4 Hour Body Results

October 19th, 2011 3 Comments

Man did I procrastinate this post on my 4 Hour Body results! And it wasn’t for any other reason than I was just too lazy to type it. So what happened? I added 10 pounds. I gained some muscle (4 pounds) but not a lot. I gained weight and mostly it was fat (six pounds).

I learned that lifting weights with that protocol is harder than it sounds. And I learned that what you eat and how you eat will effect the results more than anything. I have some before and after pictures that are so unimpressive that I am not posting them because, well, I look not so good. I’ll save you the visual.

So can you get those results by following that protocol? It’s entirely possible I guess. It didn’t work for me though but I did not do it exactly as listed. I didn’t eat as well as I should have. I found the workouts a little boring and harder (because of the cadence) than expected.

So what have I been doing? I have been playing basketball more. I play a couple of times a week.

Here are some of the alumni that played at Minnesota. Trent Tucker, Willie Burton and Voshon Lenard all played in the NBA. Then there is the rest of us who didn't practice enough.

I am still lifting weights and am experimenting with some minimalist type workouts: 2 to 4 exercises with heavy weights and low reps, three days a week. I’ll do that for a while and see what happens.

I’ll post some more this month. Later.

Read More »

4 Hour Body: Can I Gain 20 Pounds Of Muscle?

February 3rd, 2011 24 Comments

If you have been paying attention to what books have been selling lately then you probably have heard of The 4 Hour Body by Tim Ferris. He’s the fella that wrote The 4 Hour Workweek a few years ago. A self-promoting and marketing genius, Tim has now propelled himself to the forefront of health, fitness and exercise methodology with this new book. The book covers a wide range of topics including:

* How to lose those last 5-10 pounds with odd combinations of food and safe chemical cocktails.
* How to prevent fat gain while bingeing (X-mas, holidays, weekends)
* How to increase fat-loss 300% with a few bags of ice
* How to gain 34 pounds of muscle in 28 days, without steroids, and in four hours of total gym time
* How to sleep 2 hours per day and feel fully rested
* How to produce 15-minute female orgasms
* How to triple testosterone and double sperm count
* How to go from running 5 kilometers to 50 kilometers in 12 weeks
* How to reverse “permanent” injuries
* How to add 150+ pounds to your lifts in 6 months

That’s a lot ground to cover, I guess that is why the book is over 550 pages long! But the thing that I am interested in is how to gain 34 pounds of muscle in 28 days. Is this even possible? Can a tall, lean guy like me gain muscle without getting fat? Here’s my plan.

Read More »

Why We Get Fat: Read This Book Now!

January 7th, 2011 16 Comments

I just finished reading the book Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes. Talk about a beat down on conventional wisdom! Taubes lays down the law on the science behind why we get fat, how bad science made fat (not carbohydrates) the enemy,  why diet and exercise (in the vain of calorie restriction and working out to lose weight) won’t work over the long term and what you can do about it.

[Two great books to read if you want to understand why we get fat and how you can get lean. Don't mind my Coors Beer sweatshirt I have on. I know that beer can make you fat. What the hell am I looking at?]

You may have heard of Taubes before for another great book: Good Calories, Bad Calories. Well this new book is a direct result of the positive response that he got from writing that book. GCBC was very long (over 500 pages) and very technical/sciencey/nerdy. Some people don’t want all that science mumbo jumbo. The new book is less technical but still gives you the biological/biochemistry background so that you will understand why your body does what it does. Which leads to the question: what should you do?

Read More »

How To Get In Shape In Three Easy Steps

January 3rd, 2011 17 Comments

A lot of people have new years resolutions that revolve around how to get in shape. Usually it’s because they get out of breath walking up the stairs or have a little extra padding on their behind. The motivation is there to do something. But the plan on how to do it is often the most difficult thing for people to come up with. Why? Because they make it too difficult to follow, give themselves a reason to fail and then quit. The solution? Make the plan as simple as possible so you can’t fail.

[Having only three steps to concentrate on makes it more likely for you to succeed on your plan on how to get in shape. Too many steps just makes it too easy to find a reason to quit.]

You have to make the steps you take on how to get in shape so simple that even a caveman could do it (sorry Geico!). Make it so failure is not an option. That way you’ll guarantee your success and achieve your goal. So what should you do? Let’s break it down into three easy steps.

Read More »

How Often Should I Work Out?

December 3rd, 2010 11 Comments

If you have ever asked yourself  how often should I work out, you’re not alone. It is a common question. The answer is not easy though. There are many variables that need to be explored before you can really know the answer. And even then the answer can change if you change your goals. Do you see how that can get complicated? So let’s break it down to the least common denominator (someone who willingly wants to work out and lose weight) and try to give you some guidance.

You have to want to work out in the first place not just talk about it. Too many people say they want to work out but what they really mean is that they want to lose weight, continue to eat crap and look like some fitness instructor who lives at the gym. Not gonna happen that way. Sorry. Work is involved. Sweat must be produced. Commitments must be made. So take five minutes (literally – it shouldn’t take you more than five minutes to figure this out) and make your plan.

Read More »
« Older Entries
Subscribe to RSS Feed Follow me on Twitter!