Summary of The 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss | 100 minutes audiobook summary

Tim Ferriss is the author of three best-selling books: The Four-Hour Work Week, The Four-Hour Body, and The Four-Hour Chef. These books have made him an authority on the subject of how to learn anything that you think is difficult and often takes time, with ease and speed. Ergo, the four-hour theme to his books.

In this summary, we'll learn about the principles he learned on how to get rapid weight loss, build muscle fast, have incredible sex, heal your body, and eventually become a superhuman. Although being a superhuman sounds far-fetched, the idea of getting a healthier and stronger body the easy way will be quite enticing. You'll be learning these concepts and more as you go over the highlighted pieces of information from his best-seller, The Four-Hour Body.

Chapter One: The Fundamentals Overview

This chapter covers the first few chapters of Tim Ferriss's book. Here, we'll cover the first two chapters of The Four-Hour Body, which are The Minimum Effective Dose and Rules That Change the Rules.

Chapter 1 talks about taking advantage of the bare minimum when it comes to weight and fat reduction. It assumes that anything in excess of that minimum is wasteful, just like boiling water. Once water has boiled, it has already reached its boiling point; it can't boil any higher or hotter, since all that will do is produce more water vapor.

Chapter 2 tears down some of the erroneous assumptions about weight loss, body fat reduction, workouts, exercise methodology, calories, and calorie counting; why the yo-yo diet isn't really that bad; genetics and its effects on a person's predisposition regarding weight loss, etc.

Summary of Minimum Effective Dose

In Chapter 1 of his book, the author, Tim Ferriss, talks about the very basics. Well, that's the premise that we can gather from the chapter title. He begins by telling an anecdote about Arthur Jones, who's been dubbed in the exercise science world as the "angry genius." He tells of an incident when Jones was with Arnold Schwarzenegger and another Olympia finalist, Franco Columbo. Arnold, being as he was, was rambling on and on during their long drive. Jones couldn't get a word in, which is contrary to his usual disposition; he dominated conversations. So, Jones had it pulled over and then dragged Arnold out of the car and told him to shut up. I'm paraphrasing, of course, cutting out the profanity, and Arnold was transformed into the quiet listening type for the next three days. Even though Jones was the type who was usually angry at anything stupid, his findings and theories were clearly spot on. A lot of the things he taught have become his legacy, and they've become building blocks in what we know today in the world of modern exercise science.

One of the things that has become Jones's legacy is what we call today as the minimum effective dose, or minimum effective load.

What is the Minimum Effective Dose? So, what is the MED? Minimum Effective Load, or MED? Minimum Effective Dose? Simply put, it's the smallest load or dose that you can take in order to produce the desired results in your workout regimen. Jones was, of course, more interested in the exercises that used weights. Jones even said that anything that goes beyond this minimum effective load is non-productive and will only waste resources or energy. He taught that there were two MEDs, or MEDs (both terms are interchangeable), that one should keep an eye on: one, the removal of stored fat, which is achieved by triggering the activation of certain bodily hormones that are responsible for that; two, the addition of muscle in either small or larger quantities. Jones's idea is to do only the bare minimum in order to achieve muscle growth and trigger hormonal growth mechanisms. The idea, of course, is to induce the bare minimum muscular and hormonal triggers to achieve the desired results. The theory also states that all that's required is to do 80 seconds of intense workout using a minimum of 50-pound weights. Of course, it should be understood that there are variations here, depending on certain factors, but the 80 seconds plus 50 pounds is the target or goal. That's the dose, as it were, and taking more will trigger an overdose. Ferris sums it up neatly as: "More is not better."

Summary of Rules That Change the Rules

When someone tells you they ate a total of seven thousand calories, gained 34 pounds, lost four percent body fat, and made a caloric surplus of 4,300 per day, will you believe it? On top of that, he claims that he was able to drop his total cholesterol levels from 222 down to 147. All of that was achieved in just 28 days. Is it doable? Yes, and Tim was able to achieve it. Why does that blow people's minds away? The answer is simple: their brain's way of thinking and point of view is conditioned on the premise that weight loss, or weight gain for that matter, is a matter of calories in minus calories out. So, is that rule false? Absolutely not. You see, it isn't the only rule. It's popular, though. A workout that lasted a total of four hours, which was broken down into 30-minute long exercises—that's what it took. John Goeth was right when he said that a mystery doesn't necessarily need to be a miracle to do what other people call impossible. All you have to do is to ignore the rules that are currently popular today. You don't have to be a genius to outthink the rest of the world; all you need is the right mental model and a handy bunch of mental rules of thumb to achieve that.

Four Hour Body

Ferris writes, "You need to follow certain mental models." He then describes these mental models in the next section of his book, which he calls "New Rules for Rapid Design," and here they are:

Mental Model #1: No exercise burns many calories.

Do you know how much exercise you need to physically accomplish to burn off the calories you get from eating half an Oreo cookie? You need to go up 27 flights of stairs if you weigh 220 pounds. Now, that's a lot of exercise. However, what if you're lighter? That means you need to cover more flights of stairs. You're doing all of that for just an Oreo cookie? Well, half the calories that you get from eating half an Oreo cookie. Now, what's wrong with this puzzle? Ferris explains that people are usually looking at the least important piece of the puzzle. The calorie is easy to estimate and it's cheap to measure. It's a popular variable used in today's health studies. It's not always the amount of exercise that you do that counts when it comes to losing weight.

Mental Model #2: A drug is a drug is a drug.

People love labels. This thing is a supplement. This other one is an over-the-counter drug. This other one is an over-the-counter drug. This one, on the other hand, is a prescription. This one is natural, and this one is synthetically manufactured. Well, guess what? Your body won't make these distinctions. There are marketers that laud the value of all-natural products, saying that they're safer than synthetic drugs or supplements and that they're free of side effects. Ferris notes that a legal herb can kill a person, as well as an illegal drug, given the right circumstances. Don't focus on labels and don't let them distract you.

Mental Model #3: The 20-pound recomp goal.

A recomp, according to Timothy Ferris, is a change in the body's composition. For instance, it can be a loss of 20 pounds, which will make you feel good about yourself. You'll feel like a new man. However, that's not the only recomp that's out there. We can say that a more important recomp is the loss of body fat and subsequent muscle gain. The ideal recomp is losing 15 pounds of body fat and gaining 5 pounds of muscle. That's the threshold, and that's also the ideal ratio of fat loss and muscle gained. Remember that we need to work within the required minimum. 20 pounds recomp is the goal for people who weigh more than 120 pounds. For people who weigh less, it should be about 10 pounds of recomp.

Mental Model #4: The 100-unit slider: diet, drugs, and exercise.

Ferris then explains how to achieve that 20-pound recap. Some people think that it will take 100% exercise. It's possible, but you can get derailed easily. Some would try 100% diet. That's also possible, but as you may already know, you can easily quit a diet. What about 100% drugs? Yes, you can lose 20 pounds using drugs, but that entails all the possible side effects. The right way to do it is to use the most appropriate ratio. Tim recommends 60% diet, 10% drugs, 30% exercise, and that's the model he uses throughout his book.

Mental Model #5: The duct tape test.

This next mental model is easy. You should use your level of adherence to a weight loss program as a barometer of your possible success rate. Take that level of adherence seriously if you want to see success. If you're more likely to adhere to one, no matter how less efficient or less effective it might be, you're more likely to succeed because your level of adherence is higher, rather than using a system that's considered better but with a low level of adherence.

Mental Model #6: Don't confuse physical recreation with exercise.

What is recreation? Examples are the following: playing basketball, swimming, jogging, and running around the park, chasing after your dog. They're fun. There's very little stimuli to get you to do them. Exercise, on the other hand, is different. It can be fun or not, but what makes it different is that you are required to perform a certain MED of exercise in order to produce the results you want. It's serious work. You do recreation for fun; you perform exercises to get changes.

Mental Model #7: Don't confuse correlation with cause and effect.

Some people mix up correlation and the actual cause and effect. For instance, they see a guy who was on a zero-meat diet and he lived longer than most folks. Was it really the zero-meat diet, or was it the increase in vegetable intake that allowed him to live longer? Most likely, it's the former. The point being made here is to always be skeptical of all the headlines that are sensational. Sometimes, well, a lot of times, especially in the field of weight loss, the hype will make a wrong correlation without pointing to the actual cause that brought about the effect being advertised.

Mental Model #8: Use the yo-yo.

