17 ms·

NYT Review of ‘The 4-Hour Body’

383 points by tysone 16y ago

AlexC04 16y ago
I've read 4 Hour Body and think it was terrible. Self indlugent, misleading (at best) and dangerous (at worst). There were numerous 1 star reviews on Amazon.com that summed up my thoughts pretty well, so I'll not drone on here about it... I do however wonder about all the legions of 5 star reviews that are in there. I wonder if Tim tore a page out of 4 hour work week and outsourced an indian marketing firm (brickwork?) to write a large number of 4 and 5 star reviews.
- revorad 16y ago
  Did you try any of the stuff in the book?
  - ynniv 16y ago
    If you have a couple minutes, I'd like to talk with you about reptile oil. And a bridge.
    - revorad 16y ago
      Ok, that's just creepy.
      - ovi256 16y ago
        I for one have a very non-creepy (bright, cheery lights, lots of foot traffic, bright colors) bridge I may interest you in. My reptile oil, however, is very run-of-the-mill.
  - yeahsure 16y ago
    Ditto. I used his diet a couple of years ago and lost 20 pounds in a month. Haven't read the book yet, but I'm really looking forward to it.
  - salemh 16y ago
    I've "tried" similar methods through my own experimentation throughout my life (pre-Ferris anything) with great results. Slow carb (ish, as I said, it was my own experiments): 60 lbs in 7 months, 80 lbs in 2 years and looking more lean. 1 set to failure: 8 lbs lean gain (though I had muscle memory from a previous larger structure) in a month. Etc. I'm going to try the 5/5 cadence (which I have never done, though feel fantastic doing so during and post WO) for some more lean gains. Ferris' non-bullshit approach and simplistic, non-fluffed (this and the 4 Hour Work Week) put people off. Find an item. Ship it 20 times yourself. Develop a process, ship 100..etc. He gets more hate then he deserves :)
    - AlexC04 16y ago
      Honestly, I really quite like 4HWW - it changed my point of view on a lot of things. I felt really ripped off by 4HB and still think there is a dangerous 'signal to noise' ratio in there. With just over a week to have calmed down though - I can admit that there are some good bits in there.
    - AlexC04 16y ago
      Honestly, I really quite like 4HWW - it changed my point of view on a lot of things. I felt really ripped off by 4HB and still think there is a dangerous 'signal to noise' ratio in there. With just over a week to have calmed down though - I can admit that there are some good bits in there.
  - PhrosTT 16y ago
    I just started some of it this monday. Specifically, the slow carb diet (seems legit enough)... and some of the workout stuff he recommends. There's an ab exercise that did tear apart my abs (in a good way) - and I workout a lot and do medicine ball ab stuff frequently; I'm not some shlub starting a new years thing. He also says only do 1 set of an exercise and do each rep very slowly (like 5 seconds up, 5 seconds down on a bench press) - this also made me very sore the next day so I'll keep doing it. However he basically says don't bother with cardio, and recommends a ton of obscure foods - I probably will continue running and not buy that crap. Hopefully this will work as I've been unable to lose any weight trying other stuff (not very fat - just want abs).
- staunch 16y ago
  We know exactly why he got so many good reviews on Amazon. He sent early copies of the book to a ton of people and asked them to review it on Amazon. This isn't an unusual practice I don't think, as in everything Ferris is just more successful than most at exploiting borderline unethical behavior.
  - bilch 16y ago
    How exactly is that different from the usual publishers' practice of sending early copies of the book to a ton of reviewers and ask them to, well, review it in newspapers and magazines?
    - staunch 16y ago
      1) Professional critics are not usually the friends and acquaintances of the author. They have reputations and rules (enforced by their publication) that govern their behavior. 2) Amazon reviews are intended for customers who have paid for the book. Not for friends of the author that received it for free with the expectation that they would review it on Amazon. It's Amazon's failing that they don't protect against this. If you did the same thing on HN the anti-voting ring software would kill the submission.
      - Alex3917 16y ago
        The vast majority of books on Amazon would have zero reviews if they only let you review a book after purchasing it on Amazon. Yes, it does suck that Amazon won't delete reviews even when the person admits they haven't read the book, or when they are just complaining that the Kindle version doesn't have a long enough free chapter. But other than that I have no problem with anyone writing a review as long as they've read it. Reading the book takes several hours, so the vast majority of people aren't going to sit there cranking out reviews just to get free books. There are people who do that, but it's really only a couple dozen on all of Amazon.
        jacques_chester 16y ago
- oldsaltydog 16y ago
  I've been in the fitness industry for 26 years now. I can tell you there are better ways to achieve results, but good or great long term results require consistency and dedication. 20 - 25lbs of lean mass per year in an untrained 18 year old is very reasonable but quite an accomplishment. What he claims is extremely improbable if not impossible without chemistry. A master at taking the next suckers money selling half truths. The number of people buying into it is frightening.
tgrass 16y ago
a friend recommended to me the 4-hour workweek. After the first few pages, I bound the entire book in duct tape. I didn't want to be responsible for anyone else reading it.
- stretchwithme 16y ago
  As soon as I have four hours available, I will pick up a copy and a roll of duct tape.
- cosgroveb 16y ago
  This seems less effective than, say, burning it.. Or burying it. :)
  - tgrass 16y ago
    My method keeps me honest: I can tell my friend I now have it on my bookshelf.
- StavrosK 16y ago
  I've been reading it and it's nowhere near that bad. I can summarise it in two sentences, but he has a point in that most people seem content to just live the same routine day in and day out, too lazy/fearful/inert to seek some excitement.
  - brown9-2 16y ago
    I can summarise it in two sentences mind doing so then, for those of us who haven't read it?
    - StavrosK 16y ago
      1. Seek excitement. 2. Don't be afraid to try new things, they're easier than you think. Those two sentences seem to be the entirety of the book (I've read 20% so far). The rest are just anecdotes and stories that illustrate this, but there's nothing else I can recall right now.
pohl 16y ago
Dwight Garner: if you can hear me, I just want you to know that this review was all kinds of awesome.
phren0logy 16y ago
Wow. >Here’s a better analogy: “The 4-Hour Body” reads as if The New England Journal of Medicine had been hijacked by the editors of the SkyMall catalog. Some of this junk might actually work, but you’re going to be embarrassed doing it or admitting to your friends that you’re trying it. This is a man who, after all, weighs his own feces, likes bloodletting as a life-extension strategy and aims a Philips goLite at his body in place of ingesting caffeine. Just... wow. The book sounds ridiculous, and the review is fantastic.
- aik 16y ago
  Funny review overall through not very telling about the book (more about Ferriss himself). I've only read small snippets of the book (and don't intend to read much more), but it's pretty clear that the writer is outside of Ferriss' target audience for this (especially if the author is afraid of becoming embarrassed in front of some friends for trying to improve his health). It sounds like he misunderstands the point of Ferriss' experiments a bit.
  - jonhendry 16y ago
    "Ferriss' target audience" Also known as "marks".
    - aik 16y ago
      "...outside of Ferriss' marks for this"?
      - sorbus 16y ago
        The victim of a scam is often known as a mark[1]. It seems to me that jonhendry was implying that Ferriss is a con artist, using his book to defraud people of their money, by making them pay for something which is worth far less than they think. I am, however, not familiar enough with Ferriss or his books to pass such judgement myself; I'm just interpreting. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidence_trick http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidence_trick
100k 16y ago
"Some of this junk might actually work, but you’re going to be embarrassed doing it or admitting to your friends that you’re trying it." Truer words, never spoken.
- SwellJoe 16y ago
  One of my New Years resolutions is "Be more ridiculous more of the time." As I get older, I realize that being embarrassed of the things you want to do, or the experiments you want to try, is one of the most damaging aspects of human behavior. There's an interesting idea in, I think, Next: The Future Just Happened by Michael Lewis, that part of the reason the Internet is such a huge phenomenon is because people can try on a new "self" just by creating a new account on some website. So, I thought, "Why can't I do that in real life, too?" There's no reason I can't wake up one day, and decide, "I'm going to be a really healthy person, and if it takes doing some odd things and causing friends and family to be a little baffled by my behavior now and then, that's OK. It's a worthy endeavor and a price worth paying to have the body and overall health I want." In short, yes, my friends think my new diet is odd, and wonder why I'm not having pizza or beer with them (except on Saturday, my chosen "binge day"). And, yeah, some of the exercises look a little strange when I do them at the gym. But, so what? I just explain to my friends what I'm experimenting with, and why, and whether it's working or not (it seems to be, two weeks in). And I'm only at the gym for 20 minutes a couple times a week, following the protocol to the letter, so it's a small price to pay. I'm not touching on any of the extreme stuff that I can't back up with reliable science, but the diet and the muscle building regime are both well-backed and entirely fit with pretty conventional thinking. I could have constructed both from existing research on my own, had I taken the time to do so, the book just made it easy to follow (I have the book with me on my phone whenever I buy groceries or go to the gym, so I know I'm doing the right things).
  - justin 16y ago
    Can't agree more. Doing something ridiculous led to us creating the largest live video site. I try to do ridiculous shit all the time for the hell of it, just to practice thinking unconventionally. Last month I ran through a carwash with my clothes on.
mhd 16y ago
The only interesting thing that I got out of the 4-Hour Work Week was the idea of traveling somewhere long-time to learn a new skill. Hardly groundbreaking, but a new idea to me. The rest of the book varied between obvious, sleazy and cheating. So I'm not surprised that the new one is pretty much the same, only this time with health risks instead of financial ones. Not that this is particularly new. It's basically Charles Atlas in the age of twitter and ADHD. The review is pretty fantastic, though.
- 27182818284 16y ago
