Tim Ferriss Wants to Hack Your Body

Above all else, Tim is a master self-marketer.

I've always found it interesting that I'd never heard of BrainQuicken until he got his fame from 4-Hour Workweek. Granted, that fact alone doesn't mean the company wasn't successful when Tim was running it, but it is curious.

IMHO, he comes across very much as a "famous for being famous" type of person and for that, I've never really liked the guy. Some of his ideas are interesting, but it's hard to take him seriously when he's practically Aleksey Vayner.

He addresses this in his book - creating the original "muse" is something that requires huge amounts of work and time. But the objective is to only develop the kind of business you can later automate, thereby reducing yourself to only 4-hours of busywork eventually - not total "work", mind you - so you can focus on the things you care about. In Tim's case, that "stuff you care about" appears to be creating a personal brand as a sort of life coach / marketing guru.

Like all business and self-helpy books, you have to take the 4HWW's subject matter as a skeptic, but there are some great nuggets in the book.

I think the correct question is "is anyone else here not skeptical of Tim Ferriss?"

I think the real question is why does Tim Ferris have any credibility around here at all, when anyone else trying to sell "dietary supplements" and making "I gained 34 pounds of muscle in one month" claims would be confined to the medium of posters on telegraph poles.

Even to the extent that any of his claims are true, didn't his mother ever teach him that it's impolite to brag?

Personally, I've bookmarked him as sleazeball. His "easy wins" usually come about because he exploits weaknesses in the system. Yes, completely legal, but - IMNSHO - completely unethical.

So, while it might work for him, I want nothing to do with it. Made the mistake of reading his book and felt dirty for it.

Not to defend his actual results, as I am unaware of them, but this can be tracked by measuring your mass and volume (through water displacement), since fat and muscle have different and known densities.

You can also use a body fat caliper for more of an eyeballing of body fat percentage.

Here's the post if you are curious:

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/29/from-geek-to...

I use to wrestle (highschool level, and trained with university level). I've heard of people who've dropped and gained 10-15% of their pre-cutting body mass like that. His claim is definately on the top end of things. The rehydration process is every bit as dangerous as the dehydration. You don't do it right, you just end up puking all over the place, which is no good when you're already dehydrated.

I'm REALLY suspect one pound of muscle per day. If you want an idea of what that means... look at a 1 pound steak. You're adding that much to your body every day.

I'll give him that there are probably genetic freaks of nature out there who can pull this stuff off (maybe he is one), but it's simply not a realistic goal.

Most persons undergoing first-time heavy weight training, or re-training (after a long layoff and losing that muscle mass) have muscle memory kick in.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_memory#Retention "Whether strength or endurance related, it is plausible that the majority of motor movements would require a skilled moving task of some form, whether it be maintaining proper form when paddling a canoe, or bench pressing a heavier weight." http://www.syfit.com/articles05.html

http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/70/2/631 "These data suggest that rapid muscular adaptations occur as a result of strength training in previously trained as well as non-previously trained women."

I believe he achieved this potential lb's due to previously having those gains in muscle mass.

My own personal experience (and training in an amateur / non professional fashion friends and family) were massive gains with proper nutrition and intense weight training, compound movements at the initial onset of training (myself, 30 lbs in 3 months, the first time I ever did weights on a consistent basis, lean muscle though my frame is skinny).

However, with a 1-2 month ramp up I can typically add 5-10 lbs in a more lazy fashion (whereas my previous ~30 lbs of mass I was extremely regimented and ate / trained basically full-time), which is muscle memory.

This "extreme" undertaking is probably better explained in his book (only because the article does not take the claim to task) and probably involved him slimming down over the years, and revamping an intensive training protocol.

Body types will also influence Weight vs Appearance. Tim had a previous article which was much dissected pre-his even stating he was coming out with a fitness book.

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/29/from-geek-to... http://www.healthynewage.com/blog/bull-strong/ “He could just be a freak of nature, but even the most genetically gifted body builders have NEVER gained this amount of muscle in such a short period.

” This could be another factor on top of all else. I find Tim’s writing refreshing. He does not fluff or sugar coat his “step by steps” and this leads to (another discussion perhaps) arguments over the simplistic validity of his systems.

Edit: Note "weight cutting" for professional sports probably relates to his large gains. (MMA Fighters frequently cut between 15-20 lbs, sometimes more, I am not sure how relevant this is to the discussion, so only a Google link :D)

http://www.google.com/search?aq=f&sourceid=chrome&ie...

The hair trim, lighting changes and Photoshop on the pictures in this related blog entry will give you an idea of how scientific the content is likely to be:

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/29/from-geek-to...

> How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise

A pound of fat has 3500 calories. A 170 lbs. man needs something like 2500 calories per day if he doesn't exercise. (I think roughly 2000 for truly sedentary, 3000 for moderate activity.) That means that if you go without any food whatsoever for a month, you just barely lose 20 lbs. (And if you do this, you'll probably become so weak and lethargic that you'll start burning less than 2000/day.)

There's just no reasonable way to lose 20 lbs. in 30 days without drugs, starving yourself, and/or a very strenuous exercise regime. If you ran 10 miles per day (at 125 calories/mile) you'd still only be able to eat a very meager 1200 calories per day. You'd have to run almost a marathon every day in order to afford a normal calorie intake.

anything suggesting a weight loss of over 5-8 lbs a month is not healthy and you'd yo-yo right back to it after getting off the regimen, diet or exercise.