Ferris was spot on when he said that yo-yo dieting is getting such a bad rap nowadays. When in fact, it's nothing but natural. Championship weight lifters and bodybuilders like Ed Cohen do yo-yo diets. Every time, there are days when you would consume only 3,500 calories, and there are days when they would eat up to 4,500 calories. The important thing is that you time it right. That means that you can eat your favorite cheesecake and not let your conscience nudge you in the ribs. It's impossible to maintain peak body conditioning all year round, and that comes from the mouth of champions.

Mental Model #9: Predisposition versus predestination.

Some people say that their current overweight issue is due to their genes, and there's nothing they can ever do about it. The leader of the Human Genome Project, Eric Lander, says otherwise. He says that genetic determinism is false. It doesn't mean that if you have genes that predispose you to be fat, they will eventually make you fat no matter what you do. You can still do something about it. Even if your condition has a genetic component to it, bad genetics can't be used as a crutch.

Mental Model #10: Eliminate propaganda and nebulous terms.

Isn't it interesting that a lot of terms have been invented throughout the years when it comes to health and fitness? Terms like "toning," "optimal fitness," "aerobics," "cellulite," and "Zumba" have been given their fanfare. The problem is that they're just terms used for either marketing or propaganda. Take the word "aerobics." When it was invented, gym instructors were looking for a word they could use to describe the act of jumping up and down. Another word is "cellulite." It was invented on April 15, 1968, and it was a minor problem for a minority of women. Simply put, it's just fat; it's not even a disease. However, the related number of diet-related articles and publications rose up to 70%, all dedicated to the reduction of cellulite. Before believing a new term, ask if it's quantifiable. Most of the hype use words that can't be quantified. "This exercise is optimal for what?" Is it optimal for an athlete? Is it optimal for increasing my lifespan? Remember to ask: if they can't explain why or what, then it's hype. Don't fall for it.

Mental Model #11: Why a calorie isn't a calorie.

All calories are the same, right? Wrong. Ferris cites a study conducted by Keith Witch in Pawan, where test subjects were made to consume the same amounts of calories. The big difference was that some subjects consumed calories from fat sources, others from protein sources, and the rest consumed calories from pure carb sources. What was the result? The weight loss/gain was different for each group. Why? That's because different calories bring different results. The effect of calorie allocation can be modified depending on the amount of muscle gain and fat loss you want to achieve. The factors to consider include a person's digestion. Another factor is the protein/carb/fat ratio. Sexism sells. One final note about this chapter is Ferris's highlight about why sexism sells. He highlights the fact that a lot of the health and exercise marketing effort is centered on women. Marketers say that women need certain types of exercise and they have to follow some sort of program so they'll look and feel great. There's this new trendy exercise that's specially designed for women. Don't fall for it.

Chapter 2: Ground Zero Overview

This chapter covers Chapters 3 to 5 of The Four-Hour Body, which are entitled "The Harajuku Moment," "Elusive Body Fat," and "From Photos to Fear," respectively. The key takeaways from these chapters include the following: experiencing a Harajuku moment; why people fail to commit and take good advice; misconceptions about body fat; how to effectively measure your body fat density; failure-proofing your commitment to a change in your body; and pretty much everything you commit to.

Summary of The Harajuku Moment

Tim Ferriss calls the next section of his book "Ground Zero." It's a pretty descriptive title to use, given the theme of what he wanted to focus on. Why do you think some people end up with a huge collection of how-to ebooks, CDs, audiobooks, and actual books on their shelves? For many of us, we love to listen to advice; we like to read them. However, do we ever heed them? No. Even the best people in the world are sometimes poor followers, and some don't even practice what they preach. Ferris points out two particularly important reasons:

One, a lot of people do not have enough reasons to commit to the action. That is to say, your reason for not doing it is bigger than the reason you have for doing it. In Ferris's own words, "The pain you are already experiencing right now is not yet painful enough to move you to action," so you settle for inaction.

Two, the lack of a follow-up mechanism. Sure, you hear a brilliant piece of advice; you read stuff on his book or even this book, and it made sense. You can say that it even gave you the equivalent of an epiphany. Will you be able to do the things that were told? No. Why? Because, just like the majority of the people on this planet, we tend to forget even the most insightful of messages. We hear it; it inspires us at the moment we hear it, but since we aren't reminded of it later on, we tend to forget and carry on.

So, what is a Harajuku? Harajuku is actually a place more than a thing or experience. It's somewhere in Tokyo, and it's a place where you can get really nice clothes. So, how did someone like Timothy Ferris find out about it? He didn't. He learned about it second-hand from Chad Fowler. Chad Fowler was the co-organizer of RailsConf and the annual Rubicon conferences, and here is where Chad and Timothy met. Chad related his tale about his Harajuku moment. There he was, Chad, in Harajuku, Tokyo. He had been obese for more than a decade. Just like everyone else on the planet, he pretty much had an idea what to do in order to look and feel great, lose weight, and he, being the total geek that he was, already had enough info on the matter to get it done. Unfortunately, he lacked the motivation to do so. He has heard enough advice, but he wasn't willing to listen and heed it. So, there he was with his buddies in Harajuku checking out clothes one night. It didn't take long before he gave up the search. That was him and one of his friends. He even lamented that it doesn't matter what he wore since he's not going to be looking good anyway. After saying that, it finally hit him—that feeling of surrendering to your circumstances. Hit him, which was exactly the context of the words he just blurted out. It ate him to the core, knowing that a successful man as he was, whatever he said was totally against his character. For the longest time, he knew that the only thing that anyone ever needed to do to be exceedingly successful at something is to get started with the intent of being remarkable at what one embarks on. This was his Harajuku moment: a moment of awakening. Well, it was more like slapping yourself in the face to knock some sense into you, that sort of thing. You already know what to do; you already know you can do it, and all you need is yourself giving you that much-needed nudge in the ribs to get you started. The rest, of course, is history.

That covers reason number one. What about reason number two? For Chad Fowler, the numbers kept reminding him. Calorie counting became his tool to measure his progress. In fact, everyone must find his own way of monitoring progress. Find your own method to follow up and track where you are and how far you've gone.

Summary of Elusive Body Fat and the Deceptive Scale

A lot of people think that fat is only skin deep. Ferris even posted an MRI in his book to show that fat deposits in the body can be found pretty much everywhere. There are also fat deposits found under the skin, as well as underneath or at the body's organs. Still think you can do spot reduction? Just how are you going to target the fat deposits that are nowhere near the muscles?

While on the subject of reducing fat and, of course, one's weight, there will come a time when your weight reduction efforts will produce smaller results that can sometimes become quite frustrating. After two months of intense exercise, more than you were able to do since the day you started, you hop on the weighing scale only to find out that you lost only eight pounds. When you check the amounts of weights you're using, you also find that the exercises that you're doing are much more intense, but the weighing scale doesn't lie. You only reduced a small amount of weight. The weighing scale can be deceptive sometimes. It only shows you the difference in weight loss, but it can't tell you how much weight your new muscles added to your overall weight. You may have lost this much pounds now, a dismal figure compared to the amount you lost earlier in your training, but then you gained weight—muscular weight, which isn't necessarily bad. That's why indicators such as weight, BMI, and others alone aren't sufficient to tell you just how much you've changed over time.

Top Three Methods of Measuring Body Fat

Ferris then moves on to what he calls the best ways to accurately measure body fat. He tried a good number of these tools, which included slim guide calipers, Omron body fat scale, DEXA, Body Metrics, Accumeasure, ultrasound, and skinfold, among others. He compared the results that he got from the tools that he personally tried and finally recommended the top three according to his experience. The three are: Body Metrics using ultrasound, Bod Pod, and DEXA.

DEXA: DEX stands for Dual Energy X-ray Absorption. This isn't a cheap option, since it can cost somewhere anywhere in between $50 to $100. Aside from the usual body fat percentage report, this test also provides you with information on bone density, among others. It can highlight muscular imbalances as well. What's more is that these tests can be completed in five to ten minutes.

Body Metrics: This is actually an ultrasound device, which is quite small. It's actually a handheld device and it's pretty easy to use. You place it on top of that part of the body that you want to measure. It will then tell you how much body fat is in that area. It reports the thickness of the body fat in millimeters. There are models of this device that can cost you several thousand dollars a piece, but there are newer ones that only cost a few hundred dollars. The reliability, of course, will vary from one manufacturer to the next.