  I have to admit I did get one thing from the 4-Hour that has worked for me: It is OK to email the CEO or other high person of a company. I was surprised at how quickly I would get responses (although generally short ones) from CEOs of billion-dollar, global companies.
tchock23 16y ago
I read it as well and thought that deep down it was really just a rip off of other studies and advice, just done in a quirky (and sometimes downright crazy) way. For example, his "diet" is really nothing more than a suggestion to cut carbs and "anything white," eat a few square meals a day and take a day off once a week to convince your body you are not on a diet. I've read that same advice hundreds of times before. Disappointing (not that I had high expectations going into it).
- yeahsure 16y ago
  So what? I hadn't read that advice before. I found it on his blog and lost 20 pounds in a month. Following exactly his advice. I wouldn't call that a rip off.
- veidr 16y ago
  At risk of echoing others, I too found his approach a bit different from stuff I had read, decided to try it, and lost a couple kilograms in the first week (started on Jan 1). I appreciate his hyper self-promotion, too, because otherwise I would have never heard of this book; it's the first diet book I have ever read.
- allwein 16y ago
  I had heard this advice many times before, but he added just one comment that completely made it for me. He advises to have just a few basic meals to choose from and then stick with those. Don't try to put variety in your diet at all or try and keep it interesting. It's that wandering eye that will cause you to go off diet. That simple change made it completely easy for me to stick to my diet because now I don't have to think at all. It's like I'm stuck on a starship and this is what the kitchen computer makes every day, and it doesn't matter if I want something else, because this is what the meal is.
kylecordes 16y ago
If the book is half as entertaining as this review, it'd be a great buy. "Timothy Ferriss .... is an unusually beguiling humanlike specimen. :-)
- lincolnq 16y ago
  Indeed, the book is incredibly entertaining. Seems like people here seem to put it down, but it's a real hackers' book -- lots of practical, effective recipes for getting results. I'd definitely recommend it.
  - jonhendry 16y ago
    "lots of practical, effective recipes for getting results." Lots of CLAIMS that the recipes get results. CLAIMS.
    - jarin 16y ago
      I'm willing to give it a shot with an open mind, since it doesn't seem completely unreasonable and I sure as hell am not taking good care of my body right now.
      - Swannie 16y ago
        And there we go. Taking a short-cut when the well established long route is clearly more sustainable, more likely to produce results and going to be cheaper. Hacks are just that, hacks. Used short term to solve a problem, not fix the cause. Tim's studies are short term, and the long term effects of his hacks is not really known.
doyoulikeworms 16y ago
I'll just leave this here: http://www.amazon.com/How-Good-bye-Depression-Constrict-Everyday/dp/0595094724/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1294354115&sr=8-16 http://www.amazon.com/How-Good-bye-Depression-Constrict-Ever...
- The_Igor 16y ago
  Hahaha. That title is awesome. From one of the amazon reviews: " At the risk of seeming disgusting, permit me to say that several days after I started this practice, I experienced what was probably the largest bowel movement in my life. I've also lost a few inches around the waistline and my energy level seems to be rising. "
- jbellis 16y ago
  A couple years ago I bought two copies of that book to give away as jokes because the Engrish is just that awesome. Both recipients were appropriately baffled. :)
- AlexC04 16y ago
  oh my. I just had a very long, body shaking, completely unable to function, tears and snot, laugh attack off of that link. Thank you so very much.
  - marcinw 16y ago
    It was funny, but not that funny...
  - forkrulassail 16y ago
    It was hilarious, especially the puppy enthusiasm statement.
- dctoedt 16y ago
  My wife just came upstairs wondering why I was laughing so hard.
- albemuth 16y ago
  This can't get upvoted enough, I have tears in my eyes and my stomach hurts
fooandbarify 16y ago
Hahaha okay, awesome review. Still (and I've said something similar on HN before) for all Tim's giddy arrogance I still think he brings something valuable to the table. Yeah, he thinks his shit don't stink and yeah, he sort of sounds like a walking infomercial but guess what? So does almost every wildly successful person I have ever heard of. (Exceptions might include the likes of Bill Gates.) Tim is out there getting things done (commercially successful author, entrepreneur, etc) while a bunch of bloggers sit around making fun of him for having confidence and for maybe being a bit of an ass.
- dotBen 16y ago
  Excellent comment. I like Tim, I consider him a personal friend (take that as a disclosure of bias), but for me the take-away is that success is rarely found on merit alone. There are a ton of diet books that give the same suggestions as Tim's book, but his will sell because he's out there pimping it and creating buzz. I think that's the bit many on HN don't like but it's how things work. Don't hate the player, hate the game.
  - mkramlich 16y ago
    no you can dislike the player too. nobody forced the so-called player to do that.
- lachyg 16y ago
  How is it an awesome review? Because it goes hating on Tim without any logical back up? Or debunking of Tim's claims? He doesn't even say he tried any of it. Sounds to me like he just doesn't like him.
  - fooandbarify 16y ago
    Because it's funny, in a roast-y sort of way. And more importantly, it makes it easier for people who completely disagree with the middle part of my post to at least read what I have to say. Ironically, this is similar to a technique which Tim talks about in 4HWW (he calls it the "compliment sandwich" - cheesy goodness) and it's a perfect example of how Tim recycles and condenses old ideas because this basic social tactic has been around forever (How to Win Friends and Influence People, the biblical book of Proverbs, etc).
pchristensen 16y ago
I'm the rare defender of Tim Ferriss on HN. A lot of what he says is common sense, a lot of it is crazy, a lot of it is probably wrong, but here's why I think he doesn't deserve the scorn given to him: Everything he says is backed up by this premise: "Don't just accept this - try it! I'm only recommending it because I found it to work." I've done his slow-carb diet before and am doing it again now. I lost 25 pounds in two months the first time, and I've lost 5 pounds this week since I restarted it. These results, which are on par with what he claimed, make me hesitant to flatly deny anything else he recommends.
- 9oliYQjP 16y ago
  Was his diet a type of protein sparing modified fast? I think Tim Ferriss is a shining example that how you deliver your message is a factor in your overall influence just as much as what your actual message is. If your goal is to influence as many people as possible, his strategy is probably not ideal. If your goal is to influence a significant number of people in a very significant way, it's hard to argue against it: it's very effective.
  - SwellJoe 16y ago
    He covers that type of diet in the "living forever" chapter, I believe, if it's what I think you're talking about (having an 18 hour minimal protein "fast" once a week where you eat anything except protein, while the rest of the week you eat a very high protein diet). Or, if you mean a cyclical ketosis high protein diet, he merely mentions it in passing rather than delving into details. The primary diet he advocates is a "slow-carb diet", which means lots of legumes (the slow-carb part of the diet), lots of vegetables (usually spinach), and lots of protein, and no carbs that have a high glycemic index or insulinemic response (nearly no grains, for instance). The prototypical slow-carb meal is spinach, lentils, and eggs. It fills you up with very sturdy, nutrient dense, calories, and supposedly prevents the self-reinforcing hunger cycle that fast carbs (like white rice or bread) triggers.
- SwellJoe 16y ago
  I basically agree with you. The 4 Hour Body is chock full of a bunch of stuff that isn't scientifically proven, which I'm always suspicious of. But, the science is solid on a lot of the stuff he really pushes hard. The slow-carb diet is an excellent diet for weight loss and does avoid some of the problems of other rapid weight loss diets; it controls calorie intake without forcing you to count calories. I counted calories for the first week or so I was on it (in vegetarian form, which is a little bit of a challenge, to get enough protein without resorting to soy and wheat gluten products), and found I was eating about 200-300 below my resting metabolic rate every day, while eating enough to never feel hungry or get snacky. There's no way I could avoid losing weight if I'm eating significantly fewer calories than what I burn just sitting at my desk, and there is pretty solid science that the ingredients in the diet encourage loss of fat rather than loss of muscle...you're getting plenty of the stuff you need to maintain muscle mass, and adding some things to increase burning of fat for fuel. As an aside, I've found the easily testable bits (particularly the "boost testosterone and libido" chapter) to have very evident results. That may be just because I was deficient in a few of the vital nutrients, and returning to nominal made things better, but I definitely saw a change. I plan to keep Brazil nuts in the house at all times, henceforth, regardless.
SandB0x 16y ago
This book sounds like it was written by Ron Burgundy.
- revorad 16y ago
  "I dabble."
- chrisaycock 16y ago
  Or Alfred Lawson. From Wikipedia: > In the 1920s, he promoted health practices including vegetarianism and claimed to have found the secret of living to 200. He also developed his own highly unusual theories of physics, according to which such concepts as "penetrability", "suction and pressure" and "zig-zag-and-swirl" were discoveries on par with Einstein's Theory of Relativity. He published numerous books on these concepts, all set in a distinctive typography. Lawson repeatedly predicted the worldwide adoption of Lawsonian principles by the year 2000. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Lawson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Lawson
  - llimllib 16y ago
    Or the Rev. Sylvester Graham: > Grahamites, as Graham's followers were called, accepted the teaching of their mentor with regard to all aspects of lifestyle. As such, they practiced abstinence from alcohol, frequent bathing, daily brushing of teeth, vegetarianism, and a generally sparse lifestyle. Graham also was an advocate of sexual abstinence, especially from masturbation, which he regarded as an evil that inevitably led to insanity. He felt that all excitement was unhealthful, and spices were among the prohibited ingredients in his diet. As a result his dietary recommendations were inevitably bland, which led to the Grahamites consuming large quantities of Graham crackers, Graham's own invention. White bread was strongly condemned by Graham and his followers, however, as being essentially devoid of nutrition, a claim echoed by nutritionists ever since. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvester_Graham http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvester_Graham
  - kragen 16y ago
