4 ms·

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.c

by 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.

by AlexC04 16y ago

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.