After holding off for nearly two years, I’m posting this because too many people have asked for it. The lasses should read it, too, as the same principles can be applied to bodyfat loss.
I weighed 152 lbs. for four years of high school, and after training in tango in Buenos Aires in 2005, that had withered to 146 lbs. Upon returning to the US, I performed an exhaustive analysis of muscular hypertrophy (growth) research and exercise protocols, ignoring what was popular to examine the hard science. The end result? I gained 34 lbs. of muscle, while losing 3 lbs. of fat, in 28 days.
Before and after measurements, including underwater hydrostatic weighings, were taken by Dr. Peggy Plato at the Human Performance Laboratory at the San Jose State University, and I had blood tests taken on September 30 and October 20. Though this ridiculous experiment might seem unhealthy, I also dropped my total cholesterol count from 222 to 147 without the use of statins. No joke.
Here are a few comparative shots. Oh, and I forgot to mention, all of this was done with two 30-minute workouts per week, for a total of 4 HOURS of gym time:
How did I do it?
First, some select stats on the 4-week change (9/21-10/23):
Bodyfat %- 16.72 to 12.23
Suit Size- 40 short to 44 regular (measured at Brooks Brothers at Santana Row in San Jose by a professional tailor)
Neck- 15.8″ to 18″
Chest- 37.5″ to 43″
Shoulders- 43″ to 52″
Thigh- 21.5″ to 25.5″
Calf- 13.5″ to 14.9″
Upper Arm- 12″ to 14.6
Forearm- 10.8″ to 12″
Waist- 29.5″ to 33.1″
Hips (Ass at widest)- 34″ to 38.23″
Here are the six basic principles that made it happen:
1. Follow Arthur Jones’ general recommendations for one-set-to-failure from the little-known Colorado Experiment, but with lower frequency (maximum of twice per week) and with at least 3 minutes between exercises.
2. Perform every repetition with a 5/5 cadence (5 seconds up, 5 seconds down) to eliminate momentum and ensure constant load.
3. Focus on no more than 4-7 multi-joint exercises (leg press, trap bar deadlift, overhead press, Yates bent row, dips, incline machine benchpress, etc.) and exercise your entire body each workout to elicit a maximal hormonal (testosterone, growth hormone + IGF-1) response.
4. Eat enormous quantities of protein (much like my current fat-loss diet) with low-glycemic index carbohydrates like quinoa, but drop calories by 50% one day per week to prevent protein uptake downregulation.
5. Exercise less frequently as you increase strength and size, as your recovery abilities can only increase 20-30%, while you can often increase fat-free muscle tissue up to 100% before reaching a genetic set-point.
6. Record every workout in detail, including date, time of day, order of exercises, reps, and weight. Remember that this is an experiment, and you need to control the variables to accurately assess progress and make adjustments.
For the ladies not interested in becoming the Hulk, if you follow a “slow-carb” diet and reduce rest periods to 30 seconds between exercises, this exact workout protocol can help you lose 10-20 pounds of fat in the same 28-day time span.
Once again, questioning assumptions leads to the conclusion: less is more. Detox from TV twice a week and put in your 4 hours a month!
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If you enjoyed this post, check out my latest book, The 4-Hour Body, #1 New York Times and #1 Amazon bestseller. You will learn: How to lose 20 pounds in 30 days (without exercise), how to triple your testosterone, techniques for producing 15-minute female orgasms, and more.
You can also pick up the Expanded and Updated 4-Hour Workweek, which includes more than 50 new case studies of luxury lifestyle design, business building, reducing hours 80%+, and world travel.
Related and Recommended Posts:
Tim Ferriss interviewed by Derek Sivers
Tim Ferriss articles on Huffington Post
Tim Ferriss interview – common questions on lifestyle design and productivity
Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That's how we're gonna be — cool. Critical is fine, but if you're rude, we'll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Brian Oberkirch for the inspiration.)
@Adam: Can you list what you eat? BTW reaching 5-7 k calories without protein shakes is quite dificult!
adamskis (and others who are having trouble), With regards to workouts – There's an important distinction between "feeling exhausted" and being "muscularly sore." Most people I see in the gym use very very poor form when lifting weights – this leads to feeling exhausted. However it is not effective because poor form means you're using other muscles than the intended muscle to cheat at the workout. If you have good form you should always be able to feel the specific muscle group you are working on during the workout, and the next day the muscle(s) should feel sore in a very specific way. Also very important is the 5/5 cadence Tim mentions. During my workouts, after I "fail" on my max weight I immediately drop to a low weight until I fail on that too. If you're using 5/5 cadence with proper form, it is possible to make yourself fail at bench pressing even a bar (no matter how strong you are). With regards to eating – I use the website DailyBurn.com from my iPhone to track my caloric intake. I was never a calorie counter before, but I find that it can be very informative. I'm extremely strict in following the diet Tim set forward. I don't use spices or sauces. Each meal is a huge helping of meat (either chicken or very lean ground beef or pure egg whites), a couple servings of veggies (spinach or asparagus), and a couple servings of legumes (black beans or pinto beans). 7 foods plus ice water and black coffee and a single glass of red wine before bed – that's all I eat (except Saturdays, when I go wild and eat myself sick). The key here is consistency and lots of protein, IMHO. I posted a summary of the first 4 weeks on my blog along with some tips, and will follow up again at the 8 week mark (I expect to have a lot more success during weeks 4-8, since I've really nailed down the whole process now). When I post that follow up I'll include some more details about exactly I did and did not do. http://leavingblog.com/2010/07/the-extreme-personal-fitness-experiment/
@Tim about his new book "Coming in Sept 2010 :)" Its about FREAKING TIME!!! -Jeb
Tim, while revisiting , this article a thought occurred to me. Conventional wisdom with running seems to be that a person needs to run like 3 times a week to keep their endurance up. It got me to wondering if that could be successfully challenged to say twice or even a single time per week. Any thoughts?
Hey Tim, Really inspiring post. My business partner and I are both big fans of your book and after seeing this post, among other things, we decided it was time to go from geeky designers to freaky ones. We've been doing rigorous research and have been devouring weight training/body building/strength training books faster than ever. Can't wait for your superhuman book. We haven't been using nautilus machines, NO2, or training with quite as slow a tempo, but we've been taking most of your advice to heart. Especially the tracking part. We've been religiously measuring everything and taking before and after pictures and even videos once a month. We have 60 day result pictures doing the Tim Ferriss poses, although we haven't quite mastered your controversial sizing algorithm 😉 http://foxhoundstudio.com/blog/fitness-lifestyle/lean-to-mean-60-day-results/ We're 85 days in and still haven't hit 34 pounds of lean muscle gain but we've never been happier with our physiques. Thank you for the post. You've definitely helped us out a lot! Our best, Shane & Jared
Hey Tim, Great post. I enjoyed it so much that I am going to give this workout a try with some minor modifications. We are going to use the Cyclical Ketogenic Diet for the duration of the 28 days. We purchased the supplements that you used, and added a Tribulus fuel from twinlabs. I was wondering why you took NOxplode first thing in the morning? Since that item has a ton of caffeine, and I am sensitive to it, is there any other pre workout supplements you would recommend? Thanks, Jesse Montalto
@adamskis What is your current workout routine? You also have to change your workout every 4-6 weeks as to avoid a plateau. Also, how much protein are you having each day? There is a reason as to why Tim mentions low glycemic carbs, because the insulin spike interferes with your bodys growth hormones. Let me know if we can help you, check out my site or send me an email. Jesse
It is a myth that workouts need to be changed every 6 weeks or so to avoid a plateau. If anything, doing so reduces rather than improves results. The bodybuilding and fitness magazines like to promote this belief though, because it justifies them making up new stuff every month to fill the space between ads for mostly useless supplements. A person often appears to plateau after 6 to 8 weeks because that is the time it takes for neural adaptations to max out for beginners, or for performance improvements from skill to max out on a different routine for more advanced trainees – which is why strength gains appear to slow down. It is at this point where you're starting to get to the more effective training. If a person truly plateaus after this point it is often because they are doing too much training. You can progress all the way to the upper limits of your muscular potential with a very basic routine consisting of just a few exercises without EVER switching it up, as long as you balance your training intensity and volume properly.