Ferris also offers a few tips in case you opt to buy any of the body fat measuring tools he mentions in his book. Here are some of the tips:

* Do not compare the before/after results using different tools. It will be better if you make the comparison of the results from the same tool.

* In case you decide to use a BIA (bioelectrical impedance) tool, then you need to make sure that you are appropriately hydrated.

* For those who opt to use any of the calipers, please ask your gym instructor for a more efficient algorithm to use. Ferris suggests either a three-point or even a seven-point Jackson Pollock algorithm.

In the next section of the book, Ferris provides some examples of body fat percentages and what each would look like. He even includes photos of actual people who have the said constitutions, from five percent body fat and onwards. This section helps readers to visualize what each body fat percentage may look like and what percentages can people aim for.

Summary of From Photos to Fear

So, what is failure-proofing? In the next section, the book covers how to failure-proof one's commitment to weight loss. He even laments that even the best executives in today's business world still fail to live up to their commitment of 30 minutes of exercise. The author cites a few examples on how people fail, that is, people from different walks of life. Then he concludes how people can rationalize failure to keep commitments. In two words: logic fails. He then suggests four things that can help people engineer their own human compliance. The four ideas he suggests are the following:

1. **Make sure to make it conscious.** This entails making the current behavior current. That means you need to raise your own awareness of your own behavior. Timing here is the key. Flashing the evidence before your eyes after the deed is done will have a weaker effect.

2. **Turn it into a game.** Here, the author talks about the Hawthorne effect, or what was then known as the observer effect. In brief, the act of measuring an act that you do repeatedly turns that act into something that's fascinating. Measuring your accomplishments and knowing that it's being measured improves one's motivation for doing it. So, how many times do we have to record our results to make things interesting? According to data from the science of video game design, it only takes five times. Five meals recorded, five workouts, and then comparing your results, five of pretty much any metric you may want to measure. After doing it five times, you'll feel hooked and you'll want to do it again and again.

3. **Making it all competitive.** Another principle in failure-proofing is to make the effort competitive. Compare your results to others. Plan a penalty that you'll give to yourself in case you fail in your efforts. Use the results that you see in other people as your comparative sample. On top of that, you should also include a reward if you're able to achieve your goals. Note that data shows that the fear of failure is a huge motivator compared to getting a reward.

4. **Make it small and temporary.** Again, this goes back to the principles already discussed in the previous chapter of this book. It includes achieving the bare minimum in order to affect a change. Find someone who can do the exercise and diet plans with you. And finally, keep the duration of the exercise short. Remember that no one can maintain peak performance for an entire year and still remain sane. The time limit will push you to achieve more success given a smaller amount of time.

Chapter 3: Damage Control: Preventing Fat Gain Overview

This chapter covers the next section, which is about damage control and also preventing fat gain, which includes Chapter 6 of The Four-Hour Body. It includes Timothy Ferriss's description of the Slow Carb Diet. He begins to expose by relating that part of the diet that seems to have the least of anything to do with a diet that can be considered low carb. He tells how every Saturday, he and his friend, who was in London, would exchange text messages and pictures of what they were eating that day. The actual food they were eating is anything but low carb; they had everything from pizza to anything that can spike your insulin levels. Now, how can that be a form of low carb diet? Ferris's low carb diet incorporates one free day when a dieter can eat pretty much anything that was taboo during the rest of the week. Some might think that this is counterproductive, but as you'll see in the summary below, it's quite beneficial to glut on carbs when it's properly timed.

Summary of How to Lose 20 Pounds in 30 Days Without Exercise

Picking up where we left off in the previous chapter, we now move on to the basics of subtracting fat. This is a rather quick and short chapter, and it should be. It also provides the much-needed transcendent effect, if there is indeed such a term in the world of weight loss. Here, Tim introduces the Slow Carb Diet. Some people may feel that this diet is kind of tough, since you're going to give up on staples like white carbs. For instance, is it effective? Well, Ferris swears by it, and on top of that, he experimented on the diet with his friend Chris. He is also happy to report that they have started a new trend as they continued on this diet. The premise is simple: eat right, and you'll lose weight. Again, it's 20 pounds, the magic number, in one month, without any exercise.

Slow Carb Diet Tips

Ferris enumerates certain rules to follow while on this diet. Each rule is simple, but some of them can be a bit of a challenge. Here they are:

* **Rule 1: Avoid White Carbs.** You could have added the phrase "like the plague" to this rule. This may be the toughest rule to follow on this diet. Any kind of white carb is to be avoided for an entire month. While on most days of an entire month, the only time you're allowed to eat white carbs. The only exception to this rule is when you are finishing resistance training. One good reason to avoid white carbs, highlighted by Ferris's book, is chlorine dioxide, the thing that's used to bleach flour. Incidentally, it combines with certain proteins in your body and forms alloxan, the thing that researchers use to induce diabetes in lab rats.

* **Rule 2: Eat the Same Few Meals.** That is to say, you should be eating small meals consistently. Ferris even goes on to encourage his readers to eat the same meals day in and day out for the duration of the diet. It's only one month. To make up for the bulk of the food and add a few more calories to your meals in case you need it, then have more veggies and eat more frequently.

* **Rule 3: Don't Drink Calories.** Any drink that is sweetened is out while you're on this diet. Ferris even suggests that you should drink lots of water in massive amounts. Milk, juice, soda, or any other sweetened drink is out. The only other drink that you should be having, other than water, is wine.

* **Rule 4: Never Eat Fruit.** In Timothy's words, "Our ancestors didn't need to eat fruit seven days a week, and you shouldn't too." He explains that the primary sugar in fruits is fructose. The only exception to this rule are tomatoes and avocados.

* **Rule 5: Take One Day Off Each Week.** Finally, one day each week, you get to choose which day you get to run wild and eat like pigs. Feast on anything; eat like there's no tomorrow because this is the only day in the week when you can practice gluttony like it was your very own New Age religion. Okay, we may have overemphasized that point a bit.

Summary of Slow Carb Diet Too: The Finer Points and Questions

This chapter of the book works like an FAQ page of sorts. Some of the questions are actually complaints, if you take the time to analyze them. Some of the answers cover the common mistakes that people make when they try the Slow Carb Diet. Remember that these questions are drawn from real-life experience, and anyone who tries the diet may ask the very same questions as well. Here are some of the questions and a summary of the answers to the said questions:

* **The diet is too strict.** Start by applying Slow Carb to breakfasts only. Lose 3% body fat in five weeks. After seeing the results, try the complete Slow Carb diet for one week.

* **Eating the same food over and over again is boring.** Guess what? You're already doing it. Chances are, you may already have had the same breakfast at least three times this week. Rotating six tasty meals each week isn't much of a problem, and you have your "no holds barred" day on top of that.

* **Is it okay to take supplements while on this diet?** Yes, you can. Ferris even suggests calcium, magnesium, and potassium supplements.

* **That question about dairy.** It is true that dairy has low GI and low GL, but they have a high insulinemic index (90-98%).

* **Why is fruit forbidden?** Adding fruit does not define what a balanced diet is.

* **Are there a substitute for beans?** If you hate the farting more than the beans, then soak them in water for a few hours. If blandness is the problem, then season them with garlic powder, balsamic vinegar, etc.

* **Is it possible to undo all the weight loss on the cheat day?** Ferris does his cheat days on Saturday, and he's lost weight and maintained the reduced weight. The short answer is no.

* **The question of spice use.** The answer is yes, but avoid cream-based sauces.

Common Mistakes:

* Not eating within the first hour of waking up.

* Not eating the right amount of protein per meal (20 grams per meal recommended).

* Not drinking enough water.

* This diet requires taking time to cook food.

* Measuring your weight before your menstrual cycle.

* Overeating foods that are prone to portion abuse (e.g., nuts, peanuts, hummus, beans, etc.).

* Eating too much artificial sweeteners.

* Going to the gym a lot more often than needed.

Chapter 4: Subtracting the Fat: Basics to Advanced Overview

This section picks up where we left off from the seventh chapter of The Four-Hour Body by Timothy Ferris. Here, he discusses how to prevent gaining weight during your binge day and spoiling everything that you worked hard for.

