Welcome to the 188 brilliant meatheads who joined our Books & Biceps crew this week. That’s triple digit newcomers four weeks in a row. Love it and we’re pumped to have you!

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BOOKS

The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created – Jane Leavy

One hundred years before Shohei Ohtani became a pitching/hitting sensation, we had Babe Ruth on the Red Sox. Dominant pitcher. Power hitter. Like nobody we’d ever seen.

In 1916 he was 23-12 as a starting pitcher with a league leading .175 ERA. In 1917 he was 24-13 with .201 ERA. In 1918, he was 13-7 with a .222 ERA.

By 1919, his last year with Boston, he was pitching less because he became the best hitter in baseball, leading the league in home runs and RBI (29 and 113) while batting .322.

So, yeah, before Ohtani, there was Ruth.

In 2023, far too often the Babe is just a name we throw out. A reference point for greatness without a true understanding of just how great he was.

If you’re interested in learning, I can’t recommend Jane Leavy’s biography, The Big Fella, enough.

I should also mention that when it comes to Jane Leavy writing biographies, I’m essentially a fanboy.

Acclaimed writer Jonathan Eig said it best: “Jane Leavy could write the biography of a tube of toothpaste and I’d be first in line to buy it.” I do not disagree with this statement.

Leavy is, I think, a writing genius. If Babe Ruth interests you at all, even if you’ve read other Ruth bios, I’d suggest you grab this book. Not only did he revolutionize baseball, but he completely transformed the concept of celebrity and endorsements and sports superstardom. Every single modern icon, from Tiger to LeBron to Serena to Brady owes Ruth.

And there are so many excellent stories in here about the real Ruth: with women, with drinking, with food, with baseball, with Cuban con men who hustled him out of $100,000+ in a single trip. A near perfect biography.

BONUS READ:

Dart Adams is an excellent writer, sports/music encyclopedia and reps Boston like just about nobody else. We’ve become friends over the years and this weekend he posted an incredible feature on Celtics legend Reggie Lewis.

If you weren’t an NBA fan in the 90s or you’re not from Boston, you may not know that Reggie was a young Celtics star poised to be the face of the team after Larry Bird retired. Unfortunately, he passed away at the dawn of what was going to be “The Reggie Lewis Era” for the Celts.

Dart’s piece, titled, “Reggie’s Last Game” is a deep dive on Lewis, his importance to Boston, what he represented and what we lost after his tragic death. A must read for NBA fans, Celtics fans and fans of great sportswriting.

BICEPS

I came up with a fun (tough) superset in the Flex Factory this week and wanted to share it.

It’s a shoulder superset with sprints in the middle. These two movements aren’t typically combined but I liked it because you get a little cardio/HIIT leg workout mixed in with a high rep shoulder day.

And it’s better than just meandering around the gym between sets.

Here’s how it shakes out:

The Flex Factory Shoulder Sprint Superset

Do one right after the other:

1 set of 12 reps standing dumbbell shoulder press

1 set of 10 reps barbell upright row

2 × 50 yard sprints (10 seconds between)

1 minute rest

5 supersets

This took me about 20 minutes to complete. I was drenched in sweat and my shoulders burned. Perfect!

Quick Flexes

I’ve always been a huge fan of Duke Kahanamoku. You will be too:

After nearly a year of writing my Macho Man biography, I have gone full Randy Savage:

🔥PLEASE SHARE, I’LL SEND YOU COOL STUFF🔥

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.

Here’s how to get this guide for free:

All you have to do is SHARE THIS e-mail with whoever you think would like it using your unique referral link below. 14 people got it last week:

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

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