Hi again everybody! Can anybody tell me where I can buy Aspartame-free casein-protein? This counts for sucralose and any artificial sweetener, for they are neuro-toxins! (source: http://www.sweetpoison.com/phenylalanine.html) Thank you!
Aspartame is not harmful unless you have phenylketonuria. The site you linked to is for someone claiming to sell an "aspartame detox program" and the info there is unfounded and meant to scare people into buying from her. See http://www.quackwatch.com/04ConsumerEducation/QA/aspartame.html for real science on the subject. Page three of the About.com article contains the following along with similar comments from many other experts: Simeon Margolis, M.D., Ph.D. and professor of medicine and biological chemistry at Johns Hopkins University, agrees. In a 1999 feature for Intelihealth, he wrote: "A letter recently circulating on the Internet stated that aspartame can cause a number of illnesses: multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), as well as Alzheimer's disease. As far as I can ascertain, there is no reliable evidence to support the claim that aspartame causes any of these disorders." Responding to the claims that breakdown byproducts of aspartame are dangerous, he added: "While it is true that high heat can break down aspartame, there is no evidence that the breakdown products are toxic." In another Intelihealth Q & A feature, gastroenterologist Lawrence J. Cheskin, also of Johns Hopkins, wrote: "…the evidence is overwhelming that there are no health risks to use of aspartame in the usual amounts (even 64 ounces) for everyone except the one person in about 16,000 in the United States who has phenylketonuria and can't metabolize it."
Dear Tim, Could you provide me (us) with an ebook with all the details of the workout, food, plan, etc… also.. the principles of the Experiment.. Please provide or else my wrath will fall upon you and despair and misery will be your everyday brother and sister. the viking has spoken, long live the ice lands of the north. ……
@ Drew Baye Mr. Baye, please do not give me that "aspartame is safe" mumbo-jumbo. You have former FDA-investigators ON RECORD stating that aspartame was not properly tested before going on the food market! (source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKfAf9iYoi4 approx. 7:20 in the video) You are correct that people who are sensitive to phenylalanine avoid foods that contain them (like apples, bananas, oranges etc), but those foods only contain 4-5% of phenylalanine while aspartame contains 50%!! "Phenylalanine derived from aspartame can cross the blood-brain barrier and cause an imbalance of itself in the brain, causing serotonin to decrease. This lowered serotonin triggers psychiatric and behavioral problems, and aspartame interacts with all antidepressants. Elevated phenylalanine levels in both the blood and parts of the brain are associated with constant aspartame use. Neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock has shown earlier studies, which indicate that concentrations of this amino acid accumulate in the hypothalamus, medulla oblongata, and corpus stranium areas of the brain. Even earlier studies had determined that phenylalanine buildup in the brain can cause schizophrenia, or increase susceptibility to seizures." http://dorway.com/dorwblog/aspartame-one-mans-poison-another-mans-profit/ There you have it, everything scientific there is about the TOXICITY of aspartame! So again: If anybody knows where I can buy Casein free of any artificial sweetener, please let me know! Thank you.
What warm-ups, if any, are needed with Tim's workout? This question was put before by someone else but I can't find an answer anywhere.
Hey Tim, I just got an idea I want to run by you, and the other commenters here for that matter. I have been lifting every 4-5 days and got this idea while re-reading Body by Science, and after seeing Ellington Darden mention that he thought occasional not to failure workouts could be helpful. I was thinking about the different types of muscle fiber, and how slow muscles recover within the same day, intermediate muscles take maybe 2-3 days, and fast muscles take 4-10 days. It occurs to me that, while training every 4-7 days may be ideal for fast muscles, it might be too infrequent for slow muscles, as after 4 days they may have recovered, strengthened, and then started to weaken again. The same may happen to intermediate muscles after a week. So what I was wondering is, what if I worked out every 3 days, but alternated between working to total muscle failure and pre-failure workouts? What I'm thinking is, same exercises in the pre-failure routine, but lower the weight and time under load by 20-30% compared to the previous t-failure workout. According to the principle of orderly recruitment, the pre-failure workout should be able to exhaust the slow muscles, recruit but only and maybe fatigue the intermediate muscles, but avoid recruiting the fast muscles, which haven't recovered yet. The exact timing could be tricky, but it sounds like it could work. Have you ever heard of anyone trying anything like this, or do you have any input on why it may or may not work?
John, While recovery time can vary with fiber type (slow twitch recovering faster, fast recovery slower), you do not start losing strength after a few days. Even if you were to take a few weeks off, as long as you were getting plenty of rest and eating properly you would not lose strength. It is also important to consider that local recovery – repair of muscle damage – is only one part of recovery, and that the inflammatory response to the damage also has to be recovered from, and that may or may not take longer than local recovery for some muscles, depending on the individual. When in doubt it is better to allow more recovery time than you need than not get enough and interrupt the process with another workout. If you rest longer than you need to you will not lose strength. I've had clients come back after being on vacation or away for business for several weeks and beat the weights and reps from their previous workout. If you train before your body has recovered though, you'll just keep accumulating damage and contributing to more inflammation and interfere with your body's ability to recover and adapt to the workout.
Adam, aspartame is safe. You might want to find more reputable sources of information on the subject, rather than unscientific alarmists and quacks like Dr. Hull. From CNN Health's Dr. Gupta: "The fact is, current evidence does not support this idea that aspartame could cause cancer, or that it is unsafe. According to the American Dietetic Association, aspartame’s safety is documented in more than 200 objective scientific studies. The Food and Drug Administration has concluded that aspartame is safe, and there are no strong data out there to refute that. In 2007, the most comprehensive look at the research was conducted, and the conclusion was, again, that aspartame is safe. An important caveat to that research – it was paid for by the company Ajinomoto, which makes aspartame."
Why is Dr. Hull an alarmist and quack? Doesn't sound very scientific to me. Whom I quoted was Dr. Blaylock, by the way, but I suppose he's just an alarmist quack aswell? I went ahead and researched that 2007 study and came up with this: "Ajinomoto, a top manufacturer of aspartame, has announced that aspartame is completely safe. This conclusion was reached by a panel of industry-friendly "experts" hired by Ajinomoto, who did no new research but, instead, selectively reviewed previous studies on the safety of aspartame (many of which were funded by aspartame manufacturers in the first place)." http://dinapharm.com/store/article_info.php?articles_id=109&osCsid=4748c049029a727877df21c881d8e606 I you would like to read a very-well sourced articel there is this one: The review was funded by Ajinomoto of Japan. Ajinomoto along with Monsanto have been the world’s biggest producers and sellers of aspartame. The authors of the review had numerous, obvious conflicts of interests as described below. Yet this information was apparently not disclosed to the journal it was published in. The parent company of the journal stated in a press release that, “There were no known conflicts of interest with the sponsor or potential biases of the authors” (Informa 2007). Gary M. Williams was the Chairman of the American Health Foundation (AHF) which was funded in part by The NutraSweet Company and other companies selling aspartame-containing products (Williams 1987). AHF Board of Directors have included representatives of PepsiCo and the National Soft Drink Association (CSPI 2003). The AHF received more than $163,000 in grants from Philip Morris. “Regarding an AHF press kit prepared by the PR firm, Ruder and Finn, William Ruder writes to Philip Morris: ‘please note that we have handled it so that there is not one single mention of the problem of smoking and health.’” (CSPI 2003, Ruder 1975). " http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/burdock/ And it just goes on and on….. So perhaps you understand my scepticism when you say to me "aspartame is safe" when clearly there is only pseudo-science regarding its saftey plus it is a banned substance in Japan! Why should I use a chemical that an entire nation has branded as dangerous!? But if You want to believe that aspartame is safe, that methyl ester(10% of aspartame-molecule) is NOT converted to METHANOL in our bodies wich causes METHANOL-poisoning then you can go ahead and do that.
