💪Books & Biceps - March 12, 2021

The Wax Pack, the Shoulder Shocker, Spud Webb, Muggsy Bogues and more...

March 12, 2021

BOOKS

Baseball cards are booming. Spring training is here. Baseball is back. For those of us who grew up loving the game, the nostalgia of the cards and the sport itself will forever be intertwined. It is from this love of the game (and collecting) that author Brad Balukjian came up with one of the more unique, awesome premises for a book. Here’s how he describes it: he took a single pack of baseball cards from 1986 (the first year he collected cards), opened it, chewed the nearly thirty-year-old gum inside, gagged, and then embarked on a quest to find all the players in the pack. Absurd, maybe, but true. He took this trip solo in the summer of 2015, spanning 11,341 miles through thirty states in forty-eight days.

The book is part road trip, part wish fulfillment, and part personal discovery. It also has a super clever cover. I mentioned The Wax Pack in this newsletter before it came out last year, and since then it has gone on to become one of my favorite books to recommend. Wanted to run it back since we’ve doubled our readership here at B&B since last Spring. If you have any interest in baseball cards and baseball, this should be your next book.

WORKOUTS

The Shoulder Shocker by Jack D. Coulson (video included)

I’ve been following Jack on twitter for a while now because I love his approach to exercise. His philosophy is that you can get completely jacked with nothing but your body weight. He’s a big time advocate for sprints, pull-ups, push-ups and especially rings. The guy travels all over Europe and stays yoked up without ever stepping foot in a gym. The most equipment you’ll likely see him use is a kettlebell or sandbag or his trusty rings. I recently did this kettlebell shoulder workout circuit he shared and it was brutal. Give it a shot. You can use a dumbbell too, you’ll just have to change the grip. If you’re looking for bodyweight, minimal-equipment type workouts, sign up for Jack’s newsletter.

HOOPS

Years ago I wrote a book on 5’9”, 3x NBA Dunk Champion Nate Robinson called Heart Over Height. It was endorsed by 5’6” NBA dunk contest winner, Spud Webb. I’ve always been fascinated with regular-sized dudes who excel in the NBA…and every kid I knew was fascinated with 5’3” NBA starter Muggsy Bogues. This week Spud and Muggsey played golf together. Just seeing these two 80s and 90s NBA stars together made me smile. It also gave us my golf favorite picture of the year.

KICK ASS QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Nobody knows how big your potential is, how big your heart is, when you start.”

- Muggsy Bogues

Have you read a book or an article that you think our fellow Books & Biceps readers would like?

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PS - Have you pre-ordered my book, ‘1996’ yet?

It comes out May 11th and I cannot wait to share a few of the legendary writers who have endorsed it. I mean, these are some of my all-time favorites. Lots of giveaways coming up so keep your screenshot when you get it.

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