biology and physiology diagrams on the wall… And I had a cubicle with a poster of Lou Ferrigno as the Incredible Hulk and a Nerf basketball hoop duct taped to one side.

Doc and I collaborated on dozens of articles over the years. I’d help with catchy hooks and goofy ideas and he’d be the brains behind the workouts... One time I proposed a diet plan called “Eat Like a Pig and Get Ripped” and Doc delivered. Ha. He’s got dozens of incredible workout plans but one of my all time favorites, especially before summer, is his famous “6 Weeks to Sick Arms” routine.

The whole routine is behind a paywall now, but if you’re just looking for a great arm day this is my favorite one in the program. He incorporates drop sets on the last rep of each set:

Close Grip Bench 3 sets of 6-8 reps

Seated Triceps Press 3 sets of 6-8

Triceps Press Down 3 sets of 6-8

Barbell Curl Heavy 3 sets of 3-5

Barbell Curl Wide Grip 3 sets of 6-8

Incline Dumbbell Curl 3 sets of 6-8

Preacher Curl 3 sets of 6-8

For more programs by Stoppani, check out his site here.

Quick Flexes

This is one of my all-time favorite sports memories. Enjoy:

And in case you were wondering what I looked like in my pre-meathead days:

🔥NEW REFERRAL BONUS🔥

Legendary martial artist Bruce Lee was a voracious reader. He studied his whole life and built an impressive personal library in a short period of time. Wherever he went, he'd have several books nearby. He often completed reading 2 or 3 books per month. I've adapted some of his easy techniques with habits that have worked for me.

No tricks. No gimmicks. No hacks. No tech.

Just 6 simple strategies that work to improve and increase your reading.

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Strong Links

🏋️If you’ve seen pictures of the Flex Factory, AKA, my garage gym, you know I’m a fan of Titan Fitness equipment. It’s durable as hell. It lasts forever. And it looks cool. Amazingly, through the magic of Books & Biceps, I’ve been in touch with them and they’ve made me a partner. Incredible, right?

Right now they have the exact power rack I have in my garage gym on sale. You can check it out here.

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Thank you all for reading.

Have a great weekend! - Jon