I'm not going to debate this with you here, Adam. I recommend those interested do their own research, and make their own conclusions, but read everything VERY critically.
Hi Tim, Just curious as to what your supplementation regimen looks like, if you adhere to one? Not just for strength & performance purposes but for overall health. Since you have experience with supplement design and a neuroscience background I would assume you have a bit of experience in this arena.
Tim, Using your basic method but concentrating on a small muscle group (i.e. didn't require the huge amounts of food) I was able to add an inch to my right bicep and 3/4 of an inch to my left bicep in 6 weeks in Nov-Dec last year. It was strictly for cosmetic reasons (think greek ideal of flexed bidep=calf=neck), but bottom line is that it worked for something like that.
Hey I don't see where your workout routine was. Is there something I can see or buy that explains all of this? Also, pertaining to protein, did you do any studies with 'normal' protein levels as well as a control with maybe another subject?
Thanks for the great tips. I'm impressed that you were able to put 34 pounds of muscle on in 4 weeks. An enormous task. Quite motivating. From research, I recommend performing from five to seven reps for each major muscle group. Also, to enjoy maximum muscle gain lift heavy weights, and select a good diet and good dietary supplements.
WOW!!! I can honestly say that Tim, you are a Freak!!! Having said that I wish I would have taken before and after photos of a similar program and made a DVD. My results were 182lb (measured after my first day of 4-5k in calories and 400+ grams of protein) to 208+ lbs after 6 weeks of crazy intense work(I believe a DVD is almost necessary to show a good definition of intensity). I used old school, unpopular, hard to find methods and no supplements other a simple protein powder and lots of food. I did this as an experiment to show people (my class) that gaining muscle was not that hard. I was amazed at the amount of energy and testosterone I had pumping through my body. I failed once on my set of dips 3 weeks into the program, but after that I continued to put five pounds on every lift, every week (sometimes I felt so good I would jump up 10 lbs with no problems). I got exactly what I wanted out of the experiment. Again, what a great example of what we all could do, I wish I would have thought to sell this idea.
Tim, you are the man! I can't believe the tenacity of the hater who calls you a liar at every turn. For myself, I read your book when it first came out. At the time I was overweight, unfit and 58 years old. I resisted going to the gym because I couldn't get past the thought of 2 hours in the gym (my habit from years before) to get back in shape. I had no energy or ambition. I decided to try your workout routine without the heavy diet, since I was too heavy already. I recorded my workouts faithfully, more to avoid repitition of the same exercises. The first thing that happened, I felt great and couldn't wait to get back to the gym three days later. This lead to regular twice per week visits. Second, I noticed rapid muscle development and strength. I changed my diet to vegan. This lasted about two years and my diet since has been considerably better. Third, I signed up for Kempo training and recently achieved the rank of brown belt. I've also added dance to my program a few times per week. I have a Naturopath for a doctor now and he is very tallented, I'm taking supplements for my health that give me energy that I can't remember having in this life. I'm now 62 and look and feel great. When I was a teenager my dream was to have 16" biceps, I'm now at 15 3/4" and that is way bigger than I've ever been. It all began with you. I can't thank you enough. Bill
I really want to try this program but i have one problem with it. I really want to build size and strengt in my upper body, but from my belly and down i want to reduce size. So how should i go about this? Should i not do the leg exersices?
Tim, I'm glad you're still responding to comments on this post. I've been doing some research on The Colorado Experiment and came across this routine: Leg Press 750 for 20 reps Leg Extension 225 for 20 reps Squat 502 for 13 reps 2 minute rest Leg Curl 175 for 12 reps One legged calf raise w/ 40 lb in one hand 15 reps Pullover 290 for 11 reps Behind the neck Lat Isolation 200 for 10 reps Row machine 200 for 10 reps Behind the neck Lat Pulldown 210 for 10 reps Straight armed lateral raise w/ Dumbbells 40 lbs for 9 reps Behind the neck shoulder press 185 for 10 reps Bicep Curl Plate loaded 110 for 8 reps Chinup Body Weight for 12 reps Tricep Extension 125 for 9 reps Parallel Dip Body Weight for 22 reps Is this the same routine you'd recommend (except for the weight which would obviously be tailored to the individual)? What routine did you use? I'm just trying to figure out which exercises have the maximum effect. Thanks for the help!
Great article, I've done workouts where I put in only about 20-30 minutes a day and they've shown great results. Really appreciate this article.
Timothy! First off, I have to say that you are my favorite author. I love how you're the most productive with the least amount of effort and how you live life to the fullest. I sincerely thank you for sharing your book, blog and the future writings to come. I read this post a couple years ago and had always planned to try it. Then, when I found out about your new book that would cover this topic in more detail, I decided I would wait till it came out before trying it…but a month ago I decided I would give it a test run, and when the book comes out later this year, I’d try it again! What would I have to lose? I’m 25 years old, 6 foot 2 and my weight has fluctuated between 145-150 lbs. the past 5 years, and the most I have ever weighed is 155. Gaining weight has always been impossible for me no matter how much I eat. ..but after one month of following your protocol, I now weigh 175 lbs! I gained 25 lbs. in one month, this was while I was going through graduate school, with finals, papers and presentations to worry about! Here are my before and after measurements in inches: July 23, 2010 Aug. 23, 2010 Bicep 9.5 10 11 12.5 Forearm 8.5 8.5 10 10 Neck 14 15 Chest 34 38 Waist 30 34.5 Butt 37 42 Thigh 19 20 20 21.5 Calf 13 13 14 14.5 weight 150 175 Some tips that helped me: • When you said “The blender is your friend”, you weren’t kidding! It’s so much easier to down liquid then solid. • I don’t count calories so I don’t know exactly how much I ate every day…but here is my diet: I started out each day eating 1,000 calorie shake full of oatmeal, Kashi cereal, fruits and veggies. I would eat a big lunch and dinner with those meals you recommended and then I would eat that macaroni meal you recommended before and after those meals! Throughout the day I would drink an “Odwalla Protein Monster” that I got at Wal-Mart. It’s 32 ounces 880 calories and 72 grams of protein ; ) • I didn’t use any supplements (I'm guessing they wouldn't hurt though). • Having a supportive wife that is an excellent cook and a personal trainer at 24 Hour Fitness definitely helps ; ) Thanks so much Tim!
Going to try this i have cutted for 12 weeks I think tim i am just going to take your diet for bulking and train 6 days a week this is probably not the best option but going to use your diet making sure i do compound movements i was wondering when bulkinf 2 weeks 3000 calories 2-4 weeks 4000 5-6 weeeks 5000 anyone help me to do a proper bulk, be greatly appreciated!
Thanks Tim! Any suggestions for a book of easy low glycemic index foods and prep. I like the "keep it simple" of few meals. Thanks.
Coming from a legit fitness professional, you forgot to mention one thing. You were on steroids. There is no way it is PHYSICALLY possible for a human being to gain 34 lbs of muscle in a month, literally, no physiological way for that to occur naturally. Not on the best diet, best lifting routine, does not matter…this is BS.
Impressive transformation! Keep up the good work – judging by the tips you're writing you've got some knowledge, should be easy…
It seems you have gained a shoulder rotation (innward) as well as scoliosis. Take care of posture while training. Pilates, RPG, Yoga and Kung Fu are the best things I have learned so far. Anyway, nice weight gain!