    Posting this for llimllib, whose comment was for some reason [dead]ed: Or the Rev. Sylvester Graham: > Grahamites, as Graham's followers were called, accepted the teaching of their mentor with regard to all aspects of lifestyle. As such, they practiced abstinence from alcohol, frequent bathing, daily brushing of teeth, vegetarianism, and a generally sparse lifestyle. Graham also was an advocate of sexual abstinence, especially from masturbation, which he regarded as an evil that inevitably led to insanity. He felt that all excitement was unhealthful, and spices were among the prohibited ingredients in his diet. As a result his dietary recommendations were inevitably bland, which led to the Grahamites consuming large quantities of Graham crackers, Graham's own invention. White bread was strongly condemned by Graham and his followers, however, as being essentially devoid of nutrition, a claim echoed by nutritionists ever since. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvester_Graham http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvester_Graham
ojbyrne 16y ago
The funny thing is, the scathing review almost makes me want to read the book. Almost.
- vessenes 16y ago
  That wasn't scathing, it was fawning. Ferriss dreamed of that review. I'll bet money he has it framed somewhere in his house.. What more could he have wanted someone to write?
  - whatusername 16y ago
    Case in Point: http://twitter.com/#!/tferriss/status/23166933377486848 http://twitter.com/#!/tferriss/status/23166933377486848
micaelwidell 16y ago
The big question here is: is Tim Ferriss that self-righteous naturally, or does he do it on purpose to gain more attention? Few people can deny that being so self-righteous that other people get provoked is one hell of a personal marketing strategy. I just keep wondering if the people who succeed in personal branding have thought this out and planned their self-righteousness strategically, or if they just are that way naturally and got lucky.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- Alex3917 16y ago
  "Tim Ferriss that self-righteous naturally, or does he do it on purpose to gain more attention?" Your personality is just a strategy that was devised by your two-year-old self in order to keep you safe and get attention: http://vimeo.com/16260822 http://vimeo.com/16260822 That said, once you're an adult and you no longer rely on others for safety, you get to start over and make whatever changes you want. Obviously if you want to be famous then you need to choose live a life and adopt a personality that will make you famous. The whole package isn't especially natural or fun for anyone, but some people naturally have bits and pieces of their private persona that also work well in public if you ham them up a bit. It's like Richard Branson. Do you think that Richard Branson wants to fly to tahiti to go rock climbing every weekend? Of course not. Some weekends he'd much rather curl up with a pot of tea and read the newspaper. But he can't, because he's Richard Branson and that's not what Richard Branson would do. Does he enjoy being Richard Branson? I'm sure there are things he likes about it, but most likely his personality was only really developed after he made a bunch of money to spend on personal coaching and stuff.
  - patricklynch 16y ago
    "Your personality is just a strategy that was devised by your two-year-old self in order to keep you safe and get attention" ...And now I've got another hour of lecture in my 'to watch' queue.
  - ryanwaggoner 16y ago
jsmcgd 16y ago
Personally I thought this review wasn't funny and quite shallow. I got the impression the author had only read the introduction and one or two other chapters.
edw519 16y ago
If nothing else, the staying power of this shit is a testament to the power of marketing. Now imagine what you can accomplish when you combine that with something that actually offers value to others. Hack away!
- Kutta 16y ago
  I don't know much about Ferris, and haven't read the book but I've been a quite devoted life extensionist for a while, researching diets and studies and nutritients relentlessly, and a favorite researcher and blogger of mine is Chris Masterjohn, whose scientific rigor and sobriety is ever unwavering, who wrote a favorable review of 4-hour body. http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Review-Tim-Ferriss-4-Hour-Body.html http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Review-Tim-Ferriss-4-H...
- zackattack 16y ago
  getting a nice body - looking beautiful - is probably one of the most valuable benefits you could offer to someone. rule of marketing - human drives. 4HB appeals to drive to bond, drive to defend, drive to acquire.
  - philwelch 16y ago
    Plus--as far as the "four hour" promise goes--the desire not to work very hard or very long for it.
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
    - jared314 16y ago
      Having read some of his stuff, you are incorrect about not working hard.
      - InfinityX0 16y ago
        The ridiculousness of this stuff is not the content, it's the linkbait hyperbole he uses to market it. He draws people in with shit like "The 4 Hour Workweek", even though his content doesn't say that's actually going to be the case - at least not until deep into the process. And it pervades everything he does - shady marketing tactics that cover up content that's actually pretty decent.
timsco 16y ago
I've read most of the book and it's an entertaining read at worst and full of fitness tips you may use at best. You just have to glance around America to see that whatever the media spews at us about health isn't working. I say, good for him for trying to hack away at the medical / weight loss / media / diet establishment.
- philwelch 16y ago
  Well, the part of the media that's filled with Coca-Cola and McDonald's commercials needs to be taken down a notch, but I don't think "orthodox health techniques don't work" are an adequate explanation for why people are in bad shape. After all, not many people are good at following any kind of health technique at all.
  - timsco 16y ago
    Yes, I completely agree but it's kind of like kids reading comic books over literature. At least they are reading. Having a health book at the top of New York Times bestseller list is never a bad thing (unless it's something unhealthy like Atkins). It's a good read and it's not as unorthodox as you think. There is some over the top stuff that he doesn't suggest that you do in there but it's mostly just good living tips that would help almost anyone.
_pius 16y ago
One of the most intellectually lazy book reviews I've ever read. All snark, no substance.
- ipince 16y ago
  Just like the review
- forkrulassail 16y ago
  Possibly just a marketing tactic for starting more conversations on the book.
- fourstar 16y ago
  Have you read Malcolm Gladwell?
zackattack 16y ago
The worst part about the 4-hour body is how inconsistent Ferriss is. Are you support to take PAGG 3x a day? Why does he only take it once or twice when he details his hour-by-hour schedule? The second worst part about the 4-hour body is how much bullshit he fills the pages with. His section on jumping higher (for me, a major selling point of the book) is totally worthless and difficult-to-follow. (A few black and white diagrams did not do it for me... I would have preferred a workout routine.) Mostly he just spends the pages waxing poetic about some sexy ex-NFL gym trainer, and then he talks about how he set the one-day record at his gym for improving vertical leap. The third is that it's just very difficult to distill any practical information from the book. Man, I just want ONE workout plan, ONE meal plan, and they don't want to think about the rest of it. In order to properly synthesize the 4HB you'd have to do a lot of research, bring a healthy sense of skepticism, and basically spend a lot of time. I don't want to think! I want someone trustworthy to tell me SAFE things I can do that will more or less bring me results. But it motivated me to buy a caliper, and measure regularly, so I guess that's pretty good. And maybe I'll start stocking up on Brazil nuts. P.S. I am vegan.
- SHOwnsYou 16y ago
  The one day record for vertical leap improvement? Not a metric anyone keeps track of. Maybe he beat it because one was never set prior to that. Or perhaps he gamed the system. But most importantly, there are virtually no long term gains you can realize in a day that will increase your vertical leap. I hate to rag on the guy, but this just sounds ridiculous.
  - lsc 16y ago
    >there are virtually no long term gains you can realize in a day that will increase your vertical leap. Eh, I'd bet you five bucks that if you measured my leap now, then had someone who knew what the hell they were doing show me proper form, maybe walk me through it a few times, you'd see a pretty radical improvement within the hour. Not, of course, due to any sort of muscular growth, but instead because I imagine my current vertical leap form is horrible, and you can usually get pretty good gains out of that sort of thing just by doing it correctly.
DanielBMarkham 16y ago
One of the things I've noticed from my earliest days on the net is the degree that folks seem willing to be humbled and belittled by what they think of as celebrity. Geesh, I remember some YC application deadlines that the sucking up got so bad I was afraid I might get pulled into the screen of my laptop. Ferriss seems to be capitalizing on this. He's the guy that had the new book over on Amazon with something like a thousand positive reviews. A thousand! Something has gone wrong somewhere. This was a great review. I am reminded of the beer commercial with "with most interesting man in the world". Sounds like Ferriss could have been a model for this idea. Obligatory link for those outside the states who haven't seen "The most interesting man in the world" beer commercials and don't know what I am talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bc0WjTT0Ps http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bc0WjTT0Ps
- wazoox 16y ago
  Ferris made no mystery that he likes to use shortcuts and exploit loopholes whenever possible, like when he basically cheated to win the chinese kickboxing championship.
  - Swannie 16y ago
    Yep, he certainly worked hard to game the NYT best seller list... just like everyone else who wants to be #1 in their section!
teye 16y ago
4HB reads like a hacker's book, and that's why I loved it. Conventional wisdom says you kill yourself at the gym to bulk up. But a muscle isn't strengthened by fatigue -- it's strengthened by the body's response to that fatigue. So shouldn't your goal be triggering the response? That makes for an exciting read. The book is full of it -- tracking down the extraordinarily successful in a given field, taking their advice himself, and sharing the results.
- hyperbovine 16y ago
  Working four hours a week is revolutionary. Working out four hours a week is ... average. If you spend four hours a week doing any sort of strength training in a semi-competent manner, you are going to look good after a period of months. (And you won't even need to weigh your feces!) I fail to see why we need 571 pages of rebelling against conventional wisdom here.
  - ph0rque 16y ago
    I believe it's working out 4 hours a month, not a week.
  - eof 16y ago
    I believe it's 4 hours a month.
  - ipince 16y ago
