💪Finkel's Fast Five 144 - October 30, 2020

Welcome to Finkel's Fast Five #144. Thanks for reading and subscribing! FIRST, A BIG PROJECT ANNOUNCEMENT: I am psyched to share with all of you that my new book is coming out December 7th and it's called, Hoops Heist: Seattle, the Sonics & How a Stolen Team’s Legacy Gave Rise to the NBA’s Secret Empire.   This is the untold story of the city of Seattle, their beloved Sonics, and how the legacy of their stolen team created a transcendent hoops culture and a pipeline of NBA All-Stars, champions and icons with roots in the Emerald City and the Pacific Northwest. This book is special for a bunch of reasons, one of which is that it's the first book published by 2x NBA All-Star (and one of my favorite Celtics ever), Isaiah Thomas and his company, Slow Grind Media. It's an honor to kick things off with such a solid crew. I worked with IT and other legends who played in or were from Washington to get the story just right, from Kevin Durant and Gary Payton, to Ray Allen, Detlef Schrempf, George Karl and dozens and dozens more. I loved writing this book. I know you'll love reading it.  You can pre-order it right here, right now.   Now onto the regularly scheduled Fast Five: ONE  STRENGTH - Have you ever wondered what your one rep max is in bench press, but didn't feel like asking someone to spot you so you didn't kill yourself while trying to push an ungodly amount of weight over your body (because you're super strong)?  Introducing this surprisingly accurate bench press calculator. You simply put in a weight you can lift and the number of reps you can do and...voila, it spits out a ballpark number of your max. And I think it's surprisingly accurate. I'd say within 10-15 pounds. Give it a try. I'd be curious to hear what you think.

TWO

 LONGFORM - I'm sure you've all heard of the rise of esports and how playing professional video games has become a career and a billion dollar industry.   But did you know that the kids who dreamed of one day becoming modern e-sports stars are sustaining injuries and bodily harm almost on par with actual athletes? I didn't know this. I found this longform piece in Wired Magazine really interesting in terms of the cost of video game stardom on teen and young adults' bodies over time. Especially interesting if your kids are starting to get the video game bug.

THREE

 TREATS - One of my favorite follows on Twitter is a bodyweight workout guru named Jack Coulson. He's got a ton of courses focused on getting jacked by only using exercises involving your body. He's worth following for those tips for sure.  He also recently shared a super simple, mostly-healthy snack that anyone can make with bananas and peanut butter and like he says, you're welcome. It's delicious. Here's his post with the recipe (and follow him).

FOUR

 GEAR - I realize it's getting colder in most parts of the country, but that doesn't mean you'll have no use for super comfortable t-shirts and undershirts.  I have zero affiliation with this company, I just stumbled on them when I was looking for smooth-fitting, breathable, non-itchy t-shirts and I'm telling you, these shirts are amazing. It's like slipping on a cloud. Since I'm in Florida, they're perfect for the humidity and I wear them as regular T-shirts, but you can put them under a sweater or button-up shirt and they'd feel fantastic. Give'em a shot.

FIVE

 A great quote about staying sharp and always improving from an unlikely source:  "Don't get too comfortable with who you are at any given time; you may miss the opportunity to become who you want to be."  - Jon Bon Jovi

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