Hey Tim, We last posted two months into our four month summer muscle gaining experiment. We've just finished! We're leaner than we started and bigger than we've ever been. We didn't know if we would barrel on after the experiment was over, but our energy levels are higher, we feel healthier and we've even come to love the diet—and we had fun doing it. At the very beginning we gave ourselves an end date, where we would have a bodybuilding shoot, so attempted to look our buffest for the eight mandatory bodybuilding poses. We have before & afters too. http://foxhoundstudio.com/blog/fitness-lifestyle/lean-to-mean-finale-a-summers-worth-of-packing-on-muscle-and-tearing-off-fat-from-bony-to-beastly/ Thanks again for the feedback! As trivial as it may seem, your comment on our blog really reinvigorated us to keep at it. Can't wait for your up-and-coming book. Hopefully it'll help us make phase two even more effective. We've still got a ways to go! Our best, Shane & Jared
Please explain to me how this is humanly possible. I do not believe your 4 week claim.
My main concern is will eating this diet also make my shadow go away as it did yours? Did you shadow come back as you ate a less rigoruos diet? I'm afraid that not having a shadow would be too much of a social hassle. Please help. :/
Tim, I'm not sure whether you're a charlatan or not, but as these 911 (oops, 912) posts prove, you're certainly an interesting guy. Kudos to you for saying new and convincing things about topics of such broad appeal.
What type of protein did you eat?
Regarding the China Study: Sounds like, although rats given 20% casein instead of 5% got cancer, but the ones fed only 5% just flat out died young… http://westonaprice.org/blogs/the-curious-case-of-campbells-rats-does-protein-deficiency-prevent-cancer.html
This story is almost certainly false, as anyone with any experience in natural (without steroids) weight training will gladly tell you. Even with the use of such drugs, I would still be skeptical. If you try to repeat these results, don't be discouraged by your certain failure, just keep working at it. 1-3 lbs a muscle per month over a year or so of training is very good and will make a big difference in your appearance
Ferriss, The timing of your new book is perfect-almost anyway. Please let me explain. About 6 month's ago I read a book about RFL (Radio Frequency Lesioning) for my back pain. The author (a doctor) suggested losing weight and getting some exercise. After 51 years, all of a sudden it was sound advice. Sound advice that worked. I went on the Ideal Protein diet which, coupled with some exercise, allowed me to lose almost 30 pounds. My 3 trips a week to the gym (3 sets of 15 slow reps) transformed my body. Yes-favorably. And I have managed to keep my weight stable ever since. However, after a few months I started to develop shoulder and elbow pain. Some cortisone use to relieve it but not anymore. Energy was fading. Two young children. Life. I started to look into "life extension" types of products. Cenegenics? Too expensive for me and too many shots. With the help of a local life extension physician I was just about to start taking armor thyroid and use testosterone cream followed by a post cycle including clomid and ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz. Are you still there? I too am bored. And scared! I will wait for your book. I am 51 years old and look forward to communicating my experience with you and others. Thanks for being a guinea pig for the rest of us. Regards, Four Hour Johnson PS. I bought 5 books as requested. I am planning on the possibility of you changing my life again! Looking forward to your call!
@Eric J From personal experience I would refute your assertion that muscle growth can not under the right circumstances, be very rapid. I gained 28 pounds of body weight in a two month period when I first started training in1984, this was accompanied by a 4'' reduction in waist circumference suggesting a substantial decrease in body fat levels, thought my diet and training at the time were far form optimal (3 x 30 minute whole body workouts per week) the intensity was fairly heigh and the volume low enough to allow for reasonable recovery relative to my then condition. That is not to say that gains of this magnitude should be expected on a continued basis, it took me approximately 12 months to gain an additional 12lbs of fairly solid body weigh. With hind sight I believe if I had trained with less volume/frequency and more intensity I may have gained even more then I did. I don't consider myself to have anything but average genetics and certainly have never taken anabolic steroids or any other ped's for that matter. I suppose 'experts' would tell me what I achieved was impossible, luckily I was blissfully ignorant of that at the time.
Andy, I should have stated that my assertion stemmed from my own experience and observation of others. I obviously cannot know what might be possible for any particular individual, but if you gained muscle that rapidly you probably have well above average genetics. The article seems to imply that 34 lbs of muscle is a reasonable expectation if someone follows Tim's recommendations and that simply won't happen for 99% of people. Not even close.
I would have never thought that was possible! 34 pounds in 4 weeks almost feels like a marketing ad or some sort! Impressive indeed, very fit and looking good! A Charmer i must say 😉
Eric My genetics I'd say they were decidedly average, my upper body was very under developed as the sports I'd been involved with up to that point had no requirement for upper boy strength, and I had had a couple of years of a pretty sedentary lifestyle…were talking 11/75 inch arms and a huge 36 inch chest :). So Some of my gain could have been accounted for by a normalisation of bodyweight, my pre-training body weight was 140lbs. I think what this article try's to convey is what's is possible…your mileage may vary however. And again don't expect gains off this magnitude to continue for any great length of time, he's not suggesting you can gain 34lbs of muscle every month ad infinitum. But as most people find your greatest gains happen in the first few months of training when the stimulus is new and the metabolic costs of aqueiring additional muscle tissue are comparatively low.
I did a bit of research and the general consensus is that 1.5 per week is the upper limit. That is, the best even a very gifted person can do. Just for the hell of it, I also decided to look up some other data for comparison. A baby African elephant can gain about 2 lbs per day during its most rapid growth phase. Not muscle, just total body growth. Tim is claiming 1.2 lbs. per day of pure muscle. Take from that whatever you will.
Eric J, The general consensus about most things in the field of exercise is dead wrong, as most of the mainstream is driven by tradition or commercial interests rather than science. Some publications and organizations pay lip service to science, but if they actually followed it they'd have to set their egos aside and admit they've been wrong about a lot of things for a long time. Due to differences in genetics and environmental factors individuals vary tremendously in their response to exercise, and under some circumstances extremely rapid gains are possible (beginners, people returning to training after a long layoff, people regaining muscle after loss due to inactivity, illness, etc.). It took me nearly 6 months to gain 30 pounds of muscle using this approach, but I trained a man in 2007 who put on 8 pounds of muscle in three weeks. He came to me to help him strengthen his legs to prepare for a bike trip he was going on in hillier terrain than he was used to. Turns out he was a very fast gainer, and went from 165 to 173 pounds with no significant increase in body fat (approx 6%). His workouts consisted of only one set of six different exercises and lasted only around 20 min each. I recently started training him again, and since he had not done any strength training on a regular basis since the first time I trained him his weight had dropped back down to 166. I weighed and measured him and put him through his first workout on Sept 17th. I weighed him again the day of his fifth workout, on Oct 1, and after only two weeks and only four workouts, consisting of only one set each of six exercises, he had reached his previous high body weight of 173. His abdominal skinfold measurement has not changed (in men it tends to go up before the chest or thigh skinfolds) suggesting no significant fat gain. His gains were fast the first time (over 2.5 lbs per week) but regaining has been significantly faster (3.5 lbs per week). As part of the experiment I'll be training him for a total of eight weeks, and it will be interesting to see just how much more muscle we can put on him. While Tim's results are unusual I wouldn't consider them impossible, especially if most of the muscle was being regained. You might want to consider the general consensus about the maximum possible rate of muscle gain is so low because the general consensus about the best way to train and eat to gain muscle is wrong. The "experts" may have low expectations because their methods don't produce results as quickly.
lmao the average man gains 5lbs a month and in 3 months can gain 15lbs of lean muscle, the average man on steroids gains 10lbs of lean muscle a month and 30lbs in 3 months hahaha you're a scammer and liar
When I advise companies on internet marketing I see a lot of what is happening here in comments. People listen, than take what you have given them, modify it with unknown reason and as it seems pretty random, and than implement. Thats what I see here: modyfing the diet, number or time of excercises, and other variables. And it's good if you are an expert, have tried already the "basic" model and want to experiment. But if you haven't done EXACLY what Tim has prescribed – than you are just wasting your time. Most good systems work perfectly well only if you take care of all the elements. And that is exacly what I'm doing right now: started 2 days ago: diet+training. EXACLY the way Tim has described it. First gathered data: It's harder than I thought, but I'm sure it'll be worth the effort.