    Indeed, he claims he achieved his results by working out 4 hours in 28 days. Even so, working out 4 hours per week without changing your diet or just working out in a "semi-competent" manner will probably not bring you the results he claims to have gotten. You should at least familiarize yourself with the claims before denying them.
    - tome 16y ago
      Somehow a gym subscription that you're going to use for 4 hours a month seems like a waste of money.
Aaronontheweb 16y ago
Is it just me, or does every self-appointed culture snob find the need to make the gratuitous digs on Dan Brown's work? The man's an amazing storyteller.
- aaronbrethorst 16y ago
  I think you could take the manuscript for a Tom Clancy novel, replace each instance of "Jack Ryan" with "Robert Langdon", "CIA" with "Harvard", and "Kremlin" with "Vatican", and you'd be 80% done with the next Dan Brown novel. How, exactly, an Italian, crypto-Opus Dei-member, 747 pilot crashing a plane into Harvard's Tercentenary Theatre during Freshman Convocation would result in Langdon becoming the next President of Harvard, though, would indeed require an amazing storyteller. That one doesn't quite write itself.
  - jacques_chester 16y ago
    Langdon would be the only survivor of the senior faculty and would be automatically elevated to the post. He, and a sexy bimbo who is ostensibly an aerospace engineer, would engage in a whirlwind tour of the world, including * Finding 14th century patterns in the flight paths of major airlines * A gripping episode at the Boeing High Technology Escapades Centre near Seattle, Washington (warning: location may not exist) * 50 pages of hastily cribbed history notes about ancient greece * The discovery that the descendants of the Cult of Pythagoras and the the Eleusinian Mysteries have been secretly at war for thousands of years and that this explains all historical events up to and including Facebook. edited for typos and misspellings.
- brc 16y ago
  Apparently you're not culturally elite unless you can find new ways to make fun of Dan Brown and Tim Ferriss. I would respect this if the snubbers wouldn't trade their soul for the success of either author. Every snarky review I've ever read comes off as sour grapes and tends to devolve into a character assissination instead of a constructive criticism of the content. These guys write books that people evidently want to read. I fail to see the problem.
- 16y ago
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DanielRibeiro 16y ago
The author's comment on this[1]: NY Times - Dwight Garner's snarky review of The 4-Hour Body: http://su.pr/16Eh4w http://su.pr/16Eh4w For 100% ad hominem, it's pretty funny. [1] http://twitter.com/#!/tferriss/status/23166933377486848 http://twitter.com/#!/tferriss/status/23166933377486848
- kareemm 16y ago
  Reminds me of PT Barnum's line: "I don't care what they write about me as long as they spell my name right."
alecco 16y ago
And don't miss his upcoming book "The 4-hour hair-loss"!
- ryanwaggoner 16y ago
  I can guarantee you 100% hair-loss in 4 minutes: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VVT94G?ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000VVT94G&tag=ryanwaggonerc-20 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VVT94G?ie=UTF8&link...
  - getsat 16y ago
    Thanks for reminding me that I'm part of Amazon's affiliate program. :)
judegomila 16y ago
I lost 15 pounds in 4 hours after buying the book. This was uk currency though. - it's an entertaining read.
catshirt 16y ago
imho, it's equally negligent to deny it entirely as it is to accept it entirely.
keeptrying 16y ago
The part of the book that you MUST take seriously is the part about the methods of rehabilitating your body after an injury. Most of you will be sitting for in a chair for a good chunk of the next 10 years, so bad backs and bad knees are a given. So understanding why this happens and on how to fix it is huge. Getting all that info in one place took me 2 years of learning as only leading strength coaches know this stuff. Your doc probably won't.
treeface 16y ago
I greatly dislike how the NYT hijacks my browser's text selection. I'd much rather be able to right click the selected text and search for it on Google than have that silly word lookup hover.
omeega 16y ago
I find that aggregate amazon reviews are fairly accurate. Im surprised by the high reviews. http://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Body-Uncommon-Incredible-Superhuman/dp/030746363X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294364545&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Body-Uncommon-Incredible-Superh...
protez 16y ago
Loved both the book and the review. Tim is damn crazy and his lunacy, but practical one is what makes 4HB distinct from the other average books claiming nothing new, nothing to make fun of.
Eliezer 16y ago
I'm amazed by the similarity between the way some people seem personally offended by the existence of Timothy Ferriss and the way some people seem offended by Harry James Potter-Evans-Verres. I wonder if they're the same people.
- kragen 16y ago
  What is the similarity? Is it just that both groups of people dislike a person (albeit, in one case, a fictional person)? Because there are an awful lot of people who have people who dislike them.
nir 16y ago
It says a lot about where our industry is in right now that Ferris is celebrity for us. There's a lot in common between the 4 hour body and the 50 billion dollar Facebook.
jschuur 16y ago
They had me at 'beguiling'.
dshjtykyu 16y ago
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deleted 16y ago
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brianmwang 16y ago
The one thing that absolutely drives me up the wall is the recent touting of "Tim Ferriss's 'Slow-Carb' Diet" as if this was some sort of revelation previously withheld from the masses. Every time I hear somebody saying they're following it from 4HB I think, "These principles have been freely available and many times presented through a variety of media channels for years. Why is this news now and why is it being credited to Tim Ferriss?" I won't downplay Tim's mastery of self-marketing, but seeing this kind of thing makes me go bonkers.
- me2i81 16y ago
  What I find tiresome are entire books dedicated to a diet that can be described in a few pages. In Ferriss's book, this diet described in a few pages, with the usual self-help testimonials to fill it out to a whole chapter. He put out the same diet in a blog post a few years ago: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-20-lbs-of-fat-in-30-days-without-doing-any-exercise/ http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-... so at this point I don't begrudge him putting it in a book chapter. His first book was kind of ridiculous IMHO, but I liked this one. You can cherry pick silly bits out of it like the reviewer did, but a lot of it is pretty reasonable and does motivate people to actually try stuff.
- skeltoac 16y ago
  Good information bears repeating. Also, if it wasn't written in the last six months nobody will believe it.
- matt_s 16y ago
  None of what he has is new or revolutionary, it is just that he has gone through research and experiments to distill the key 2.5% of what you need to do for your body and poses everything as "try this as an experiment" instead of traditional books telling you to adopt their entire philosophy (Atkins, South Beach, etc.). It is much more actionable self help.
zavulon 16y ago
> Mr. Ferriss used a hormone-slash-drug called human chorionic gonadotropin and more than tripled his semen volume. “Happy days,” he writes. This is where I lost it.
lionhearted 16y ago
You know what's missing from this review? It doesn't have any "I tried this and it worked" or "I tried this and it didn't work" or "This goes against XYZ scientific study, so I'm hesitant to try it." In fact, I don't see any substance at all really, aside from gathering that the guy doesn't like Tim Ferriss.
- jorgeortiz85 16y ago
  It's a book review, not a peer review.
oldstrangers 16y ago
I'm curious if he has a 4-Hour hack for curing his male pattern baldness.
- alinajaf 16y ago
  Seriously, this was the one chapter that was missing from the book.
- gkelly 16y ago
  This was a reader question he answered in an interview I saw. He said he's accepted his hair loss ("going Jason Statham") and that existing solutions have too many negative side-effects.
- forensic 16y ago
  popping pills takes a lot less than 4 hours there are side effects though. and the side effects mainly relate to your testicles :( </25 year old already going bald>
mkramlich 16y ago
I'm going to write a book with two pages in it. Page one will say "Eat Right!" in a big bold font. Page two will have "Exercise!" on it. A few years later I'll release revised versions with extra chapters, er, I mean, pages, with statements like "Sleep Well!" and "Relax, Don't Worry!", etc. I mean, all I have to do is just promote the hell out of it.
runjake 16y ago
I've scoffed at his claims of 5K to 50K in 12 weeks, in the past. I went from couch potato to runner. I've run several marathons and ultras and have done quite a bit of experimenting on my body over the years. I managed to borrow a copy of this book tonight and pounded through quite a bit of it. From what I read, it's actually 4 weeks of bone/muscle/ligament conditioning, followed by 12 weeks of running training -- IF you can run a 5K at an 8:00 pace or faster. If you can't, then yep, you guessed it, more training time. This is doable and pretty much falls in line with conventional training (though Tim reorganizes it a little bit, and throws in the all important and generally under-emphasized benefits of cross-training), but it isn't "in 12 weeks" at all. I've done quite a bit of iterative experimenting with cross-training (especially cycling and swimming) and it unilaterally improved my running speeds and my long run recovery times. His graphs and charts seem rather superfluous to me. Meant to intimidate rather than inform. I'm not so concerned about permanent damage because of the initial 4 week conditioning process. If you're not already a seasoned runner, this program will take you as long or longer as Galloway or Joe Henderson's training plans. His advice and data are solid, but don't meet his "in 12 weeks" mark. As far as I know, he still hasn't actually run 50K. The book links to http://www.fourhourbody.com/ultra http://www.fourhourbody.com/ultra for his results, but its still a dead page.
thinkdifferent 16y ago
I have developed an interest in health and longevity and I read this book. Full of many interesting ideas, but I was left a bit lost. I'm going to try his Occam mass gaining protocol, which is entirely taken from Doug McGuff 'Body by Science'. I'm still a bit skeptical because I think that if something really works,sooner or later it will be adopted by the professional in the field. But bodybuilder (even natural ones) are still trainig in the classical way...
- stipes 16y ago
  Bodybuilders would tend to go for the 100% method, not the 80/20. Although reading through some responses to the book on bodybuilding forums is an entertaining way to spend an hour.
awongh 16y ago
tl; dr: “The 4-Hour Body” reads as if The New England Journal of Medicine had been hijacked by the editors of the SkyMall catalog.
yters 16y ago
The only body hack I want is infinite will power for all practical purposes. Everything else is just a footnote.