Chapter Summary of Preventing Fat Gain When You Binge

One of the questions that were asked in the previous chapter was about the possibility of regaining the weight you lost on the free day when you're allowed to binge till you drop. For Timothy Ferris, it was every Saturday when he says he could eat like a proverbial pig and lead a gluttonous life, albeit for only 24 hours. Tim polled his thousands of Twitter followers for the foods that had the most fat in them. He then proceeded to consume as much as he can in 12 hours. He ended up with 6,000 KCAL in the attempt. Why attempt it? He wanted to prove that the idea of calories in/calories out isn't absolutely true. He then describes the "lost art of binging," or binge eating, which is the equivalent of eating all the crappy food but making sure it either goes to the muscles or just passes out of the body unabsorbed. How? Here are three principles in how to do just that:

1. **Minimize insulin release.** Consume a small quantity of fructose. Use supplements that increase insulin sensitivity. Drink citric juices.

2. **Increase the rate at which the food exits your digestive system.**

3. **Do short exercise as well on the binge.**

Principle 1: Keep the storage hormone to a minimum.

Insulin is regarded as the body's storage hormone. You minimize the body's tendency to release it by blunting out the possible jumps in your body's sugar level. So, just how do you do that? Here are a few suggestions right out of the book. The book offers four suggestions in order to minimize insulin release:

* The first one is to ensure that your first meal of the day is high in insoluble fiber and protein. The protein will reduce your appetite for most of the day, and high fiber content will prevent the onset of diarrhea.

* The next suggestion is to take in only a small amount of fructose. That can come in the form of your favorite juice drink or favorite sugar or anything that can satisfy your sweet tooth. You'll take this before your second meal for the day.

* Next, Ferris also suggests the use of supplements that will help you increase your insulin sensitivity. This will reduce the amount of insulin released by your pancreas. It can be quite effective even if you eat a lot of glucose for the day.

* Finally, it's also been suggested in the book that one should drink more citric juices while doing a binge day. In the low carb diet, you can have any citrus drink. Make your own concoction or just add freshly squeezed lemon juice as part of your next recipe.

Principle 2: Increase gastric emptying.

The next principle is to make all the food you eat pass through the gastrointestinal tract a lot faster. That will ensure that the nutrients and other constituent compounds do not get absorbed that well. Timothy confesses that he does this by taking in as much as 200 milligrams of caffeine. You can also use cooled yerba mate as much as 16 ounces as a substitute.

Principle 3: Employing muscular contractions.

What are muscular contractions? Well, they're a fancy way of saying small, short, but powerful exercises that can make you break a sweat in no time. For this part, Ferris did chest pulls, wall presses, push-ups against the wall, and squats during his binge days. Note that each exercise only lasts from 60 to 90 seconds, a few minutes, and they were performed before every meal. If that wasn't feasible, say you're at a party or other social gathering, then you can do these exercises about 90 minutes after having your crazy carb-filled meal. He chose these exercises because they required very little to no equipment. At the most, he would need some kind of small, private space. You don't want to expose yourself to the public while doing these funny exercises. On top of that, you can do these exercises pretty much anywhere. But why do you have to do them? The short answer is that it induces the release of GLUT4. This will ensure that the calories you just took in don't get stored but will be put to use in the muscles.

Taking Advantage of Balancing Bacteria

In this section, which talks about the microbiome in the human gut, it points to the fact that the shift in our diets from having more gut bacteria to diets that are less congenial to these helpful creatures. You can say that human beings and gut bacteria have existed in mutualism, where both parties have something to gain from each other. Studies show that there are two bacterial strains that are quite beneficial when it comes to weight loss and dieting: the first one is called Firmicutes, and the other strain is called Bacteroidetes. It has been found that there are more Bacteroidetes than Firmicutes in lean people. Those who are obese usually have it the other way around; they have more Firmicutes than Bacteroidetes. This research actually led the National Institutes of Health to start what is called the Human Microbiome Project back in the year 2007. The idea behind the project is to identify all the beneficial and harmful bacteria that thrive in the gut and eventually find a way to use the information for better health. So, how do you take advantage of the microbiome in you? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Use prebiotics and probiotics.

2. Include fermented foods in your diet: plain yogurt, unsweetened fermented fish, kimchi, fermented Kombucha tea, kefir, Japanese natto, cheese, etc.

3. Stop taking Splenda.

Chapter 5: PAGG and the Wonders of Garlic Overview

This chapter will introduce you to a bunch of somewhat confusing but useful acronyms. You'll encounter AGG, PAGG, ECA, and how garlic fits into all of that. Shares an interesting anecdote: One day, a thin homeless man approached him's father during a barbecue downtown. In contrast to the skinny homeless fellow, Tim's father was obviously overweight and seemed to have everything he ever needed. The man made quite an earnest introduction: "Do you know how I lost weight?" his father eventually asked. "Why?" the man explained, "Garlic." He took one clove at a time. He shared his secret and never asked for anything. The thin homeless man then left.

Summary of the PAGG Chapter

The PAGG supplement stack and garlic is the next in the discussion of The Four-Hour Body. Ferris was refining a supplement stack called PAGG. Before that, he was experimenting on the supplement stack called ECA while he was on the cyclical ketogenic diet. The ECA stack consisted of the following: ephedrine hydrochloride (about 20 mg), caffeine (which was about 200 mg per dose), aspirin (about 85 mg per dose). Ferris described the ECA stack to be spot on, and his daily dosage was three times per day. The ECA stack gained a lot of support from the medical world with dozens of studies; it works, no question about it. However, it carries with it several side effects and other downsides. For instance, the inclusion of caffeine, a stimulant, can trigger certain conditions such as sinusitis. Another downside is that this supplement stack can also become quite addictive. Those who discontinued ECA would eventually suffer from withdrawal pains. The only other option besides stopping the intake is to substitute other strong drugs to avoid both the withdrawal symptoms and the chronic fatigue that came with it. Nevertheless, Ferris was able to find a substitute, PAGG, which consisted of 20 to 25 mg of polycosanol, 200 to 300 mg of alpha-lipoic acid, 325 mg of green tea flavonols, 200 mg of garlic extract. The daily intake of this supplement stack is timed. AAG, which is essentially PAGG minus polycosanol, is to be taken before breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You will then take your PAGG supplements before going to bed. This intake schedule will be followed six days each week, i.e., one day off per week. The entire supplementation period usually lasts two months minimum, with one week off no supplements every two months. The effect of taking the PAGG and the AAG supplement stack is the significant reduction of body fat. The garlic extract, allicin, inhibits fat regain, which Timothy Ferris found to complete the supplement stack he was working on. A bit of warning: if you want to try the AAG and PAGG stack, make sure that you take in an adequate amount of B complex. Those who are already taking medications or who have medical conditions like diabetes, hypoglycemia, or hypertension should first seek competent medical advice. Anyone taking any blood-thinning medications such as aspirin or Warfarin should also seek the advice of their doctors before PAGG supplementation.

Chapter 6: Subtracting the Fat: Advanced Overview

This chapter summarizes the chapter entitled "Mastering Temperature to Manipulate Weight" and other related chapters in The Four-Hour Body. Under the section "Subtracting the Fat: Advanced," the key takeaways from this summary include the following: calories in minus calories out isn't the only way to burn fat; thermal loads can increase your body's fat-burning ability; stimulate adiponectin and brown adipose tissue are the key players that no one should overlook while in the quest for total fat loss; using glucometers can be quite beneficial to track and monitor your progress; real-life applications of weight loss theories will vary from one person to the next.

Summary of Mastering Temperature to Manipulate Weight

Why do bears stack up on their food intake before hibernation? Why do mountain climbers take in a lot of calories in their efforts to climb high, freezing mountains? The answer, as Timothy Ferris found out, was in the body's natural ability to use body fat to match the thermal load. Material scientist Ray Cronis found a key to increase body fat-burning results. He was one day oblivious to the statement made by Michael Phelps declaring that he consumes a total of 12,000 calories a day. Now, if you religiously follow the equation of "calories in/calories out = total body weight," then you can obviously tell that whatever world-renowned swimmer Michael Phelps was lying. Either that, or he was swimming non-stop more than 24 hours a day on certain days of the week. And then the answer, which was right in his face all along, he was figuring things out in a huge Excel sheet, finally hit him: it was the thermal load. Phelps was in the water for four hours in each day he was training, and being in the water alone helped him burn thousands of calories extra. Now, this was a significant find, and it's usually something that's often ignored in the equation. Eighteen weeks later, Ray Cronis, NASA material scientist, went from 230 pounds to 182 pounds. What's the secret behind temperature control for weight loss?

