Aaron S reviewed The 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss
None
4 stars
This is always an interesting read. It has a lot of ideas from a lot of different people all rolled into one. Some of them contradict each other a bit (He has Pavel inspired strength programs rolled next to HIT inspired hypertrophy programs.)
But what is always interesting is the slow carb diet.
He references ideas that have long since been proven to be bunk (No insulin and carbs do not cause obesity), but on the other hand... adding more fiber and veggies to your diet seems to work wonders for your waist line (try to eat 500 calories of rice vs 500 calories of beans sometime). So it is kind of cool to see how something works through a more modern lens. It is also an interesting look into the fitness culture of the late 2000s/ early 2010s. I don't think I've seen Gary Taubes referenced as a knowledgeable …
This is always an interesting read. It has a lot of ideas from a lot of different people all rolled into one. Some of them contradict each other a bit (He has Pavel inspired strength programs rolled next to HIT inspired hypertrophy programs.)
But what is always interesting is the slow carb diet.
He references ideas that have long since been proven to be bunk (No insulin and carbs do not cause obesity), but on the other hand... adding more fiber and veggies to your diet seems to work wonders for your waist line (try to eat 500 calories of rice vs 500 calories of beans sometime). So it is kind of cool to see how something works through a more modern lens. It is also an interesting look into the fitness culture of the late 2000s/ early 2010s. I don't think I've seen Gary Taubes referenced as a knowledgeable smart guy for almost a decade. Usually he is the example people give of the dangers of cherry picking data. One interesting thing is that seemingly DEXA scans and Bod Pod scans went from being a $50 thing you do quick and easy to a $300 a session thing that you need to pay for 4 sessions in advance. Why did they go from a convenient relatively cheap way to track progress to stupid expensive? I don't know. Usually technology gets cheaper the older it gets.
Lets talk about the sex chapters...
They get weird. It has basically a couple moves that I'd assume most men figure out by the time they turn 20 (just find the little guy in the boat). Also it says to eat steak and have sex. It says this through a weird awkward sweaty sex story.
Tim should not pursue a future in erotica.
The sleep chapter: This one I can't figure out. Take a cold shower before bed? I'm unsure if Tim has ever taken a cold shower, because if you do, it WAKES YOU THE FUCK UP! They are great to start the day! Not so great to calm down before bed. The other advice seems sound and practical. That is just one that I'll never understand.
The rehab chapters: These seem like they were AWESOME a decade ago. Unfortunately half the links no longer work so the majority of the advice is rendered in-actionable. That said, things like the FMS screen are no longer weird things that you will struggle to find someone to help you with. Just about any city with a population over 50k is going to have someone there that can do a screen for you.
All in all, it is an interesting read with a lot of good tips. There is a lot of bad information in there too, but if you were going to just have one book for all your fitness and health advice this wouldn't be the worst choice. Although oddly there is a topic not covered, despite being featured on the cover. There is no meditation/stress reduction chapter. This seems like a glaring omission. If you had to choose five things to improve health, meditation would probably be on there. But instead you have a chapter on eating steak and having the sex.