That's great change!! Holy crap. Is there a world record that has been set for fastest muscle gain in the shortest period of time? That would be interesting to know, maybe you could enter or start it? I think you really have tapped into how to make rapid change, which is hard. My biggest problem with fitness change before was the mental blocks of changing my lifestyle. I have realized that if your mind is running in one direction the actions or the plan doesn't matter so much, it ended up being a lot of effort. Other people had made great change on that plan that I followed and kept it, I succeed on determination alone. I had everything dialed in and was very specific to everything I was doing but I simply couldn't keep going. Now I have found a more effortless way to making change, now that I got the mind game figured out – it wasn't easy. But I'm interested now in checking out what your book has to offer. Kudos for big gains
Seeing as this was posted in 2007, I was wondering how have you done with keeping the gains? Any muscle loss over the years?? Awesome post man, an inspiration to us all.
have already been reading ur site for 3 days. absolutely love your posts. btw i am doing study about this topic. do you know other great blogs or perhaps forums in which I might find out more? many thanks.
Nice Post And Good Workout to build muscles! The larget muscle building mistake you can make is doing routines from muscle magazines. Most of those guys don’t train naturally, are genetically gifted and never started training that way. Doing their routines won’t make you build muscle fast.
Your story is an inspiration to all who want a great physique, especially myself. I have ordered your book from Amazon and am looking forward to using your program.
Tim, quick question: I believe you 100% that this routine works. I've done similar things in the past and it is EFFECTIVE. But I have a hard time sticking to it because, even though I only spend 30 min in the gym twice a week, those 30 min leave me EXHAUSTED. I've done squat days where I end up sleeping for 12 to 14 hours the next day, plus I'm hungry for protein and I spend a lot more time eating or thinking about food. It's hardly compatible with a normal life if I'm knocked out like that one day out of the week. Have you experienced this? What should I do?
The photos should have been standardized better, however even if they're shot at different distances if you scale them in photoshop to match the distance from the clavicles to the knees you'll get it pretty close (head and feet can be off a bit depending on the angle of the lense). I wrote about Tim's transformation and similar ones at http://baye.com/four-hours/ and included a version of Tim's first before/after set which has been scaled to match the height. Even when scaled to match the transformation is obvious and impressive. For anyone planning to do something similar I recommend the following: Find a blank wall that is well lit or light it so the light is coming from the front and not directly overhead. If you have a professional set up, use a light gray background and set the lights at 45 degree angles off the subject and about 8 ft high so the shadows are cast down and behind the subject rather than directly behind. Stand at least a few feet away from the wall or backdrop so the shadows are further away and not as hard. Measure the distance, mark it on the floor and record it. The mark is for consistent positioning between poses (front, back, side, etc.) the record is for consistent positioning between shoots. Do the same for the camera. Ideally you should be shooting from a distance of about 20 feet or more from the subject, NOT close up using a wide angle lense. Record both the distance from the subject and the height of the camera (at the lense) and any settings used, and use the exact same settings at both shoots. Mark an 8" square on the floor where you will stand. Place your feet just outside this space. Consistent foot spacing makes it easier to compare changes in thigh diameter because it affects the space between the thighs. For fat loss comparisons the hands should be placed directly ON TOP of the head (not behind) with fingers interlaced. This is better than having the arms at the sides because it makes the waist/midsection the focal point. If the arms are held out to the sides differences in the shoulder angle affect the space between the arms and sides which affects how people perceive changes in waist size. For muscle size comparisons I recommend the following poses: front and rear double biceps front and rear lat spread side chest side tricep ab and thigh most muscular or "crab" pose If you don't know how to do these correctly (judging from photos of non-bodybuilders on the net, most people don't) do a search for them online along with the words "posing tips". Wear as little as you're comfortable having the whole world seeing you in. If you are light skinned wear dark, solid colors. If you are dark skinned wear lighter, solid colors. Wear the exact same cut and style during before and afters. If you are doing fat loss comparison and lose a huge amount of weight either buy the exact same item in your new size, otherwise wear the old ones even if they're loose and use safety pins to bring in the waist. The cut of the clothing affects perception of body shape. If you're doing a muscle gain comparison, wear posing trunks, track shorts, or sweat pants cut high enough to show the thighs. After the first shoot put the clothing away somewhere safe and save it for the after shoot. Make or print copies of your before photos and hang them in your home gym or keep a set in a binder in your car to look at before you go into the gym to work out. Hang them on your refrigerator. Wherever you might need a reminder to stay disciplined with your eating (and eating a LOT of food requires as much discipline as restricting intake) or to push yourself harder in your workouts. If you are a personal trainer or fitness consultant of any type these photos are invaluable for marketing. My biggest regret is that I did not photograph more clients earlier and one of my biggest frustrations now is that many clients don't want to be photographed at first (they regret not having before photographs when they look awesome though). Comparison photography will say more about your ability to produce results than anything you could say to a potential customer. One good set of before/after photos is worth 100 testimonials.
Hey Tim, Look up Wiliam Kraemer (#1 rearscher in the world) and Boyd Epley (Hall of Fame Strength coach). Look up "The Metabolic Circuit". Originated 1968 -1978 and was called the seceret weapon in sports. Amazing results, Incredible stories and you would love to look at the research. I'm a strength coach and every year I watch boys become men in 4 weeks, it is unreal. Contact me if you want direct info. Its wild… Thomas Newman
Is this real life?
These are really impressive results. Were you able to reproduce these results for anyone else? Also, I read above that you did 8-12 repetitions per set. Which exercises specifically did you do for your workouts?
Surprised I haven't seen this question really – what if we aren't into the Creatine/Caffeine from the NO explode? What are the alternatives?
Hey Tim, I gained 12 pounds of muscle in one month, and my partner gained 20 pounds, from our baseline of 149 and 152 pounds. I've gained another 8 pounds of muscle in the second month. This was all done while being in class 9am-5pm, and studying for one of the most important exams of my life (USMLE Step 1) I can only imagine my potential when I have the month off after my exam, and going 100% with my diet/nutrition and training. Also, did i mention I only worked out 3 hours a week, and only 3 exercises per session. Can't wait for your new book to come out, Keep it up, Rick
that's impressive , good job 🙂
Hey Tim! I am participating in the Body-4-Life Challenge and just stumbled over your advice, impressive! I will try to incorporate this into my workout. Do you have any book recommendations that could provide me with some background information on High Intensity Training and especially Nutrition? Thanks! Dennis
Hi Tim, First of all, I do believe in your gains. Did you write this? http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/timothyf.htm Why did it say the total gym time was 8 hours on that page? but you said total gym time was 4 hour here Thanks, Eric
Check out Body By Science then!
Tim, I hit this page again in the wake of all the hype of your upcoming book. I have pre-ordered it and hope there is some serious detail in how to accomplish this. I exercise regularly, 4-5x/week, including lots of crossfit although not much what I would consider hypertrophy. I'd much rather follow your program and put on lots of muscle and drop lots of fat in a month or two, rather than 6-7 months of lots of boring gym time (which is why I do crossfit since it's actually pretty fun). Anyway I'm hoping I can dive in once the book arrives (great holiday break reading!). I follow mostly a primal/paleo diet but I will soon start adding brown rice protein powder from Sunwarrior for additional protein. I want to believe that this is all doable but if it were, it would fly in the face of decades of traditional Schwarzeneggerian body-building thought. I also am suspicious that this is all sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, not myofibrillar hypertrophy, but again I am very interested in trying this out (and it's only a month so who what's to lose?). Looking forward to the book!