383 points by tysone 16y ago

I've read 4 Hour Body and think it was terrible. Self indlugent, misleading (at best) and dangerous (at worst). There were numerous 1 star reviews on Amazon.com that summed up my thoughts pretty well, so I'll not drone on here about it... I do however wonder about all the legions of 5 star reviews that are in there. I wonder if Tim tore a page out of 4 hour work week and outsourced an indian marketing firm (brickwork?) to write a large number of 4 and 5 star reviews.

revorad 16y ago
Did you try any of the stuff in the book?
- ynniv 16y ago
  If you have a couple minutes, I'd like to talk with you about reptile oil. And a bridge.
  - revorad 16y ago
    Ok, that's just creepy.
    - ovi256 16y ago
      I for one have a very non-creepy (bright, cheery lights, lots of foot traffic, bright colors) bridge I may interest you in. My reptile oil, however, is very run-of-the-mill.
- yeahsure 16y ago
  Ditto. I used his diet a couple of years ago and lost 20 pounds in a month. Haven't read the book yet, but I'm really looking forward to it.
- salemh 16y ago
  I've "tried" similar methods through my own experimentation throughout my life (pre-Ferris anything) with great results. Slow carb (ish, as I said, it was my own experiments): 60 lbs in 7 months, 80 lbs in 2 years and looking more lean. 1 set to failure: 8 lbs lean gain (though I had muscle memory from a previous larger structure) in a month. Etc. I'm going to try the 5/5 cadence (which I have never done, though feel fantastic doing so during and post WO) for some more lean gains. Ferris' non-bullshit approach and simplistic, non-fluffed (this and the 4 Hour Work Week) put people off. Find an item. Ship it 20 times yourself. Develop a process, ship 100..etc. He gets more hate then he deserves :)
  - AlexC04 16y ago
    Honestly, I really quite like 4HWW - it changed my point of view on a lot of things. I felt really ripped off by 4HB and still think there is a dangerous 'signal to noise' ratio in there. With just over a week to have calmed down though - I can admit that there are some good bits in there.
  - AlexC04 16y ago
    Honestly, I really quite like 4HWW - it changed my point of view on a lot of things. I felt really ripped off by 4HB and still think there is a dangerous 'signal to noise' ratio in there. With just over a week to have calmed down though - I can admit that there are some good bits in there.
- PhrosTT 16y ago
  I just started some of it this monday. Specifically, the slow carb diet (seems legit enough)... and some of the workout stuff he recommends. There's an ab exercise that did tear apart my abs (in a good way) - and I workout a lot and do medicine ball ab stuff frequently; I'm not some shlub starting a new years thing. He also says only do 1 set of an exercise and do each rep very slowly (like 5 seconds up, 5 seconds down on a bench press) - this also made me very sore the next day so I'll keep doing it. However he basically says don't bother with cardio, and recommends a ton of obscure foods - I probably will continue running and not buy that crap. Hopefully this will work as I've been unable to lose any weight trying other stuff (not very fat - just want abs).
staunch 16y ago
We know exactly why he got so many good reviews on Amazon. He sent early copies of the book to a ton of people and asked them to review it on Amazon. This isn't an unusual practice I don't think, as in everything Ferris is just more successful than most at exploiting borderline unethical behavior.
- bilch 16y ago
  How exactly is that different from the usual publishers' practice of sending early copies of the book to a ton of reviewers and ask them to, well, review it in newspapers and magazines?
  - staunch 16y ago
    1) Professional critics are not usually the friends and acquaintances of the author. They have reputations and rules (enforced by their publication) that govern their behavior. 2) Amazon reviews are intended for customers who have paid for the book. Not for friends of the author that received it for free with the expectation that they would review it on Amazon. It's Amazon's failing that they don't protect against this. If you did the same thing on HN the anti-voting ring software would kill the submission.
    - Alex3917 16y ago
      The vast majority of books on Amazon would have zero reviews if they only let you review a book after purchasing it on Amazon. Yes, it does suck that Amazon won't delete reviews even when the person admits they haven't read the book, or when they are just complaining that the Kindle version doesn't have a long enough free chapter. But other than that I have no problem with anyone writing a review as long as they've read it. Reading the book takes several hours, so the vast majority of people aren't going to sit there cranking out reviews just to get free books. There are people who do that, but it's really only a couple dozen on all of Amazon.
      - jacques_chester 16y ago
oldsaltydog 16y ago
I've been in the fitness industry for 26 years now. I can tell you there are better ways to achieve results, but good or great long term results require consistency and dedication. 20 - 25lbs of lean mass per year in an untrained 18 year old is very reasonable but quite an accomplishment. What he claims is extremely improbable if not impossible without chemistry. A master at taking the next suckers money selling half truths. The number of people buying into it is frightening.

tgrass 16y ago

a friend recommended to me the 4-hour workweek. After the first few pages, I bound the entire book in duct tape. I didn't want to be responsible for anyone else reading it.

stretchwithme 16y ago
As soon as I have four hours available, I will pick up a copy and a roll of duct tape.
cosgroveb 16y ago
This seems less effective than, say, burning it.. Or burying it. :)
- tgrass 16y ago
  My method keeps me honest: I can tell my friend I now have it on my bookshelf.
StavrosK 16y ago
I've been reading it and it's nowhere near that bad. I can summarise it in two sentences, but he has a point in that most people seem content to just live the same routine day in and day out, too lazy/fearful/inert to seek some excitement.
- brown9-2 16y ago
  I can summarise it in two sentences mind doing so then, for those of us who haven't read it?
  - StavrosK 16y ago
    1. Seek excitement. 2. Don't be afraid to try new things, they're easier than you think. Those two sentences seem to be the entirety of the book (I've read 20% so far). The rest are just anecdotes and stories that illustrate this, but there's nothing else I can recall right now.

pohl 16y ago

Dwight Garner: if you can hear me, I just want you to know that this review was all kinds of awesome.

phren0logy 16y ago

Wow. >Here’s a better analogy: “The 4-Hour Body” reads as if The New England Journal of Medicine had been hijacked by the editors of the SkyMall catalog. Some of this junk might actually work, but you’re going to be embarrassed doing it or admitting to your friends that you’re trying it. This is a man who, after all, weighs his own feces, likes bloodletting as a life-extension strategy and aims a Philips goLite at his body in place of ingesting caffeine. Just... wow. The book sounds ridiculous, and the review is fantastic.

aik 16y ago
Funny review overall through not very telling about the book (more about Ferriss himself). I've only read small snippets of the book (and don't intend to read much more), but it's pretty clear that the writer is outside of Ferriss' target audience for this (especially if the author is afraid of becoming embarrassed in front of some friends for trying to improve his health). It sounds like he misunderstands the point of Ferriss' experiments a bit.
- jonhendry 16y ago
  "Ferriss' target audience" Also known as "marks".
  - aik 16y ago
    "...outside of Ferriss' marks for this"?
    - sorbus 16y ago
      The victim of a scam is often known as a mark[1]. It seems to me that jonhendry was implying that Ferriss is a con artist, using his book to defraud people of their money, by making them pay for something which is worth far less than they think. I am, however, not familiar enough with Ferriss or his books to pass such judgement myself; I'm just interpreting. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidence_trick http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidence_trick

100k 16y ago

"Some of this junk might actually work, but you’re going to be embarrassed doing it or admitting to your friends that you’re trying it." Truer words, never spoken.

SwellJoe 16y ago
One of my New Years resolutions is "Be more ridiculous more of the time." As I get older, I realize that being embarrassed of the things you want to do, or the experiments you want to try, is one of the most damaging aspects of human behavior. There's an interesting idea in, I think, Next: The Future Just Happened by Michael Lewis, that part of the reason the Internet is such a huge phenomenon is because people can try on a new "self" just by creating a new account on some website. So, I thought, "Why can't I do that in real life, too?" There's no reason I can't wake up one day, and decide, "I'm going to be a really healthy person, and if it takes doing some odd things and causing friends and family to be a little baffled by my behavior now and then, that's OK. It's a worthy endeavor and a price worth paying to have the body and overall health I want." In short, yes, my friends think my new diet is odd, and wonder why I'm not having pizza or beer with them (except on Saturday, my chosen "binge day"). And, yeah, some of the exercises look a little strange when I do them at the gym. But, so what? I just explain to my friends what I'm experimenting with, and why, and whether it's working or not (it seems to be, two weeks in). And I'm only at the gym for 20 minutes a couple times a week, following the protocol to the letter, so it's a small price to pay. I'm not touching on any of the extreme stuff that I can't back up with reliable science, but the diet and the muscle building regime are both well-backed and entirely fit with pretty conventional thinking. I could have constructed both from existing research on my own, had I taken the time to do so, the book just made it easy to follow (I have the book with me on my phone whenever I buy groceries or go to the gym, so I know I'm doing the right things).
- justin 16y ago
  Can't agree more. Doing something ridiculous led to us creating the largest live video site. I try to do ridiculous shit all the time for the hell of it, just to practice thinking unconventionally. Last month I ran through a carwash with my clothes on.

mhd 16y ago

The only interesting thing that I got out of the 4-Hour Work Week was the idea of traveling somewhere long-time to learn a new skill. Hardly groundbreaking, but a new idea to me. The rest of the book varied between obvious, sleazy and cheating. So I'm not surprised that the new one is pretty much the same, only this time with health risks instead of financial ones. Not that this is particularly new. It's basically Charles Atlas in the age of twitter and ADHD. The review is pretty fantastic, though.