There was actually more to what Cronis learned about the thermal load and how it contributed to overall fat oxidation. There are actually two key elements that have not been factored in that produces the increased fat burn: adipose tissue (BAT) and adiponectin. Adiponectin increases the glucose uptake used by the body's muscular tissues and it increases fatty acid oxidation in the mitochondria. In simple terms, it helps you with burning fat and it increases your muscle tissue gains. Now, compared to white adipose tissue, brown adipose tissue, on the other hand, helps dissipate excess calories. Cold temperatures stimulate the BAT so that the body would burn more fatty acids and produce more heat, which is what your body needs when temperature goes down.

How to Make BAT and Adiponectin Work:

* **Option 1: Use Timothy's method.** Get an ice pack, fill it with ice, place it at the back of the neck, leave it there for 30 minutes. Do it in the evening, the time when your insulin sensitivity is at its lowest point.

* **Option 2: Use Ray's method.** Drink ice water (500 milliliters) immediately after waking up in the morning. After that, have your breakfast half an hour later. Follow Slow Carb Diet.

* **Option 3: Cold shower method.** Shower in hot water for two minutes. Shampoo your head and clean face with soap. Rinse off with cold water and stay in the shower for three minutes until your body acclimates. Continue with the rest of the shower as usual.

* **Option 4: Shiver.** Take icy cold 20-minute baths until it induces shivering. This option is for those who are rather impatient.

Benefits of Cold Showers:

1. Cold showers are actually an effective treatment for depression.

2. It improves the body's immune response.

3. It stimulates BAT thermogenesis.

4. Increases adiponectin levels even long after the exposure to the cold.

5. Contributes to fatty acid release.

Chapter Summary for The Glucose Switch Overview

This chapter covers Timothy Ferriss's experimentation with a variety of glucometers. It also highlights the benefits of using them. The chapter also provides his findings using these devices. A little bit of warning provided by the author in this book is that you should first consult with your doctor before you use any of these devices, since you will have a device implanted.

Summary of The Glucose Switch

Beautiful Number 100. Tim Ferriss experimented with a variety of glucometers, most of which required a device or part of the system to be implanted in one's body. He began with products from Dexcom, which is the same type of products used by American professional race car driver Charlie Kimple. He eventually tried other devices from different brands and calibrated them according to his needs. He eventually recommended Wavesense Jazz glucometer, which had the ability to adjust and fine-tune the measurements according to several factors that made it more accurate. Here are his findings using a glucometer:

1. What matters is when the food gets digested and gets to the cells, and not always what you eat.

2. Adding more fat content to your meals can blunt spikes in your blood glucose.

3. Fructose has extended glucose-lowering effect, but it isn't recommended. You don't always lose fat with lowered blood glucose.

4. Vinegar isn't all it's hyped to be. Lemon juice and other citrus juice actually lowered glycemic response better than vinegar.

5. Small doses of cinnamon have a substantial effect on the body's glucose levels.

6. It's the speed and size of meals that have a bigger impact on glycemic response.

Summary of The Last Mile: Losing the Final Five to Ten Pounds

In your quest to get that Four-Hour Body, you'll one day encounter the last five to ten pounds of body fat that seem to resist anything and everything that you try. However, championship-level bodybuilders like Johnny Romano, Muscular Development's magazine editor-in-chief, are able to reach sub-10 body fat. From Ferris's interview with Romano, it was found that there are two approaches to achieving what is called "The Last Mile" in weight loss: one way is to follow a rather unconventional diet that required a lot of discipline, and the other is to use drugs. The diet that Romano describes includes eight ounces of protein with a minimum four-ounce intake per meal. The intake will be adjusted one ounce.

Per meal, per 10 pounds of your own body weight. Every meal should be eaten like clockwork. When it's time to eat, you should eat regardless of whether you are hungry or not.

Here are the meal options, the ones recommended and used by Romano that you can choose from. They're basically the meals you will cycle day in and day out while on the said diet.

First Option: half a cup of nuts, 2 tablespoons peanut butter, plus 50 grams whey protein isolate.

Second Option: eight ounces fish (non-fatty and white).

Third Option: five eggs (hard-boiled).

Fourth Option: chicken or turkey, eight ounces.

Fifth Option: cooked protein, eight ounces each (a ground beef, dark poultry, red meat) plus macadamia oil or olive oil, one tablespoon.

The part about drugs. The other method explained by Romano is to use drugs. Following the above mentioned diet will infuse a point of diminishing returns. A lot of bodybuilders use certain types of drugs during pre-competition stages to go lower than five percent body fat. That, of course, includes the use of steroids. Note that Ferris does not recommend using steroids and other similar fat-reducing drugs for the last mile.

Fat Loss. Chapter 7. Adding Muscle. Overview. This chapter section covers several chapters from The Four Hour Body by Tim Ferriss, which includes building the perfect posterior. Remember that losing fat is half of the equation of a Four Hour Body. The other half is building muscle. Increasing muscle mass is actually a good way to lose body fat, since the higher your muscle mass, the higher will be your caloric consumption.

Summary of Building the Perfect Posterior. This chapter is all about building what's called the posterior chain. This chain includes all the muscles from the base of your skull all the way down to your Achilles tendons. The book teaches several exercise strategies to achieve this.

Kettlebell Swings. The first tip that Tim gives his readers is the use of the kettlebell. He tells the story of one Tracy Rifkin, who lost weight using what was then known as the Russian kettlebell swing. Her exercise regimen was scheduled only twice a week, with 15 to 20 minutes per session. The result was that she lost over 100 pounds. It took her four weeks to get it coupled with minimal effective dose med, the right diet (low carb, of course), and a complete gym that only costs ten dollars. Yes, that's how cheap your gym will be. You want to be doing three sets with five reps on the kettlebell swing. This will be combined with other workouts such as dumbbell front squats, DB rows, walking lunges, and wide grip push-ups.

Summary of Six Minute Abs. In this chapter, the book covers what's called the six-minute abs. It focuses on two exercises that worked. One exercise is called the cat vomit, and the other is the myotactic crunch. These two exercises gave Ferris that gleeful smile on his face because it was the first time in his life that he had legit abs. That was enough proof for him that these two exercises were when it comes to fulfilling that manly quest for the six-pack abs.

So, how do you perform a myotactic crunch? Use a Swiss ball or a Bosu. Rest your back on it. Your butt should be raised six inches off the ground. The arms should be stretched overhead, pointing to the ceiling. Position the arms next to the ears as if you're in a diving position. Your feet should be flat on the floor. Lower your upper body backwards as if attempting to lean on the floor. Try to make your fingers touch the floor. Hold the stretched position for two seconds. Raise slowly with proper muscular control until you are back to your original position with your arms perpendicular to the floor. This counts as one rep. Do 10 repetitions.

How to do the cat vomit exercise? Get on all fours. Don't arch your back. Exhale forcefully using your mouth until all the air in your chest has been blown out, like a cat vomiting. Use the force of your abdominals via contraction to push all the air out. In this position, gravity will supply the much-needed resistance. Hold the area of your belly button in for 8 to 12 minutes. Inhale through the nose. Inhale and exhale again. That counts as one repetition. Do a total of ten.

Summary of Geek to Freak. If you can recall, losing fat is only a portion of the entire equation for the Four Hour Body. Do you still think it's impossible to gain 34 pounds in just 28 days? Tim Ferriss isn't the only one who was able to achieve this feat. Ferris mentions a 65-year-old man by the name of John, who was able to do it, and another guy by the name of Casey Viator, who was the test subject of the 1973 Colorado Experiment by the Colorado State University.

So, how did Ferris achieve such a feat? Perform one set to failure for four different exercises. Use the five-five repetition cadence. You should only focus on two to ten exercises per workout. Increase your recovery time. Note that achieving that much muscle mass wasn't achieved by pure exercise alone. It also involved the use of well-timed supplementation.

Now, the idea is not to make you into a professional athlete, nor is it to make you as strong as you can ever be. You can also incorporate any exercise into this program. However, Ferris argues that some exercises are more prone to injury than others. An example of which is the snatch. The argument is that if there are other exercises that are other safer exercise protocols that can provide 80 percent more benefits, then why stick to an exercise that's more prone to injury? His suggestion is to follow Okum's protocol, the routine used by Mike Mentzer, Mr. Olympia in 1979.