4HWW great job Tim! Just a quick question on the new one coming out. Will you have anything in there in regards to jumping? Why do I ask? I'm 5'7 and always wanted to dunk a basketball and just never did it when I had the chance. I was fit and strong, but just never pushed myself. I'm 31 now and really want to do it now because it's now or never. Let me know if you will have anything in your new book about hops… thanks! Steve
Tim, I believe your story and have pre ordered the new book. But I have a question. I am a runner and a swimmer and I believe training should focus on well roundedness. Which is why I now follow a crossfit endurance type programming, which I believe you're familiar with. (I noticed Brian MacKenzie in the ad video.) Is it possible to follow this type of strength regimen and maintain sports conditioning? Is there room for met-con or is this programming too demanding on your system for extra work?
One principle that is critically important here that you only mention in the comments, is that you increased the weight every workout by 5-10%, and if you couldn't make that increase, you would change movements (basically reset the weight for that muscle group). This is such a key aspect of hypertrophy and the fact that you did this makes me more of a believer that this actually may have happened. I think some weight is probably glycogen and water (which would show up as lean mass), but regardless it's still an impressive gain and follows the actual principles of hypertrophy. Tim, you should add a little blip in the actually article about constantly increasing the weight, since this is so crucial. Great stuff man.
@kent ortmeyer "Just one set, one weight. No drop sets required. I will generally only swap main exercises when progress begins to slow substantially, less than 5-10% weight added per workout, depending on exercise and caloric intake." on May 18th, 2009 Basically once you hit your maximum strength output for an exercise and begin to plateau, it's a good idea to "reset the weight" or "back-pedal" which basically means drop the weight down to 75% of your top weight and build it back up, adding weight at every workout. Constantly adding weight is what adds muscle, and it has to do more with the conditioning of the muscle rather than your maximal strength output. Dropping the weight allows your muscles to decondition to the top weight you've been using so that as you build back up, it signals a growth stimulus. Otherwise you can be grinding out reps day in day out for months with no change, all because you can't cause a growth stimulus even at your maximal strength output (ie. your muscles are so conditioned to that load that no stimulus occurs even at max strength). By swapping exercises, Tim had to start at a lighter weight while still hitting the same muscle groups, so it acted just like a reset or back-pedal and allowed him to add weight at every workout and therefore continue making progress. Hope that makes sense.
whats your secret… anadrol. jk . this is decent never seen anything like it maybe ill try it out move up a weight class hahaha
This is Very impressive. I’ll be trying some of your tips this summer.
This is a big bunch of crap! How can you say this B/S and try to make money this way get a life!
It is too bad that most people still don't have the sense to look past the nonsense written in most bodybuilding magazines to find the truth, and the truth is that HIT is the best training method there is for gaining muscle. If you want to learn other types of movements, especially dangerous ones, try Crossfit or Plyometrics. These programs are sure to injure you sooner or later. The research has been done, not just by AJ, a man I new personally, but by many others. The most current and best book on the market to explain the research and reasoning behind HIT is "Body by Science" by Dr. Doug McGuff and John Little. All the information you need is there along with all the current research on aerobics, and why they are a waste of time. I have no doubt that you are telling the truth as I was able to put 60 pounds of muscle on a friend of mine using workouts I designed with Arthur and Mike Mentzer in mind. He never trained more that one hour per week on a two day routine. Everyone thought he was on steroids! Many people will read your story and not believe it because they have become so brainwashed by the bodybuilding industry to believe you need all kinds of supplements and steroids to make those kinds of gains. Keep up the good work.
I love the way Tim set this up as a lead to his new book. Nice marketing. having tried steroids in my bodybuildings days I never gained 34 lbs of muscle in 28 days. Perhaps I wasn't using the right ones. Personally I don't see how anyone using any method can gain 34 lbs of pure muscle doing this kind of training. Gaining 34 lbs of body weight sure but 34 lbs of pure muscle now way. None of my bodybuilding pals using steroids got these kinds of gains either. Really do you think bodybuilders would be in the gym working out as they do if there was a way to gain that kind of muscle in just 4 hours a week? These guys put their body through a lot of shit and I am not aware of any of them making these gains. Great marketing.
I'm going to start my geek to freak, starting Tuesday. I read 4hrbody, but here is my question after looking up Dave Palumbo and watching him on daily motion video. Should I use Fiber pills? I can see the benefit and disadvantage.
Great transformation and thanks for posting. I am also into working out…I'm bulking now and trying to gain some size. Nutrition is key though to any fitness goal.
The pics were true to my knowledge..thanks for the step by step guidance..will need to follow you..had to add this to my Google reader!!
Hi Tim, I've just started reading your new book the Four Hour Body. It's a great read. I came across your advice to drink 1.5 litres of water first thing in the morning in order to get a more accurate Body Fat percentage reading when using bio-electrical impedence (BEI). What struck me was that it sounded like 1.5 litres of water in one go could be a dangerous amount of water to drink in one sitting. I've since then tried to search online in vain to find out what is a safe amount of water to drink in one go, and if drinking 1.5 litres at once is safe or not. The reason I thought that drinking 1.5 litres in one go might be dangerous is because the advice that one normally gets for how much water to drink in one day is also around 1.5-2.5 litres. I would be greatful if you could clarify this issue for me and anybody else who might have doubts about experimenting with this particular advice you gave in the book! Kind Regards, Ali Zaidi
does your book also explain how to gain weight for skinny people?
Hey everyone, I just started up a geek to freak challenge of my own, will be spending 3 months on the protocol and seeing where I can take it. I started a blog to keep track of meals, measurements, and before/after photos. Here's the blog with the Before photos, I'll be posting weekly "After" photos on saturday mornings prior to beginning binge days (ala slow carb diet). http://shane4hb.wordpress.com/ Feel free to contact me (and look at what I'm eating) via twitter at @shane4hb -Shane
Hey Tim! I've been following your blog for about a year and just finished reading 4HB today. I've been a gym slut for the past 5 years and am ready to make some serious gains following your Geek-to-Freak program. The only worry I have at the moment is being able to eat enough calories and protein each day especially being a vegeterian (although I do eat fish). Do you have any food recommendations for people like myself? Also, do you think it's more important to hit a daily protein goal or calorie goal? Thanks Tim! I live in San Francisco too, maybe we'll run into each other one day.
Great tan Tim!
Ah these are the results you posted in your new book! Awesome job! And thanks for sharing your muscle building secrets with us (as well as your fat loss secrets)!
Hey, Im wondering about trying this program. I read it off the 4 hour body book. It states for workout A, just do barbell military press and yates bent row. Then for workout B, bench and squat. Same protocol, 1 rep to failure 5/5 cadence. But looking here im seeing a different routine. So which is that you use?
Absolutely incredible progress. Shows the value of keeping a detailed log and how it makes even small changes recordable and measurable. Something I'll be needing to do in 2011 for sure… have the working out part down, just need to add in the recording 🙂 Congrats on the new book hitting #1! Adrian
Thanks Tim, I'm a hard gainer, been stuck at 145lbs / 9% body fat. After reading your book I started the occam's protocol routine . at day 7 I was 156lbs and 10% body fat. But now at Day 9 I'm 159lbs and 13% eating the same diet and same supplements. Is this normal for body fat to jump in the 2nd week?
