You are reading Books & Biceps #280!

Welcome to the 107 new sophisticated meatheads joining us this week.

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BOOKS

Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 by Michael Capuzzo

I write in three main spots: my house, a local coffee shop a mile from my house and a Barnes & Noble about ten minutes away.

Like most Barnes & Nobles ours has a Starbucks coffee shop tucked into one side with a large seating area filled with tables. When it comes to writing, I’m a creature of habit.

I’ll typically walk into BN, cruise around the store and browse for a bit, then I’ll grab a small black coffee and sit at the same one or two tables every time, both way off to the left, making sure I only have people on one side of me and nothing but books on the other.

In this case, the coffee shop juts out into the Natural Science and Wilderness section. I like it. When my eyes wander up from my screen I see book covers with everything from wolves and giant squid to volcanoes, vultures and there’s one about a parrot and a scientist becoming best buds (Alex & Me) that I’ll check out one day.

But, THE ONE book that has been directly in my eye line for about a year, that stares at me week after week, beckoning me to read, is Close to Shore.

Great cover. Great subtitle. Great white shark.

Last week the Wi-Fi went down while I was doing some research so I ambled over and finally picked it up. I learned two quick things: one, the book chronicles the real life shark attacks that took place in 1916 and inspired the book Jaws (the movie came after). And two, the book was a New York Times bestseller 20 years ago.

Naturally, I flipped through it to find the first shark attack scene and came across this great writing: “As the creature’s shadow merged with his on the bright, sandy floor of the sea, Charles experienced an adrenal explosion, the overpowering natural urge to live. He was in only three and a half feet of water, close to shore. Safety was at hand. But it was too late. The great jaws rose from the water, fifty triangular teeth closed with more than six tons of pressure per square inch, and man and fish splashed in a spreading pool of blood…”

Damn. Then I flipped back to the beginning and couldn’t stop reading. The description of beach life on the jersey shore in 1916, the sharks, the characters, the fears, the newspapers… It’s a brilliant, fast read that takes you back to a simpler, tech-free time that feels at once familiar and distant. No screens. No phones. No TV. Little national media beyond print. And yet, a single, bloodthirsty shark captivated the entire east coast.

If you’re looking for a quick beach read to escape winter for a bit, I highly recommend it.

BICEPS

I have a confession: ever since I started running sprints one day per week and running a 5k every Sunday morning, I skipped a bunch of leg days. Like, most of them.

My original plan was to train legs after the sprints/5k, but I found it more beneficial to take the time to do a full stretching routine and cool down rather than hit deadlifts, squats and lunges.

But lifting legs is important for a host of reasons and will help me in the long run for triathlons and running events, so NO MORE SKIPPING.

This week I began my renewed 2024 leg day commitment with one of Jim Stoppani’s classic Giant set workouts. It goes like this:

12-15 reps deadlift

15-20 reps dumbbell step-ups

20-25 reps front squat

25-30 reps weighted calf raises

REPEAT 4x

I have another confession: I only completed 3 rounds before my legs were wobbly and useless…but in a good way. Love this as a way to get back into training legs. Hits all the muscle groups and the high-rep range gives it a cardio-feel.

The key to this workout is picking the right weights so that you can get through the rounds - but just barely. I obviously miscalculated, haha.

Also, if you do it for 6 weeks, the rep ranges drop and the order of the first 3 exercises rotate to even out the high/low reps.

QUICK FLEXES

I was reviewing all of my columns from the past year and this was my #1 POST FROM 2023, reaching over 10 MILLION readers. Rich Eisen himself even shared it on Twitter. If you haven’t read it, enjoy:

On Thursday morning I finally received an advanced hard copy of my Macho Man biography, so naturally I had to cut a promo. You can watch it below and pre-order the book here: Macho Man: The Untamed, Unbelievable Life of Randy Savage. WATCH THE VIDEO:

And check out this sweet picture I took of my son, diving for a touchdown at the beach this week:

STRONG LINKS: MY GO-TO POST-WORKOUT:

Because I don’t want to drink caffeine at 5:30AM when I lift, I actually drink this post-workout drink (no caffeine) during my workout and it’s perfect. Phenomenal flavor (Blue Arctic Freeze is the bomb), BCAAs, glutamine, creatine, betaine and more… Everything you need to stay jacked. If you need that jolt of caffeine, try the pre-workout in the same flavor (Orange Mango flavor is ridiculously good). I use that before 5ks and triathlons and swims.

Search for Post Jym Recovery Matrix with the link below and try it for 10% off.

HERE’S THE BOOKS & BICEPS ORDER LINK

Please us the link to shop. Don’t just go to Amazon for this one. They can’t track sales from here to there, so my ask is:

Use the code BICEPS at checkout and save 10% off everything. If you enjoy the newsletter, this is an easy way to support it.

YO! Help us reach 25,000 readers and get free stuff!

FACT: I’VE RECOMMENDED 200+ BOOKS SINCE I STARTED WRITING BOOKS & BICEPS.

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE TOP 12 OF ALL-TIME ARE?

NOW YOU CAN, IN THIS FREE E-BOOK:

💪Just share this link below WITH TWO PEOPLE and check your inbox.

If you do, you’ll also get: How to Read a Book Every 10 Days Like Bruce Lee and 8 Obscure Biographies You Should Read Today.

That’s a total of 20 BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS and a strategy to read three per month. Share that link now:

Thank you all for reading.

Have a great weekend! - Jon

PS: In 2024 I will be opening up this newsletter for sponsorships. I’ve had dozens of inquiries this past year and we’ve got some great partnerships lined up. If you’d like to reach our awesome sophisticated meathead community of nearly 6,000 readers, respond to this e-mail and let’s talk.

PPS: Hey Gus! Thanks for reading the whole thing, buddy! No skimming!