💪 Books and Biceps - Issue 226

Al Capone, Alcatraz's library, Blue Whales, a Simple Travel Workout and...

Books & Biceps is the only weekly e-mail that combines reading recommendations, exclusive workouts, fascinating stories & more…

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BOOKS

Fathoms: The World in the Whale by Rebecca Giggs

This might be the most unlikely and unplanned title to ever appear in the prestigious pages of the Books & Biceps newsletter. I’d never heard of the author, Rebecca Giggs. I’d never heard of the book. And I wasn’t actively looking to learn more about whales. And yet.

I was recently milling around the lobby of an aquarium and this book was on display. I liked the title, “Fathoms”. Sounded interested. I’ve competed in ocean swims and love the water, so I’ve always thought whales were cool.

I picked up the book and thumbed through it. Skimming at first. Then reading. Then I couldn’t stop so I bought it.

Turns out Fathoms recently won all kinds of book awards, including the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. And I get it. Giggs’ writing is extraordinary. It has an ethereal quality, almost like the book has its own mystical lens with which to read through. And yeah, it’s 100% all about whales.

And I didn’t know 99% of it. Before Americans struck oil, about 40% off all household items and power were run on whale oil or whale-related products, everything from lamps, stoves, toothpaste, perfume, brushes, brush handles, auto grease, door handles, corsets, cribs and thousands more things...

The voyages of the whale hunters were extraordinary (and sad and devastating to the whales). The size and scope of what it took to catch and process a 45 ton sperm whale or 150 ton blue whale at sea in the 1800s is mesmerizing. But the payoff was even more insane… And then, of course, the crushing consequences of losing 500,000 to 1M whales over the course of a century.

Fathoms takes you through all of it. Whale evolution. How whales feed the ocean. How whales shaped society. How whales fit into certain cultures. And so much more… I honestly can’t believe I’m still writing about whales… But if you’re into those Planet Earth shows or you like National Geographic or the Disney+ animal documentaries, you’ll love this book. Get it here.

BICEPS

I was recently on a one-week trip to the west coast and found myself away from my beloved Flex Factory. I know most people take off of exercise when they travel, which is why so many hotel gyms are kinda lame, but I feel like crap if I don’t get a workout in. I’ll skip a day or two, no problem, but that’s it. And yeah, I know… Most people think it’s weird. My wife. Friends I’ve travelled with. Whatever. I get up early, knock out 30-45 minutes every day or every other day and I feel great.

And since we’re coming up on the most-travelled time of the year, I wanted to share my bare bones, 30 minute workout you can do anywhere. Maybe you’re in a hotel that has a few treadmills. Or maybe you’re staying with family and they have an old elliptical hanging around.

Whatever it is, this is my go-to road circuit. And if you don’t have cardio equipment and you don’t pack a jump rope (yeah, I do, whatever) then just do jumping jacks or jog in place (it works).

Road Flex Factory No Equipment Necessary Workout:

3 minutes 50% cardio (treadmill, jog outside, jump rope, jumping jacks, elliptical, etc…)

25 push ups (or whatever half your max is)

30 second sprint / 30 second easy cardio for 3 minutes (whatever cardio you’re doing)

25 burpees

25 crunches

1 minute rest

Repeat for 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, whatever you have.

Enjoy!

QUICK FLEXES

If you’ve never seen it, this is a photo of the library at Alcatraz. Al Capone and his pals weren’t allowed in directly… They had to request what they wanted to read and have it brought to them by a guard because the staff was worried about prisoners smuggling contraband to their cells inside of books… particularly knives, since the library was next to the cafeteria…

This is the first library I’ve ever seen that I never wanted to read a book in:

And we visited the redwood forest on this trip as well.

If you find that you’re lacking in day-to-day perspective, all you need to do is stand at the trunk of 350 foot tall trees that are 1500 years old:

And since we’re good buddies I wanted to share this photo of the greatest BLT I’ve ever had in my life. A solid 3/4 inch of delicious, locally farmed, chopped bacon:

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Have a great weekend! - Jon