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mmBw3uzPnJI/S_5HXcpLekI/AAAAAAABShE/w5JW8u_2j4g/s1600/Haters_Gonna_Hate_23.jpg haters gonna hate. I'm working on a masters in exercise physiology and I've never seen anything like this, but there's a hell of a lot I haven't seen. Keep pushing the envelope and blowing minds man. I think you might be interested in taking a look in some of the stuff Martin Berkhan's got going on at his blog. Another against the grain kind of guy with amazing results to back up his methods: http://www.leangains.com/
Loving 4HB. In fact, got Dexa scan, blood work, fitness test, hired trainer (and made him read the book) and am going to follow the 28 day program as absolutely accurate as possible with full before and after… I am trying to get the exact supplement routine going. If I have one complaint of the book is it lacks some clarity in the exact routine. Page 186 has a supplement list but then you find more things in Occam’s protocol. Also if you go to bodybuilding.com and look at the 4HB stack: http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/exclusive-combos/the-4-hour-body-stack.html it doesn’t match page 156 either. I have emailed bodybuilding.com suggesting they match their product bundle to be exactly what Tim did. In the meantime is there a more concrete, exact list of the supplements?
Hi Tim, I am a little confused about the weight gaining diet from your book. It is the same as the weight loss one, except eat as much as you possibly can and add low glycemic carbs, right (like pasta?)? Do we still get the 1 day where we can eat whatever we possibly want? My girlfriend and I are trying this at the same time (me to add muscle, her to lose fat) and neither of us can really figure out how exactly I'm supposed to eat.
Tim, Can't say I gained 34 pounds but I did put on more weight then I ever have in a month, so something's working. Do you have any more ideas for sample meals, because Holy Crap I got sick of eating macaroni/salmon/beans and rice/beans/chicken all day every day!
Hi Tim, The 4 Hour Body book is awesome. Its being put into practice by me as we speak. And as a side note, the 4 Hour Work Week principles are being implemented by my business partner and I for our two businesses. Progress updates will follow in a few months. Anyway, I think there might be a mistake in the 4 hour body book about this Geek to Freak Routine. On page 187, you mention that one of your exercises was Reverse Thick Bar Curl. The page also has a link to the exercise, http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/geek-to-freak/. Pg. 211-212 then goes into detail about the Reverse Drag Curl. The video from the link shows a guy doing a reverse curl in a Circular Motion. But pages 211-212 show you raising the bar straight up (and you say "The drag curl, in contrast, raises the bar straight up rather than a circular motion.") Unless the thick bar curl exercise on pg 187 is different than the barbell exercise you reference in 211-212, I think that video reference is wrong and just showing a regular reverse curl but not a "drag curl." If I am wrong and these are entirely two different exercises, then this message is programed to self destruct before it reaches you so that you wont waste your time reading it! Cheers, Devin
This is nonsense. Arnold Schwarzenegger said that he managed to gain 25lbs once in a a period of a year whilst he was serving in the military and that this was the largest yearly gain he ever managed. Sorry, I don't wish to be rude but to gain 34lbs of lean muscle mass in 4 weeks is simply science fiction!
Hi Tim (and everyone else that can help), I am half the way done with my 28 days Occam's protocol thing and I think I am failing. I am following everything the book says, but I can't gain weight. I also checked my growth hormone levels and testosterone and they all seem normal. So I guess that I am failing at eating… I am trying to eat as much as possible following a slow-carb diet with quinoa and eggs for snacks but that doesn't seem to be enough. I am doing the shake too and my calorie intake per day is around 2500-2700. I am 150 lb and 5'8''. Now, the doctor told me I am at a good weight for my size, so I did a BodPod. The results show 20% body fat… I obviously need to get leaner… One thing that confuses me about the book is that in that chapter, you (Tim) first mention your diet (similar to slow carb) but then you mention Neil's diet which is completely the opposite and includes rice and potatoes… I don't understand that… I am similar to Neil in terms of my appetite I guess, but I've been eating like it's my job and nothing seems to happen. I would appreciate anybody's advice/comments/stories. Thanks
"Really do you think bodybuilders would be in the gym working out as they do if there was a way to gain that kind of muscle in just 4 hours a week?" Yes I can well believe it, based on having spent the last 30 years training and working in gyms, nothing would surprise me about the critical thinking abilities of the average body-builder. As to the remark about Schwarzenegger only gaining 25lbs in one year while in the army, I think most people in that situation would probably lose weight, to gain 25lbs after having already trained very seriously for 3 years and while being already extreamly well developed, and training with a very inefficient hight volume approach speaks volumes about Arnold's genetics…he succeeded in spite of his training approach rather then because of it.
I've been doing "Occam's protocol" from the book for 2 weeks and have noticed quite a bit of fat gain. I'm eating about 3,000 calories/ day which is more than usual for me and performing the "A" and "B" workouts as described in the book. I've gained a full inch on my stomach so far and my jeans are tighter (not in a good way). Not sure whether to continue as I definitely don't want to gain a lot of fat. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Gary
great job on the site. It looks good. I'm sure you would agree that visual examples are a lot more effective than just words. It is also a motivator to people that visit your blog, because once they see the results that you had in just 4 weeks, I would be convinced that more people would want to look the same and be healthier.
Hi Tim, Can you explain what "protein uptake downregulation" is. I saw it as a concern in one of the steps? I 've started a Facebook Group to discuss results, and would love some people to come on and discuss certain exercises they do and discuss the food they have while undergoing training…Perhaps also talk about how you started to incorporate exercise (at what point of the diet)… Add some before, during and after pictures… Link to the group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_103604729716668¬if_t=group_r2j Thanks Vanessa
Can anyone post their own results… with their actual before after measurements and photos if you have them for the geek-2-freak 28 or two month challenges? There has to be some more validity to this program than a bunch of mostly meaningless high-fives and ramblings! Come-on folks! Move your a$$es and step away from the PC and get moving. Bring on the real testimonials!!!
Good stuff-really impressed by the gains.
Totally awesome work, guys! See my comment on your post 🙂 Keep it up and congrats — upward and onward! Tim
Wow, awesome job, Paul! Like you noticed, the eating is the real job. Keep it up and enjoy your new strength gains — the blender is your friend! All the best from SF, Tim
Thanks for the comment. I fluctuate, but I'm around 183 right now, so maintaining well. Best, Tim
Wow Drew, great advice! We're designers/photographers and well, we did EXACTLY that. 2 studio lights at 45* overhead angles, standing a few feet away from a white wall, black tape marks on the floor, hideously short jorts, and a 50mm lens (camera spot also marked with tape) and all photos taken first thing in the morning on an empty stomach: Tim Ferriss Poses (90 days before and after) http://foxhoundstudio.com/blog/fitness-lifestyle/lean-to-mean-90-days-vid-pics/ 8 mandatory bodybuilding poses (120 days before and after): http://foxhoundstudio.com/blog/fitness-lifestyle/lean-to-mean-finale-a-summers-worth-of-packing-on-muscle-and-tearing-off-fat-from-bony-to-beastly/
Great job, Rick! Keep it up! Those are great gains.
Hi Michal, I'm interested in doing exactly the same thing. I've been preping this past week by joining a gym, buying wieght gainer and creatine, and learning how to do the exercises. I weigh 160 and can only bench press 115 for 8 reps. I almost killed myself going to 135, on the 4th rep I couldn't push it back up. Had to slide out from under the bar. (LOSER, but i'm back on it right away). It's okay, I need the foundation, so all this work makes sense. My question to you is how has it worked out. I'm going to enter a 7 week body recomposition contest and I want to come in with the most muscle gain. Therefore I'm curiousl with the results that you've seen. I might try it regardless, but it would be nice to hear your take. Best, MoMacAttack
Dennis! You might be interested in his new book! http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2010/09/29/the-4-hour-body/
Hi Eric, The right answer is 4 hours. The "8 hours" is a typo, but — yes — I did that with BB.com. Tim
Hi Mike, You'll have plenty to read! Three whole chapters dedicated to this stuff 🙂 All the best, Tim
Yep 🙂
@Berzinator: I can´t find the comment your referring to about increasing the weight. What date is it posted on? Second: I do not totally understand what you mean by" basically reset the weight for that muscle group" explain please. thx
I didn't use Anadrol. Hahaha.. if I were to use, I'd use Tren + test 🙂
Have the book, very disappointed in the geek to freak chapter, no diet details are listed, and then in the following chapters, he describes how to gain mass, but gives a completely different routine than the one he used to gain "34 lbs of mass" no calorie count, carb count, protein count, meal breakdown was given, no scientific data, blood test results, or anything else. In fact, there is more info on how it was done, posted on the intro to this post, than there is in the book. I was hoping, for some more detail, a lot more, more detail on what was going on with the body while these gains were being made, what was eaten, when was it eaten, and what effect did it have on hormone level, but there really is very little information written. Other chapters in this book that are non related to weight training are very detailed and well written, but i bought this book, mainly due to this blog, and the picture results, and after reading it, i am no more closer to making my own "geek to freak" transformation than I was before I read it.