You get to alternate two exercise routines. Here's the first one: seven reps close grip supinated pull-downs using five-five counts, seven reps machine shoulder press using five-five counts. You will then alternate that with the following exercise routine: seven reps bench press with a slight incline/decline using five-five counts, ten reps leg press using five-five counts, or alternatively, 50 kettlebell swings, three minutes on a stationary bike at 85 RPM.

Frequent should you be doing these exercises in the gym? Here's the rule: increase the amount of your recovery time as you grow. The bigger and stronger you get, the lesser time should be going to the gym. Remember that it takes longer to repair a 20-pound muscle than it is to repair 10 pounds when you were just beginning.

Chapter 8. Improving Sex. Overview. In chapter 6, the author talks about improving sex. He explores four different headings or subjects. The first of which is called the 15-minute female orgasm (Parts one and two), followed by Sex Machine, and finally Doubling Sperm Count and Happy Endings.

Chapter Summary. The author begins by relating his experience with a friend that goes by the name of Tallulah Sulas. She, according to the author, is an expert in the field of female orgasms. She explains that the most sensitive part of the vagina for most women is the one o'clock quadrant. When you're facing the woman's vagina, you divide the view into four quadrants. Find the one in the one o'clock position. It should be the one at the upper right. If you're the woman looking at it, it should be the one at the upper left. Tallulah then referred him to Nicole Dadone. Well, it was more like she recommended that he meet with her. He wrote down the name and recollected its significance. From there, Ferris began his so-called quest. The quest, of course, is to test the theory and find a girl who has never before experienced an orgasm. Well, actually, Ferris himself declares that this quest only began years later when he met exactly a girl with that sort of description. He met a young yoga instructor by the name of Giselle, who had never before experienced an orgasm. He even made a promise, albeit a drunken promise, that he would fix her dilemma. In his research, he found that it's estimated that 50 to 70 percent of women in the U.S. has never really experienced an orgasm before. From that effort, Timothy Ferris reclaimed that he was able to facilitate orgasms in women with a stunning success rate of 100 percent.

The Process. Ferris explains his process. He wrote down some FAQs. A lot of them were related to extending male endurance, which can be called a limiting factor for some men. Some of his questions included:

1. How to tweak sex positions to get a better chance at making the woman orgasm?

2. How to maintain your erection after ejaculation?

3. Is it possible to orgasm multiple times without ejaculation?

4. How to keep the penis from stretching out over time?

While in this research, he concluded that you will never have a shortage of information or experts who will claim that they are masters of the art of making a woman orgasm. He even described it as a paradox of choice, given the vast number of sources that you can tap. No wonder a lot of people are delusional as to whether or not you can find the G-spot and make a woman orgasm. He even drew a parallel of sorts that this search of his can be paralleled to Shailer's quest from the snow leopard, finding everything else that's great and wonderful and not really finding what it is you're looking for.

Ferris narrowed down his sources, surprisingly, to a woman who has literally done it all and still hasn't experienced an orgasm: Nina Hartley. Yes, one of the most prolific porn stars and sex gurus of his time. However, the dance that led him to Nina wasn't produced by pure Googling alone. He had a friend who actually had a most profound sexual experience with her. Yes, his friend Sylvester Norwood reported he had his greatest sexual encounter with Hartley. Talk about the stars aligning to help Ferris get the answers he was looking for. There was no doubt in his mind that Nina can get the job done. What confused him was how in the world was Sylvester, a boy who was even scared of talking to girls, to get the chance to know Nina intimately? The answer was a go-between: Sylvester's mother. She was attending a group meeting where she met Nina, who was also in attendance. They got together and chatted. Sylvester was a huge fan of Nina and even had a huge porn stash all full of Nina's videos. He begged his mom to introduce him. Nina then agreed to break in the boy, and they've been friends since. A decade later, Nina and Sylvester were still good friends. So, this time, it was Sylvester who introduced Nina to Ferris. Their phone call lasted more than two hours, and it was nothing short of a one-on-one master class in sex.

Two points stand out from that conversation of theirs, which are the following:

1. Precondition a woman for orgasm, which entailed masturbating prior to or after bedtime.

2. Make modifications on sexual positions. This means you have to angle the penetration so that the penis has more contact with the G-spot. This also eases the pressure on the head of the penis, which makes the man last longer.

3. Adjusting the pressure of the position. With improved pressure, the man's pelvic bone has more contact with a woman's vagina, which improves her chances of reaching orgasm.

So, how do you apply all of that? Here's an example using the conventional missionary style. The first adjustment you will make is to make the woman's hip is elevated about six inches or so off the bed. You can use a pillow to achieve that effect. The man will then keep his hips as close as he can to the woman's hips while sitting on his heels and his knees spread, each one against one side of the woman's hip. Imagine a samurai sitting on the floor with his feet under his butt. Use different penetration depths, such as several short or half-length penetrations followed by one long, full penetration.

Chapter 9. Perfecting Sleep. Overview. Tim Ferriss suffered from insomnia, which is of course interfered with his overall health. Sleep, as you might already know, is the key to muscle and bodily repair. It is essential for building muscle and losing weight. So, how do you engineer the perfect night's sleep? Is good sleep a matter of length? The author also discusses polyphasic sleep and how to become better at it.

Key takeaways from these chapters include: improving the REM to Total Sleep Time ratio ensures good sleep. Certain things like taking Huperzine A, waking up about four hours after sleep onset, and other things can improve your REM percentage. Better deep wave sleep improves physical performance. You can improve your sleep onset and increase chances of better sleep quality by controlling the room temperature, using a blue light emitter bulb, and other related lighting, as well as choosing a better sleeping position, eating more protein before bedtime, and taking a bath before bedtime. Polyphasic sleep is a good way to maximize your day and it's especially helpful to new parents and those who have to sleep less. However, it does have its downsides, so beware.

Summary of the Perfecting Sleep Chapter. Ferris turned to various devices to track his sleep-wake patterns. With a number of devices that were attached to him, he said he looked like RoboCop, only comatose. With the help of devices such as Xeno, Wakemate, and a couple of accelerometers, he was able to deduce the following:

1. Good sleep isn't really about the length of time you sleep. What's important is the REM to Total Sleep ratio. The higher the REM percentage, the better the sleep and better is one's recall skills.

2. Waking up after four and a half hours of the onset of sleep increased the total REM to Total Sleep ratio. The trick is to stay awake for about five minutes and then go back to sleep.

3. Taking Huperzine A 30 minutes before going to bed (200 milligrams) will increase the total REM percentage from 20 to 30 percent.

4. To improve physical performance, you must increase the percentage of your deep wave sleep.

5. Drinking wine four hours before going to bed will decrease deep wave sleep. On the other hand, if you take California poppy extract before sleeping, it increased deep wave sleeping.

6. Low blood sugar will make you feel tired when you wake up in the morning. The solution is to take 120 up to 240 calories before bedtime.

What can you do to improve your chances of getting to sleep and eventually sleep better? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Set room temperature to 67 degrees Fahrenheit and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Eat a protein-dominated meal with large dose of fat three hours before bedtime.

3. Use a blue light emitter bulb (Philips GoLite).

4. Exercise 20 minutes before going to sleep (use isolateral resistance training).

5. Take a cold bath one hour before you go to bed.

6. Take advantage of an ultrasonic humidifier.

7. Use a night wave pulse light.

8. Use the half military crawl position.

Summary of Sleeping Less with Polyphasic Sleep. In this chapter, the author discusses polyphasic sleep. Here, he explores the possibility of sleeping less and still feeling energized. Polyphasic sleep requires one to break down sleep patterns into multiple segments. Eventually, it means that people can actually sleep as little as two hours each day. The key in polyphasic sleep is tricking your brain into entering REM sleep, which only lasts two hours. By the way, when you sleep normally for eight hours, the idea is to make the brain skip the other sleep phases and go directly into REM sleep in order to make shorter hours of sleep more restful.

The author offers several alternatives, which include the following:

1. The Siesta: Take a 20-minute nap and then do six hours of core sleep (Everyman).

2. Two Nap: Take two 20-minute naps and four and a half hours of core sleep (Everyman).

3. Three Nap: Take three naps that last 20 minutes each and take three hours core length (Everyman).

4. Four Nap: Take four naps that last 20 minutes each and take one and a half hours of core sleep.

5. The Uberman: Takes six 20-minute naps.

Take note that the naps should be spaced evenly throughout the day. That means if you go for the Uberman schedule, then you'll take naps every four hours. Now, there is a downside to polyphasic sleep. If you miss your nap or oversleep anytime within the schedule, you'll end up really tired for several days. However, if you are able to keep your schedule, then you'll feel refreshed and alert in spite of the short amount of sleep.