27182818284 16y ago
I have to admit I did get one thing from the 4-Hour that has worked for me: It is OK to email the CEO or other high person of a company. I was surprised at how quickly I would get responses (although generally short ones) from CEOs of billion-dollar, global companies.

tchock23 16y ago

I read it as well and thought that deep down it was really just a rip off of other studies and advice, just done in a quirky (and sometimes downright crazy) way. For example, his "diet" is really nothing more than a suggestion to cut carbs and "anything white," eat a few square meals a day and take a day off once a week to convince your body you are not on a diet. I've read that same advice hundreds of times before. Disappointing (not that I had high expectations going into it).

yeahsure 16y ago
So what? I hadn't read that advice before. I found it on his blog and lost 20 pounds in a month. Following exactly his advice. I wouldn't call that a rip off.
veidr 16y ago
At risk of echoing others, I too found his approach a bit different from stuff I had read, decided to try it, and lost a couple kilograms in the first week (started on Jan 1). I appreciate his hyper self-promotion, too, because otherwise I would have never heard of this book; it's the first diet book I have ever read.
allwein 16y ago
I had heard this advice many times before, but he added just one comment that completely made it for me. He advises to have just a few basic meals to choose from and then stick with those. Don't try to put variety in your diet at all or try and keep it interesting. It's that wandering eye that will cause you to go off diet. That simple change made it completely easy for me to stick to my diet because now I don't have to think at all. It's like I'm stuck on a starship and this is what the kitchen computer makes every day, and it doesn't matter if I want something else, because this is what the meal is.

kylecordes 16y ago

If the book is half as entertaining as this review, it'd be a great buy. "Timothy Ferriss .... is an unusually beguiling humanlike specimen. :-)

lincolnq 16y ago
Indeed, the book is incredibly entertaining. Seems like people here seem to put it down, but it's a real hackers' book -- lots of practical, effective recipes for getting results. I'd definitely recommend it.
- jonhendry 16y ago
  "lots of practical, effective recipes for getting results." Lots of CLAIMS that the recipes get results. CLAIMS.
  - jarin 16y ago
    I'm willing to give it a shot with an open mind, since it doesn't seem completely unreasonable and I sure as hell am not taking good care of my body right now.
    - Swannie 16y ago
      And there we go. Taking a short-cut when the well established long route is clearly more sustainable, more likely to produce results and going to be cheaper. Hacks are just that, hacks. Used short term to solve a problem, not fix the cause. Tim's studies are short term, and the long term effects of his hacks is not really known.

doyoulikeworms 16y ago

I'll just leave this here: http://www.amazon.com/How-Good-bye-Depression-Constrict-Everyday/dp/0595094724/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1294354115&sr=8-16 http://www.amazon.com/How-Good-bye-Depression-Constrict-Ever...

The_Igor 16y ago
Hahaha. That title is awesome. From one of the amazon reviews: " At the risk of seeming disgusting, permit me to say that several days after I started this practice, I experienced what was probably the largest bowel movement in my life. I've also lost a few inches around the waistline and my energy level seems to be rising. "
jbellis 16y ago
A couple years ago I bought two copies of that book to give away as jokes because the Engrish is just that awesome. Both recipients were appropriately baffled. :)
AlexC04 16y ago
oh my. I just had a very long, body shaking, completely unable to function, tears and snot, laugh attack off of that link. Thank you so very much.
- marcinw 16y ago
  It was funny, but not that funny...
- forkrulassail 16y ago
  It was hilarious, especially the puppy enthusiasm statement.
dctoedt 16y ago
My wife just came upstairs wondering why I was laughing so hard.
albemuth 16y ago
This can't get upvoted enough, I have tears in my eyes and my stomach hurts

fooandbarify 16y ago

Hahaha okay, awesome review. Still (and I've said something similar on HN before) for all Tim's giddy arrogance I still think he brings something valuable to the table. Yeah, he thinks his shit don't stink and yeah, he sort of sounds like a walking infomercial but guess what? So does almost every wildly successful person I have ever heard of. (Exceptions might include the likes of Bill Gates.) Tim is out there getting things done (commercially successful author, entrepreneur, etc) while a bunch of bloggers sit around making fun of him for having confidence and for maybe being a bit of an ass.

dotBen 16y ago
Excellent comment. I like Tim, I consider him a personal friend (take that as a disclosure of bias), but for me the take-away is that success is rarely found on merit alone. There are a ton of diet books that give the same suggestions as Tim's book, but his will sell because he's out there pimping it and creating buzz. I think that's the bit many on HN don't like but it's how things work. Don't hate the player, hate the game.
- mkramlich 16y ago
  no you can dislike the player too. nobody forced the so-called player to do that.
lachyg 16y ago
How is it an awesome review? Because it goes hating on Tim without any logical back up? Or debunking of Tim's claims? He doesn't even say he tried any of it. Sounds to me like he just doesn't like him.
- fooandbarify 16y ago
  Because it's funny, in a roast-y sort of way. And more importantly, it makes it easier for people who completely disagree with the middle part of my post to at least read what I have to say. Ironically, this is similar to a technique which Tim talks about in 4HWW (he calls it the "compliment sandwich" - cheesy goodness) and it's a perfect example of how Tim recycles and condenses old ideas because this basic social tactic has been around forever (How to Win Friends and Influence People, the biblical book of Proverbs, etc).

pchristensen 16y ago

I'm the rare defender of Tim Ferriss on HN. A lot of what he says is common sense, a lot of it is crazy, a lot of it is probably wrong, but here's why I think he doesn't deserve the scorn given to him: Everything he says is backed up by this premise: "Don't just accept this - try it! I'm only recommending it because I found it to work." I've done his slow-carb diet before and am doing it again now. I lost 25 pounds in two months the first time, and I've lost 5 pounds this week since I restarted it. These results, which are on par with what he claimed, make me hesitant to flatly deny anything else he recommends.

9oliYQjP 16y ago
Was his diet a type of protein sparing modified fast? I think Tim Ferriss is a shining example that how you deliver your message is a factor in your overall influence just as much as what your actual message is. If your goal is to influence as many people as possible, his strategy is probably not ideal. If your goal is to influence a significant number of people in a very significant way, it's hard to argue against it: it's very effective.
- SwellJoe 16y ago
  He covers that type of diet in the "living forever" chapter, I believe, if it's what I think you're talking about (having an 18 hour minimal protein "fast" once a week where you eat anything except protein, while the rest of the week you eat a very high protein diet). Or, if you mean a cyclical ketosis high protein diet, he merely mentions it in passing rather than delving into details. The primary diet he advocates is a "slow-carb diet", which means lots of legumes (the slow-carb part of the diet), lots of vegetables (usually spinach), and lots of protein, and no carbs that have a high glycemic index or insulinemic response (nearly no grains, for instance). The prototypical slow-carb meal is spinach, lentils, and eggs. It fills you up with very sturdy, nutrient dense, calories, and supposedly prevents the self-reinforcing hunger cycle that fast carbs (like white rice or bread) triggers.
SwellJoe 16y ago
I basically agree with you. The 4 Hour Body is chock full of a bunch of stuff that isn't scientifically proven, which I'm always suspicious of. But, the science is solid on a lot of the stuff he really pushes hard. The slow-carb diet is an excellent diet for weight loss and does avoid some of the problems of other rapid weight loss diets; it controls calorie intake without forcing you to count calories. I counted calories for the first week or so I was on it (in vegetarian form, which is a little bit of a challenge, to get enough protein without resorting to soy and wheat gluten products), and found I was eating about 200-300 below my resting metabolic rate every day, while eating enough to never feel hungry or get snacky. There's no way I could avoid losing weight if I'm eating significantly fewer calories than what I burn just sitting at my desk, and there is pretty solid science that the ingredients in the diet encourage loss of fat rather than loss of muscle...you're getting plenty of the stuff you need to maintain muscle mass, and adding some things to increase burning of fat for fuel. As an aside, I've found the easily testable bits (particularly the "boost testosterone and libido" chapter) to have very evident results. That may be just because I was deficient in a few of the vital nutrients, and returning to nominal made things better, but I definitely saw a change. I plan to keep Brazil nuts in the house at all times, henceforth, regardless.