I read that chapter as well, just curious why the routine that was a full body (and to quote the book also full body raises test levels) and yielded the best results (34 lbs) is not the routine that should be used/recommended. And if it is not the best, why. It is just not explained.
Hi Ali, Thanks. You should drink the water over at least 20-30 minutes, if not longer, so it should be OK. That said, speak with your doctor if you have any concerns or conditions. Best, Tim
It does, Fox. Three entire chapters on it. Good luck!
Hi John, With the same diet and supps, that looks odd to me. Could be a bad caliper reading (or off Tanita scale). I'd suggest finding a www.bodpod.com to track progress. Good luck! Tim
Hey Santiago, Its crazy what Tim got done; eating something like 6000+ calories clean. You'll gain both fat and muscle as its very very hard to just gain fat without maddening diet. What I mean by that is strict car cycling (like Tim suggest) and very scientific tracking. Not all bodies are going to react the same. However, keeping that in mind, here are some tips and general things. Okay, muscle is like like 600 according to Tom Venuto. Remember muscle mis 3/4's water, and 4Cals per dry mass compared to 9. Some guys say 1600 cal; or you'd need something like 200-300 calories over your maintenance level to gain a pound of muscle a week in a prefect world. Make sure you teach your body that. 😉 You know you need to eat clean, lots of protien, good fats and carbs! potatos are good carbs, but don't eat a lot of them. I think a 30% protien, 50% carb and 20% fat (per calorie) is a good place to start. Also, just go by your body fat % and weigh yourself just once a week. Same time and place. It becomes more consistent. Forget about alcohol. Don't do it (tough one) and drink LOTS of water. Also, its easier to gain muscle after getting lean, and its easier to lose only fat if you're over fat. So at 20% bodyfat, you might want to drop to 12-15% (whatever your target is) and then start on gaining Lean body mass. Remember, it might be 4 hours of work in the gym, but eating right is 24×7. Also, look up the 5×5 post. I've been doing this to gain. Nothing like Tim mind you, but I'm at 166-8 lbs (plus 8lbs in the last 2 months) and only 5'7. I didn't take measurements, but my shirts are tighter up top. Also, I started with a weak 140 lbs squat. I'm doing 295 or so now. Killer core work out with the squats. I can't bench much (only 165) but I'm working… Good luck. Be your own best friend and start a food journal. It will help because you can actually look at what you did. Lots of people think they're doing everything in the book, but really? Final thought; wrap your workout with the biggest meals, it fuel to build muscle pre and post workout.
KGB: I plan on doing a good (as in complete and detailed) Geek-to-Freak log to eventually post after I lose some BF first (and get some advice from Tim on that). Tim: Just bought your "The 4-Hour Body" book and it is outstanding! I'll try to make it short and sweet here. Some background: – 46 y/o, Male, about 18-20% BF according to Tanita and Omron Athlete Mode. I justify Athlete Mode in both b/c I'm 5'6", 180 lbs. with a bench of 385, deadlift of 495 and fairly vascular 16 3/4" arms, so I'm not the typical user, and the normal mode has to be reading high for me; either I have a seriously messed up electrolyte imbalance or I'm packing some super-dense visceral fat. That said I'm nowhere near having 6-pack abs either. I plan to get Bod Pod done very soon but for now I think 20% is a decent number to use. – Been lifting for years. 3 years ago, I discovered HIT and have been using it about 20% of the time. It's the *only* way I've made any progress over these last 3 years dabbling with different training strategies. My concern: I'm in sort of a catch-22 situation here. I'm done with my 4th week of 5 on another (supervised) diet plan and have dropped about 12 lbs. thus far while actually gaining a little strength on an HIT program I started at the same time. Through this all I've done 6 days on, 1 day off doing at least 1 hr. of hard cardio per day, and am starting to get some over-training symptoms. I think I may be at a tipping point where if I lose any more weight it will be mostly muscle, but of course w/o that muscle I will have an even harder time dropping fat. My question: Should I finish the 5 week plan and go immediately into your Slow Carb diet to bring my BF% down further? Or should I proceed into "Geek-to-Freak" next to try and pack on some quality weight to make fat burning easier? Thanks.
Tim, you're supposed to add starches such as brown rice, quinoa, whole-wheat macaroni (and most likely steel-cut oats which will take more than 10 minutes to cook.) You also need to drop calories by 50% one day a week (it's a reverse cheat day.) No junk food on this day!
Great work, guys! Beautiful blog, too. Nice and clean. I'm sure you'll be hearing from me soon… 🙂 All the best, Tim P.S. Drew, thanks for the outstanding tips. It makes a world of difference to get the lighting right.
That one is already preordered *g* Some other books for more in-depth view of nutrition and workout would be great! 🙂
Hi Andy, The "Occam's Protocol" chapters are the most refined approach I can recommend. Those two chapters WILL allow you to replicate your own G2F experiment, though 34 pounds is definitely an outlier. But 10-20 lbs. in a month? Entirely doable. Good luck! Tim
To claim you have gained 34lbs of muscle in 4 weeks is a flat out lie. In optimal conditions (Diet, Rest, Workout) you will only gain 0.5lbs of muscle a week, if you are a complete newbie to working out maybe 1lb a week MAX. And just to top it off you claim it was with 2 x 30 minute workouts a week! and you lost fat! This is just scandalous.. You couldn't even do that using HGH or AAS. If you are going to lie at least make it believable, you may as well make an informercial saying you did this in only 3 minutes a day. Sourcing bodybuilding.com? every person looking at this should go to the forums there and link them to this and see what they say. You will soon find out how ridiculous this statement is.
Hi Tim, Thanks for the response Tim. I've spoken to my Dr – it seemed she wasn't sure how much water was too much in one sitting either. Instead of the 1.5 litres I've been drinking 1 litre of cold water when I wake up about 20 mins before getting on the scale. Do you think that would be enough to get the desired result? I'm still alive and kicking, so 1 litre has obviously not been lethal for me! I have been a previous commenter on your blog above under the name Ali (linked to bollywood chat) when I experimented with the slow carb diet. After reading your fat loss chapters I tried experimenting with the slow carb diet once again – and unfortunately I found that eating as much as I liked of the legumes, vegetables and protein (chicken breast/fish) led to fat gain once again. As I'm currently competing with about 40 friends and family to burn fat over 120 days I've made quick adjustments to find something that seems to work for me. I've eliminated the the legumes and nuts completely. I eat just lean protein with vegetables and have decreased the size of my meals, but increased the number of meals throughout the day. I basically eat when I get hungry, but don't eat too much in one go. I'm finding this technique is giving me positive fat loss results. Is it possible I am one of the few people for whom the slow carb diet just doesn't work? Best Regards, Ali Zaidi
Update: Had the DEXA done and was at 20% BF and 19% with Bod Pod so 20% was a good guess. Omron hand-held is very consistent and very close at around 20% for me, so in-between DEXA scans that will do for tracking things. I also have my answer regarding whether to lose the BF first or do the "Geek to Freak" after reading some more posts on this blog.. I'll concentrate on getting BF down to 15% and then G-to-F from there.