Chapter 10. Reversing Injuries. Overview. Is it possible to actually heal from all the injuries you've sustained in this life? Tim Ferriss explores that in this section of his book and talks about possible options and the things that actually worked. He discusses the correction of your foot positioning, the Ego SKU method, Amit, Art, and others. He also deals with injury-proofing the body and making use of functional movement screen.

Summary of Reversing Permanent Injuries. Is it possible to reverse the effects of a lifetime of injuries? Ferris wasn't the first to ask this question. Jacques Cousteau, the famed French explorer, also wondered about this possibility. Being able to reverse the effects of injuries back to complete health will be a great addition to a Four Hour Body. Come to think of it, in his search, Tim found himself in an Arizona clinic with several needles stuck to his body, all of them three inches in length. He had one stuck in his ankles, another one in his neck, on his shoulders, and one even gingerly came in close contact with his cervical spine. That's not the most heavenly of experiences, to say the least. So, what was he doing there? He was getting a PRP treatment (platelet-rich plasma treatment). This was taken from one's blood, and the platelets contain the body's growth and healing factors. PRP was the precursor to other similar healing treatments, such as stem cell factor and insulin-like growth factor 1. The result of these treatments was an abysmal failure, not to mention at least ten thousand dollars in hospital bills. No wonder Ferris complained about the charlatans and others who capitalized on people who were desperate. Not that Tim was desperate; he was just on the hunt for the latest cutting-edge science in regenerative medicine. It's not that PRP doesn't really work; it's been proven to work. It's just that, according to Ferris himself, he needed to find the right doctor who really knew how to administer the treatment.

So, what worked? So, other than medication that was injected, ingested, applied topically, or otherwise, what other methods actually worked? The author used a five-stage approach that began with using specific movements involving biometrics and posture correction. Next came the use of adhesion tools, hand pressure, and other corrective manipulations to fix soft tissue damage. After that came medication. The final stage is in the area where if meds, movement, and manipulation weren't enough, is to undergo surgical repair.

The Critical Five. The author then relates the five treatments that seem to fix permanent injuries. They include the following:

1. The use of Vibram Five Finger shoes, Terra Plan, a Barefoot Vivo shoes for back pain. It also restores the foot to its natural condition. Wearing shoes for long periods of time can deform the feet after making it a habit for many years.

2. The Ugosku method is a postural therapy program that treated the mid-back, neck, and cervical neck. It features five treatment positions, such as the static back, static extension position, shoulder bridge, active bridge, supine groin progressive, in-tower supine groin in chair, and the air bench.

3. Advanced Muscle Integration Therapy (Amit) is where the calves, glutes, and pectorals.

4. Active Release Techniques (ART) for shoulder internal rotators.

5. Prolotherapy, which fixed his right wrist and left knee.

6. Bile puncture, which treated the Achilles tendon and the infraspinatus injury.

Injury Proofing the Body. This chapter is all about functional movement screen (FMS). Ferris describes it as the most difficult chapter in his book, but he says it is the most important one. Come to think of it, if you mainly focus on rapid gains in body performance, weight loss, and muscle mass gain without making any preparations for injury prevention, then you are setting yourself up for some disastrous situations. Your 150-pound self as you develop your body is much different from its 100-pound version. FMS is the brainchild of Great Cook. According to him, the most common cause of sports-related injury, or pretty much any other kind of physical injury, is neither tightness nor weakness, but imbalance. You can just as easily get injured doing a deadlift or just lifting the luggage. FMS is actually a series of movement tests that will help identify any imbalances. The tests will include the following:

1. Seated rotation

2. Deep squat

3. Active straight leg raise

4. Inline lunge

5. Hurdle step

The assessment is scored on a three-point scale and then follows an evaluation. Asymmetry and motor control issues can be identified using this test. Corrective exercises and movements will be administered to each individual for correction and injury prevention. Want corrective movements and exercises were used to correct motor control issues and left-right imbalances? The following are the top four:

1. Two arms single leg deadlift

2. Chop and lift

3. Cross body one arm single leg deadlift

4. Turkish getup

Note that these are only the top four. There are other corrective movements that are used in FMS as well. Does it work? The Atlanta Falcons used FMS in the 2008 season, and they only ended up with one player getting injured, whereas they suffered seven injuries by the end of the 2017 season. The Indianapolis Colts also had the fewest injuries in the NFL. Guess what their secret regiment was? Yes, it was FMS.

Chapter 11. Running Faster and Farther. Overview. In this chapter, Tim walks about Joe DeFranco's methods to make athletes run faster and jump higher. They go over the testing sessions and perfecting techniques. They go over the proper arm positions when jumping and running and correcting body movement. Fine-tune them, and you'll actually find out that it's all skill.

Summary of Hacking the NFL Combine. Tim Ferriss at one time trained with Joe DeFranco, who was also known as the Yoda of the NFL Combine. He's been known to create beasts out of athletes. His proteges were described as monsters who ran and jumped farther and higher than they usually could.

Jumping Higher. Now, how was he able to do that? DeFranco used a unique training combo that improved an athlete's running performance and vertical jump. In the case of the author, this was the required regimen for improving his vertical jump:

1. 10 normal jumping jacks

2. Ten seal jacks

3. Five reverse lunges

4. Five side lunges

5. Ten leg swings (forward and backward), one set for each side

6. Twenty-second Pogo jumps

Several flaws were detected in Ferris's jump attempts, and each was corrected during training. Here are the flaws that needed correction:

1. He had very little shoulder drive. Use the shoulders pump down and then start elastic recoil going up. The shoulders actually contribute twenty percent to your total jump height.

2. Retracting the arm at the jump's highest point. A jumper should be retracted on the way up, not at the apex of the jump. This required some practice.

3. The squat stance was too wide.

4. Hip flexors were tight.

After these were corrected, and after much practice, Ferris was able to increase his vertical jump by three inches, which was truly impressive.

Running Faster. DeFranco adapted the training concepts developed by Olympic speed coach Charlie Francis. With one trainee, DeFranco made an athlete focus on perfecting 10-yard dashes to build a base for the 400-meter dash. Just as with the vertical jump, several seemingly minor factors had to be corrected to improve one's running speed. In the case of Tim Ferriss, DeFranco made the following changes:

Positional changes: Correcting arm position and movement. Focus on a sustained running position and utilizing fewer steps. Right-handed athletes should place their right hand down on the track and their left foot forward on the starting position. Do the opposite if you're left-handed. This position is the optimal starting position about 90 percent of the time. Other positional changes, such as bending the arm at a 90-degree angle before takeoff and driving and aiming the first step using the rear leg and landing about three feet from your leading foot's toe.

During the first trial run, Tim kept his head down. Fine-tuned his movements. He then concentrated on perfecting the motions for the 10-yard dash. One 10-yard dash after another until he reached the 40-yard mark. During that one single run, he broke the gym record at 5.61 seconds for the 40-yard dash.

Chapter 12. Getting Stronger. Overview. In this chapter, Tim introduces the techniques practiced by Pavel Tsatsouline and Barry Ross. His strength, a trait that's inherent only in certain uniquely gifted individuals, or is it a skill that can be learned with the help of the effortless superhuman protocol? Both Pavel and Barry illustrate why it's more of the latter than the former.

Summary of the Effortless Superhuman Protocol. Is strength a trait, or is it a skill? The majority of people may say that strength is a trait, a characteristic that's inherent in the individual. However, Pavel Tsatsouline will tell you otherwise, and he may even demonstrate his point to you right there on the spot. Timothy Ferris trained with Pavel during his Russian kettlebell certification. Pavel was a former Special Forces instructor for none other than the Soviet Union. He once made a live demonstration and was able to make someone who used to have a max lifting capacity of 53 pounds go up to 72 pounds, and the man was able to obtain that 26 strength increase in just five minutes. Pavel did dozens of these demonstrations, only to educate the audience and to prove an important point: that strength is really a skill, and you can learn it rather quickly.