SandB0x 16y ago

This book sounds like it was written by Ron Burgundy.

revorad 16y ago
"I dabble."
chrisaycock 16y ago
Or Alfred Lawson. From Wikipedia: > In the 1920s, he promoted health practices including vegetarianism and claimed to have found the secret of living to 200. He also developed his own highly unusual theories of physics, according to which such concepts as "penetrability", "suction and pressure" and "zig-zag-and-swirl" were discoveries on par with Einstein's Theory of Relativity. He published numerous books on these concepts, all set in a distinctive typography. Lawson repeatedly predicted the worldwide adoption of Lawsonian principles by the year 2000. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Lawson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Lawson
- llimllib 16y ago
  Or the Rev. Sylvester Graham: > Grahamites, as Graham's followers were called, accepted the teaching of their mentor with regard to all aspects of lifestyle. As such, they practiced abstinence from alcohol, frequent bathing, daily brushing of teeth, vegetarianism, and a generally sparse lifestyle. Graham also was an advocate of sexual abstinence, especially from masturbation, which he regarded as an evil that inevitably led to insanity. He felt that all excitement was unhealthful, and spices were among the prohibited ingredients in his diet. As a result his dietary recommendations were inevitably bland, which led to the Grahamites consuming large quantities of Graham crackers, Graham's own invention. White bread was strongly condemned by Graham and his followers, however, as being essentially devoid of nutrition, a claim echoed by nutritionists ever since. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvester_Graham http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvester_Graham
- kragen 16y ago
  Posting this for llimllib, whose comment was for some reason [dead]ed: Or the Rev. Sylvester Graham: > Grahamites, as Graham's followers were called, accepted the teaching of their mentor with regard to all aspects of lifestyle. As such, they practiced abstinence from alcohol, frequent bathing, daily brushing of teeth, vegetarianism, and a generally sparse lifestyle. Graham also was an advocate of sexual abstinence, especially from masturbation, which he regarded as an evil that inevitably led to insanity. He felt that all excitement was unhealthful, and spices were among the prohibited ingredients in his diet. As a result his dietary recommendations were inevitably bland, which led to the Grahamites consuming large quantities of Graham crackers, Graham's own invention. White bread was strongly condemned by Graham and his followers, however, as being essentially devoid of nutrition, a claim echoed by nutritionists ever since. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvester_Graham http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvester_Graham

ojbyrne 16y ago

The funny thing is, the scathing review almost makes me want to read the book. Almost.

vessenes 16y ago
That wasn't scathing, it was fawning. Ferriss dreamed of that review. I'll bet money he has it framed somewhere in his house.. What more could he have wanted someone to write?
- whatusername 16y ago
  Case in Point: http://twitter.com/#!/tferriss/status/23166933377486848 http://twitter.com/#!/tferriss/status/23166933377486848

micaelwidell 16y ago

The big question here is: is Tim Ferriss that self-righteous naturally, or does he do it on purpose to gain more attention? Few people can deny that being so self-righteous that other people get provoked is one hell of a personal marketing strategy. I just keep wondering if the people who succeed in personal branding have thought this out and planned their self-righteousness strategically, or if they just are that way naturally and got lucky.

deleted 16y ago
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Alex3917 16y ago
"Tim Ferriss that self-righteous naturally, or does he do it on purpose to gain more attention?" Your personality is just a strategy that was devised by your two-year-old self in order to keep you safe and get attention: http://vimeo.com/16260822 http://vimeo.com/16260822 That said, once you're an adult and you no longer rely on others for safety, you get to start over and make whatever changes you want. Obviously if you want to be famous then you need to choose live a life and adopt a personality that will make you famous. The whole package isn't especially natural or fun for anyone, but some people naturally have bits and pieces of their private persona that also work well in public if you ham them up a bit. It's like Richard Branson. Do you think that Richard Branson wants to fly to tahiti to go rock climbing every weekend? Of course not. Some weekends he'd much rather curl up with a pot of tea and read the newspaper. But he can't, because he's Richard Branson and that's not what Richard Branson would do. Does he enjoy being Richard Branson? I'm sure there are things he likes about it, but most likely his personality was only really developed after he made a bunch of money to spend on personal coaching and stuff.
- patricklynch 16y ago
  "Your personality is just a strategy that was devised by your two-year-old self in order to keep you safe and get attention" ...And now I've got another hour of lecture in my 'to watch' queue.
- ryanwaggoner 16y ago

jsmcgd 16y ago

Personally I thought this review wasn't funny and quite shallow. I got the impression the author had only read the introduction and one or two other chapters.

edw519 16y ago

If nothing else, the staying power of this shit is a testament to the power of marketing. Now imagine what you can accomplish when you combine that with something that actually offers value to others. Hack away!

Kutta 16y ago
I don't know much about Ferris, and haven't read the book but I've been a quite devoted life extensionist for a while, researching diets and studies and nutritients relentlessly, and a favorite researcher and blogger of mine is Chris Masterjohn, whose scientific rigor and sobriety is ever unwavering, who wrote a favorable review of 4-hour body. http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Review-Tim-Ferriss-4-Hour-Body.html http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Review-Tim-Ferriss-4-H...
zackattack 16y ago
getting a nice body - looking beautiful - is probably one of the most valuable benefits you could offer to someone. rule of marketing - human drives. 4HB appeals to drive to bond, drive to defend, drive to acquire.
- philwelch 16y ago
  Plus--as far as the "four hour" promise goes--the desire not to work very hard or very long for it.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - jared314 16y ago
    Having read some of his stuff, you are incorrect about not working hard.
    - InfinityX0 16y ago
      The ridiculousness of this stuff is not the content, it's the linkbait hyperbole he uses to market it. He draws people in with shit like "The 4 Hour Workweek", even though his content doesn't say that's actually going to be the case - at least not until deep into the process. And it pervades everything he does - shady marketing tactics that cover up content that's actually pretty decent.

timsco 16y ago

I've read most of the book and it's an entertaining read at worst and full of fitness tips you may use at best. You just have to glance around America to see that whatever the media spews at us about health isn't working. I say, good for him for trying to hack away at the medical / weight loss / media / diet establishment.

philwelch 16y ago
Well, the part of the media that's filled with Coca-Cola and McDonald's commercials needs to be taken down a notch, but I don't think "orthodox health techniques don't work" are an adequate explanation for why people are in bad shape. After all, not many people are good at following any kind of health technique at all.
- timsco 16y ago
  Yes, I completely agree but it's kind of like kids reading comic books over literature. At least they are reading. Having a health book at the top of New York Times bestseller list is never a bad thing (unless it's something unhealthy like Atkins). It's a good read and it's not as unorthodox as you think. There is some over the top stuff that he doesn't suggest that you do in there but it's mostly just good living tips that would help almost anyone.

_pius 16y ago

One of the most intellectually lazy book reviews I've ever read. All snark, no substance.

ipince 16y ago
Just like the review
forkrulassail 16y ago
Possibly just a marketing tactic for starting more conversations on the book.
fourstar 16y ago
Have you read Malcolm Gladwell?

zackattack 16y ago

The worst part about the 4-hour body is how inconsistent Ferriss is. Are you support to take PAGG 3x a day? Why does he only take it once or twice when he details his hour-by-hour schedule? The second worst part about the 4-hour body is how much bullshit he fills the pages with. His section on jumping higher (for me, a major selling point of the book) is totally worthless and difficult-to-follow. (A few black and white diagrams did not do it for me... I would have preferred a workout routine.) Mostly he just spends the pages waxing poetic about some sexy ex-NFL gym trainer, and then he talks about how he set the one-day record at his gym for improving vertical leap. The third is that it's just very difficult to distill any practical information from the book. Man, I just want ONE workout plan, ONE meal plan, and they don't want to think about the rest of it. In order to properly synthesize the 4HB you'd have to do a lot of research, bring a healthy sense of skepticism, and basically spend a lot of time. I don't want to think! I want someone trustworthy to tell me SAFE things I can do that will more or less bring me results. But it motivated me to buy a caliper, and measure regularly, so I guess that's pretty good. And maybe I'll start stocking up on Brazil nuts. P.S. I am vegan.

SHOwnsYou 16y ago
The one day record for vertical leap improvement? Not a metric anyone keeps track of. Maybe he beat it because one was never set prior to that. Or perhaps he gamed the system. But most importantly, there are virtually no long term gains you can realize in a day that will increase your vertical leap. I hate to rag on the guy, but this just sounds ridiculous.
- lsc 16y ago
  >there are virtually no long term gains you can realize in a day that will increase your vertical leap. Eh, I'd bet you five bucks that if you measured my leap now, then had someone who knew what the hell they were doing show me proper form, maybe walk me through it a few times, you'd see a pretty radical improvement within the hour. Not, of course, due to any sort of muscular growth, but instead because I imagine my current vertical leap form is horrible, and you can usually get pretty good gains out of that sort of thing just by doing it correctly.

DanielBMarkham 16y ago

One of the things I've noticed from my earliest days on the net is the degree that folks seem willing to be humbled and belittled by what they think of as celebrity. Geesh, I remember some YC application deadlines that the sucking up got so bad I was afraid I might get pulled into the screen of my laptop. Ferriss seems to be capitalizing on this. He's the guy that had the new book over on Amazon with something like a thousand positive reviews. A thousand! Something has gone wrong somewhere. This was a great review. I am reminded of the beer commercial with "with most interesting man in the world". Sounds like Ferriss could have been a model for this idea. Obligatory link for those outside the states who haven't seen "The most interesting man in the world" beer commercials and don't know what I am talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bc0WjTT0Ps http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bc0WjTT0Ps

wazoox 16y ago
Ferris made no mystery that he likes to use shortcuts and exploit loopholes whenever possible, like when he basically cheated to win the chinese kickboxing championship.
- Swannie 16y ago
  Yep, he certainly worked hard to game the NYT best seller list... just like everyone else who wants to be #1 in their section!

teye 16y ago

4HB reads like a hacker's book, and that's why I loved it. Conventional wisdom says you kill yourself at the gym to bulk up. But a muscle isn't strengthened by fatigue -- it's strengthened by the body's response to that fatigue. So shouldn't your goal be triggering the response? That makes for an exciting read. The book is full of it -- tracking down the extraordinarily successful in a given field, taking their advice himself, and sharing the results.

hyperbovine 16y ago
Working four hours a week is revolutionary. Working out four hours a week is ... average. If you spend four hours a week doing any sort of strength training in a semi-competent manner, you are going to look good after a period of months. (And you won't even need to weigh your feces!) I fail to see why we need 571 pages of rebelling against conventional wisdom here.
- ph0rque 16y ago
  I believe it's working out 4 hours a month, not a week.
- eof 16y ago
  I believe it's 4 hours a month.
- ipince 16y ago
  Indeed, he claims he achieved his results by working out 4 hours in 28 days. Even so, working out 4 hours per week without changing your diet or just working out in a "semi-competent" manner will probably not bring you the results he claims to have gotten. You should at least familiarize yourself with the claims before denying them.
  - tome 16y ago
    Somehow a gym subscription that you're going to use for 4 hours a month seems like a waste of money.