The next question is, how fast can the body learn all that? Pavel then introduced Timothy to Barry Ross. Barry Ross spent two decades finding a way to make people faster. His solution, according to Ferris, is to reduce what we usually see as irreducible, aka the effortless superhuman protocol. If you'd rather have a fancy way to call it, okay, smartypants, what's the logic behind it all? Barry's training program is actually predicated on actual research, and the answer is skeletal muscles. One of the crucial things you need to get faster and stronger too is to increase ground force support. How much support force? The answer is one tenth of your body weight will boost you one meter per second. What you need to reinforce is your skeletal muscles because one kilo of that can produce support for 44 kilograms of body weight. That means the stronger the skeletal muscles in an athlete, the better he is able to make use of the contact force when his foot hits the ground, and the faster he is in case he needs to run.

Here's a sample workout in Barry's protocol for maximal strength:

1. Dynamic stretching

2. Push-ups (10 reps) or bench press (two or three sets with two to three repetitions)

3. Deadlift to knee (two to three sets with two to three repetitions)

4. Plyometrics after each deadlift set

5. Core exercises (three to five reps, three to five sets)

6. Static stretching

Of course, Barry fine-tuned this protocol along the way, and at times, you need to change things up to suit an athlete. Some are more advanced than others. Note that you should always reduce time under tension, usually just 10 seconds, to minimize lactic acid production in the body. This acid can also extend one's recovery period. Another rule that Barry applies is to lift heavy but don't lift hard. The barbell is your tool to gain an advantage in strength over an opponent of equal scale. And here, Barry introduces the rule of 10 reps (well, approximately 10): three sets of three reps or five sets of two reps, and you're only supposed to lift three days a week. Oh yeah, you shouldn't train to failure. That way, when you finish your workout, you feel stronger than before you even started.

Chapter 13. From Swimming to Swinging. Overview. In this section, The Four Hour Body covers two sections. First is how to swim effortlessly in 10 days using the Total Immersion method, and the second is improving baseball swings. Tim here teaches about the Total Immersion method to swimming and how you can reduce drag by carefully streamlining your body and using its entirety to swim. The second half is about dynamics of the swing, as taught by Jamie Calvoss.

Summary of Total Immersion Method. For a guy who was good at every sport, sucking at swimming was an embarrassment. Ferris almost gave up on the effort, but he met Chris Saka, who was training as a triathlete. He met Saka at a barbecue and told Ferris that he knew the answer to his swimming problems. He recommended the Total Immersion method, the training program by Terry Laughlin, America's swim coach.

Eight Tips for Novices. Here are Tim's tips for novices and everyone who's having difficulty with swimming:

1. Focus on your shoulder roll so that you can propel your body forward using the least amount of effort. Make sure to maintain a horizontal body position, which creates the least amount of resistance in the water. Yes, you will be swimming freestyle in the water, not right on top. Don't pull using your arms or kick with your legs, because that will only result in a smaller propulsion force. Use your entire body to swim.

2. Keep the head aligned with your spine. That is, assume the same posture as if you were standing, but only horizontally. Remember to drive your arm under the water. Use small flick kicks to help you turn your hips and then drive your arm (not the lead arm) forward.

3. Don't swim on your stomach. Alternate by swimming on your right side, then on your left side.

4. If you have your left arm as your lead hand, penetrate the water using your right arm. The fingers should be angled downwards. Extend your arm far below your head. The downward water pressure that your arms will be making will raise the lower part of your body, including your legs, thus reducing drag. When your arm enters the water, it should be pointing downwards at an angle. Remember to focus on longer strokes, not more strokes. Make sure to glide with each stroke you make and reduce the number of strokes you make with each lap. That way, you last longer and feel less tired.

5. To breathe, turn your body and extend your lead arm (the one that's in the water). Try to look at the elbow of the arm that's going to enter the water. Note that some triathletes turn almost as if they were about to face skyward. This will help you avoid taking only small gasps of air, which again will make you feel tired quickly.

6. Practice hand swapping. Practice one detail at a time. Use short drills in shallow water.

7. Whenever you feel strained, that means you're not using the right technique. Review your movements and compare them to the techniques described in Total Immersion.

Summary of the Architecture of Babe Ruth. The second half of this chapter deals with improving baseball swings. Here, Tim talks about his experience with Jamie Calvoss. You can say that he is a guru when it comes to baseball swings. Throughout his baseball experience, he was able to improve certain aspects of the game, including several numbers. He was very analytical about the sport since he was a kid. One of the things that major league players pay him to see his notes on how to increase slugging percentage. Slugging percentage, slugging percentage, slugging percentage, simply put, is the amount you get when you divide how many bases have been run by the actual number of appearances a batter has made at the plate. So, how do you tweak those numbers? Here are the following principles that Calvoss taught Tim in their 45-minute training session that was supposed to transform Tim into a world-class ball hitter:

Picking Your Angles. The first phase is to pick your angles. Here, Calvoss talks about what is called the cushion. This occurs when your front heel has landed on the ground before you make your forward swing. In this phase of the swing, you should have the most torque created between your hips and your shoulders. A good angle for your cushion is 25 degrees, and Calvoss calls this angle S. Your job is to obtain this optimal form, while the pitcher's job is to throw off-speed balls. Any kind of throw that's slower than a fastball, he will usually lure you to go into a weaker hitting position and eventually throw strikes.

The Slot. The correct slot position is when your back elbow drops precisely to your side. Note that in this position, the angle of your spine will remain vertical. When you whip that bat in this position, you'll not be using the power of your arms. Your arms will have to defer to something more powerful: your hips and your legs. These body parts will create that whipping action, and they should only turn you and your bat within the strike zone.

Impact Position. The impact position is what Calvoss calls the thumbprint of your swing. He also says that there are two important components to the impact position, which he calls Angle E and Angle W. Angle E: The first angle is one between your upper arm and your forearm. The goal is to make it reach 80 degrees. The other angle W is the one made in between your top wrist and your bat. It needs to be as large as possible. Calvoss recommends 80 degrees. Doing this will create a greater area of impact, which gives you a higher batting average.

Chapter 14. On Longer and Better Life. Overview. In this chapter, the author deals with life extension and has initially described it to be the shortest thing ever to be written about. In his very own words, Ferris points out that seeking a long life will mean dealing with a somewhat endless list of things that one should avoid as one grows older. Things get complicated as people age. Thus, one might want to consider valuing the quality of life rather than the length of one's life.

Summary of Living Forever. Ferris investigated possible therapies that may help when it comes to life extension. He didn't include everything in his book, but he filtered the long list of things down to a few. The factors considered included ethical means as well. His short list of possible items that may help included the following: stem cell therapies, vaccines for Alzheimer's disease, rapamycin injections, resveratrol. Do take note that in spite of the fact that these therapies are quite promising, Tim Ferriss opted to avoid them. Why? The reason is that there is a lack of long-term human data that could mean the side effects can be quite unpredictable. So, what did he opt for? The answer is low-risk and low-cost methods. Ferris offers a caveat that these therapies can be debunked where life extension is concerned. Nevertheless, even if they do fail in that department to be proven by solid science later on, these therapies still had benefits when it came to body composition. So, here is Tim Ferriss's short list when it came to life extension:

1. Creatine monohydrate, taken in cycles of 5 to 10 grams. It's used as a drug to prevent the onset of Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and Parkinson's disease. On top of that, it's a popular drug among power athletes. It's also backed by 20 years of published research.

2. Protein cycling and intermittent fasting. Ferris suggests several intermittent fasting options, which include ADCR and Fast Five.

3. Bloodletting. It's believed that excess iron reduces the lifespan of people. This is believed to be the case with post-menopausal women who had the same heart attack rate as men.

Ferris concludes that extending life while sacrificing the quality of life doesn't really make sense. A life that is full of denial is not really a life of freedom. The greatest rewards can come not from a long life, but from a good one.

Chapter 15. Closing Thoughts. Tim Ferriss believes that there is a unity between mind and body and rejects the Cartesian idea that they are separate. When you start a change in the body and everything exterior, it begins a chain reaction, a domino effect of sorts, that eventually takes care of the entire system of the body. A lot of us have resigned ourselves to our current circumstances, what Tim calls a partial completeness. We believe that this is just how we are and are powerless to change things. The principles that Ferris discussed in this book will help you start that domino effect that will change you completely. You can and will become a complete human being. The first thing you need to do is to improve your outer game. We hope that the things you have learned here will help you start a chain reaction that will change you from both within and without. The next step is to go pick the tidbits that you can immediately work with in order for you to obtain that Four Hour Body. Work on it one step at a time, and then one day, you will be far better than how you were when you started. Thanks again for reading this book.