Aaronontheweb 16y ago

Is it just me, or does every self-appointed culture snob find the need to make the gratuitous digs on Dan Brown's work? The man's an amazing storyteller.

aaronbrethorst 16y ago
I think you could take the manuscript for a Tom Clancy novel, replace each instance of "Jack Ryan" with "Robert Langdon", "CIA" with "Harvard", and "Kremlin" with "Vatican", and you'd be 80% done with the next Dan Brown novel. How, exactly, an Italian, crypto-Opus Dei-member, 747 pilot crashing a plane into Harvard's Tercentenary Theatre during Freshman Convocation would result in Langdon becoming the next President of Harvard, though, would indeed require an amazing storyteller. That one doesn't quite write itself.
- jacques_chester 16y ago
  Langdon would be the only survivor of the senior faculty and would be automatically elevated to the post. He, and a sexy bimbo who is ostensibly an aerospace engineer, would engage in a whirlwind tour of the world, including * Finding 14th century patterns in the flight paths of major airlines * A gripping episode at the Boeing High Technology Escapades Centre near Seattle, Washington (warning: location may not exist) * 50 pages of hastily cribbed history notes about ancient greece * The discovery that the descendants of the Cult of Pythagoras and the the Eleusinian Mysteries have been secretly at war for thousands of years and that this explains all historical events up to and including Facebook. edited for typos and misspellings.
brc 16y ago
Apparently you're not culturally elite unless you can find new ways to make fun of Dan Brown and Tim Ferriss. I would respect this if the snubbers wouldn't trade their soul for the success of either author. Every snarky review I've ever read comes off as sour grapes and tends to devolve into a character assissination instead of a constructive criticism of the content. These guys write books that people evidently want to read. I fail to see the problem.
16y ago

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DanielRibeiro 16y ago

The author's comment on this[1]: NY Times - Dwight Garner's snarky review of The 4-Hour Body: http://su.pr/16Eh4w http://su.pr/16Eh4w For 100% ad hominem, it's pretty funny. [1] http://twitter.com/#!/tferriss/status/23166933377486848 http://twitter.com/#!/tferriss/status/23166933377486848

kareemm 16y ago
Reminds me of PT Barnum's line: "I don't care what they write about me as long as they spell my name right."

alecco 16y ago

And don't miss his upcoming book "The 4-hour hair-loss"!

ryanwaggoner 16y ago
I can guarantee you 100% hair-loss in 4 minutes: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VVT94G?ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000VVT94G&tag=ryanwaggonerc-20 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VVT94G?ie=UTF8&link...
- getsat 16y ago
  Thanks for reminding me that I'm part of Amazon's affiliate program. :)

judegomila 16y ago

I lost 15 pounds in 4 hours after buying the book. This was uk currency though. - it's an entertaining read.

catshirt 16y ago

imho, it's equally negligent to deny it entirely as it is to accept it entirely.

keeptrying 16y ago

The part of the book that you MUST take seriously is the part about the methods of rehabilitating your body after an injury. Most of you will be sitting for in a chair for a good chunk of the next 10 years, so bad backs and bad knees are a given. So understanding why this happens and on how to fix it is huge. Getting all that info in one place took me 2 years of learning as only leading strength coaches know this stuff. Your doc probably won't.

treeface 16y ago

I greatly dislike how the NYT hijacks my browser's text selection. I'd much rather be able to right click the selected text and search for it on Google than have that silly word lookup hover.

omeega 16y ago

I find that aggregate amazon reviews are fairly accurate. Im surprised by the high reviews. http://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Body-Uncommon-Incredible-Superhuman/dp/030746363X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294364545&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Body-Uncommon-Incredible-Superh...

protez 16y ago

Loved both the book and the review. Tim is damn crazy and his lunacy, but practical one is what makes 4HB distinct from the other average books claiming nothing new, nothing to make fun of.

Eliezer 16y ago

I'm amazed by the similarity between the way some people seem personally offended by the existence of Timothy Ferriss and the way some people seem offended by Harry James Potter-Evans-Verres. I wonder if they're the same people.

kragen 16y ago
What is the similarity? Is it just that both groups of people dislike a person (albeit, in one case, a fictional person)? Because there are an awful lot of people who have people who dislike them.

nir 16y ago

It says a lot about where our industry is in right now that Ferris is celebrity for us. There's a lot in common between the 4 hour body and the 50 billion dollar Facebook.

jschuur 16y ago

They had me at 'beguiling'.

dshjtykyu 16y ago

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deleted 16y ago

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brianmwang 16y ago

The one thing that absolutely drives me up the wall is the recent touting of "Tim Ferriss's 'Slow-Carb' Diet" as if this was some sort of revelation previously withheld from the masses. Every time I hear somebody saying they're following it from 4HB I think, "These principles have been freely available and many times presented through a variety of media channels for years. Why is this news now and why is it being credited to Tim Ferriss?" I won't downplay Tim's mastery of self-marketing, but seeing this kind of thing makes me go bonkers.

me2i81 16y ago
What I find tiresome are entire books dedicated to a diet that can be described in a few pages. In Ferriss's book, this diet described in a few pages, with the usual self-help testimonials to fill it out to a whole chapter. He put out the same diet in a blog post a few years ago: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-20-lbs-of-fat-in-30-days-without-doing-any-exercise/ http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-... so at this point I don't begrudge him putting it in a book chapter. His first book was kind of ridiculous IMHO, but I liked this one. You can cherry pick silly bits out of it like the reviewer did, but a lot of it is pretty reasonable and does motivate people to actually try stuff.
skeltoac 16y ago
Good information bears repeating. Also, if it wasn't written in the last six months nobody will believe it.
matt_s 16y ago
None of what he has is new or revolutionary, it is just that he has gone through research and experiments to distill the key 2.5% of what you need to do for your body and poses everything as "try this as an experiment" instead of traditional books telling you to adopt their entire philosophy (Atkins, South Beach, etc.). It is much more actionable self help.

zavulon 16y ago

> Mr. Ferriss used a hormone-slash-drug called human chorionic gonadotropin and more than tripled his semen volume. “Happy days,” he writes. This is where I lost it.

lionhearted 16y ago

You know what's missing from this review? It doesn't have any "I tried this and it worked" or "I tried this and it didn't work" or "This goes against XYZ scientific study, so I'm hesitant to try it." In fact, I don't see any substance at all really, aside from gathering that the guy doesn't like Tim Ferriss.

jorgeortiz85 16y ago
It's a book review, not a peer review.

oldstrangers 16y ago

I'm curious if he has a 4-Hour hack for curing his male pattern baldness.

alinajaf 16y ago
Seriously, this was the one chapter that was missing from the book.
gkelly 16y ago
This was a reader question he answered in an interview I saw. He said he's accepted his hair loss ("going Jason Statham") and that existing solutions have too many negative side-effects.
forensic 16y ago
popping pills takes a lot less than 4 hours there are side effects though. and the side effects mainly relate to your testicles :( </25 year old already going bald>

mkramlich 16y ago

I'm going to write a book with two pages in it. Page one will say "Eat Right!" in a big bold font. Page two will have "Exercise!" on it. A few years later I'll release revised versions with extra chapters, er, I mean, pages, with statements like "Sleep Well!" and "Relax, Don't Worry!", etc. I mean, all I have to do is just promote the hell out of it.

runjake 16y ago

I've scoffed at his claims of 5K to 50K in 12 weeks, in the past. I went from couch potato to runner. I've run several marathons and ultras and have done quite a bit of experimenting on my body over the years. I managed to borrow a copy of this book tonight and pounded through quite a bit of it. From what I read, it's actually 4 weeks of bone/muscle/ligament conditioning, followed by 12 weeks of running training -- IF you can run a 5K at an 8:00 pace or faster. If you can't, then yep, you guessed it, more training time. This is doable and pretty much falls in line with conventional training (though Tim reorganizes it a little bit, and throws in the all important and generally under-emphasized benefits of cross-training), but it isn't "in 12 weeks" at all. I've done quite a bit of iterative experimenting with cross-training (especially cycling and swimming) and it unilaterally improved my running speeds and my long run recovery times. His graphs and charts seem rather superfluous to me. Meant to intimidate rather than inform. I'm not so concerned about permanent damage because of the initial 4 week conditioning process. If you're not already a seasoned runner, this program will take you as long or longer as Galloway or Joe Henderson's training plans. His advice and data are solid, but don't meet his "in 12 weeks" mark. As far as I know, he still hasn't actually run 50K. The book links to http://www.fourhourbody.com/ultra http://www.fourhourbody.com/ultra for his results, but its still a dead page.

thinkdifferent 16y ago

I have developed an interest in health and longevity and I read this book. Full of many interesting ideas, but I was left a bit lost. I'm going to try his Occam mass gaining protocol, which is entirely taken from Doug McGuff 'Body by Science'. I'm still a bit skeptical because I think that if something really works,sooner or later it will be adopted by the professional in the field. But bodybuilder (even natural ones) are still trainig in the classical way...

stipes 16y ago
Bodybuilders would tend to go for the 100% method, not the 80/20. Although reading through some responses to the book on bodybuilding forums is an entertaining way to spend an hour.

awongh 16y ago

tl; dr: “The 4-Hour Body” reads as if The New England Journal of Medicine had been hijacked by the editors of the SkyMall catalog.

yters 16y ago

The only body hack I want is infinite will power for all practical purposes. Everything else is just a footnote.