

Body-hacking: Tim Ferris's next book & request for help. - JayNeely
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/06/22/the-next-book-from-rapid-fat-loss-to-strongmen-a-guide-to-becoming-superhuman

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proee
I'd like to see Timmy train for an ironman triathlon or a super marathon. He
should do quite well (in theory) given his hacking skills.

If he can do well in one of these events it would give credit to his claims.
Until then, he should consider touring around with David Copperfield.

~~~
discojesus
_I'd like to see Timmy train for an ironman triathlon or a super marathon._

Or win a UFC championship (most likely by strategically placing his crotch in
the path of his opponents' fists so they become disqualified and he wins by
default).

~~~
proee
No pain, no gain.

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pope52
While I make no claim of knowing Ferris personally, I've read his book and
blog.

He reads like an Infomercial. I'd trust his advice about as much. Do be
careful, particularly when your health is on the line.

~~~
michael_dorfman
I think it goes without saying that anybody who takes medical advice from Tim
Ferriss will get what they deserve, and deserve what they get.

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icey
Let me get this straight. He has tens of thousands of pages of potential
material _[1]_ , but he is soliciting tips and help from people who have some
actual credulity in the field?

Forgive me if I'm a little suspicious of this one.

    
    
        [1] "I’ll spare you the 10,000 pages of literature on a
     given topic and give you the one unusual 1-2-3 method that
     produced unbelievable results."

~~~
hwijaya
I think, what he is saying is... since he has done most of the reading and
experiments, that actually save us having to go through the same amount of
literature.

I know personally, when i do those type of reading, they all give a very
conflicting opinion. Example: Vitamin C. Some say 250mg, another say you need
3000mg/day (or even as far as 20000mg/day). Almost every piece of medical
advice that i read always have counter-argument. It's so hard to know which
one is working without experiment. Even then, i'm not sure how long u need to
carry the experiment.

~~~
cnlwsu
> Almost every piece of medical advice that i read always have counter-
> argument. It's so hard to know which one is working without experiment.

Medical advice based off peer reviewed studies and expert analysis or advice
from some quack promising to increase your strength by 30% in 48 hours?

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Sikander
I don't know much about Ferris nor have I read his book but I am very
interested in what he has to say. I didn't know he was viewed as an
'Infomercial' type of guy but its not like the body can't be hacked.

There is the Atkins Diet, Caveman Diet, etc that go against the traditional
nutritional advice. There as that one guy that recently watched TV in the
morning and just that helped him control his appetite. (it was a story on here
or Reddit I think) There was the woman who used eye training to give her depth
perception that she had not had her whole life. There was the researcher in
the 70s or 80s that wore glasses that inverted the light entering his eyes and
he proved that within a week his brain adapted to it and he could function
normally. Josh Waitzkin mentions being in the 'Zone' during a chess match when
an Earthquake happened and he was so focused it was Zen like to him. There was
an article today on researchers finding that sleep happens as areas of the
brain shut down independently. Charlie Sheen went on a special workout and
diet before Hot Shots Part Deux and gained 20-30 pounds of muscle while
getting to under 10 percent body fat with in 4 to 6 months. Eating many small
meals a day versus three square meals is supposedly healthier.

I'm not saying that Ferris is correct or a good man or anything like that. I
am interested in what he has to say and as far as hacking the body I
completely believe it is possible.

Heck, I was thinking of what the 30% strength gain could be and I figured it
might be something like over-training a muscle group for several hours one day
and then resting. Perhaps the body through evolution will direct more
resources to repairing it as it might have in the evolutionary past because it
assumes it is going to be needed again soon. Then on day two you get really
angry or scared to release adrenaline to give speed, strength and cover any
pain as you try and lift something. I don't know... but I know that the stuff
talked about today nutritionally would seem crazy 100 years ago and the stuff
now ill look crazy in 50 years.

"Come on! Get liposuction to release the natural stem cells in an adult body
and then inject it into your heart during a bypass to increase your chance of
survival 10 fold AND lowering your chance of complications?! Crazy!"

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cnlwsu
I think his scientific process is a little flawed... wheres the control? How
is it a double blind study if he is the experimenter and guinea pig? Just an
example of quack science using outrageous statements and feeding off the fact
that people are willing to ignore reason if they _want_ to believe what hes
selling.

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_pius
All these disproportionately strong reactions show that Tim Ferriss is still
relevant and still very good at what he does. I look forward to the book.

~~~
gamache
_All these disproportionately strong reactions show that Tim Ferriss is still
relevant and still very good at what he does_

Correct, if Tim Ferriss is a professional annoyatron.

~~~
_pius
Close, he's a professional firebrand.

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discojesus
here's some help: STOP WRITING. YOU ARE A JACKASS.

sorry, but good God the planet would be so much better off without this
douchegeyser.

here is an article corroborating my opinion from someone who knows the guy:

[http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/01/08/5-time-
management-t...](http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/01/08/5-time-management-
tricks-i-learned-from-years-of-hating-tim-ferriss/)

~~~
aik
I agree Tim has some very shady practices that I believe are unethical, but he
does have some good information on his blog as well. Also, no one can deny he
is a skilled marketer.

In any case I have much less respect for Penelope after reading that rant. She
comes off as a very jealous and spiteful person.

~~~
discojesus
_She comes off as a very jealous and spiteful person._

Perhaps, but beside the point - points #1-4 in that article are valid examples
of Significant Douchebaggery (point #5 seems to have been thrown in just to
round out the list).

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jeremytliles
I can save him the trouble of writing the book with one (compound) word:
Crossfit.

~~~
_pius
Crossfit is awesome, but impossible unless you've already got some baseline
level of physical fitness.

~~~
aarongough
I can't agree with that... Yes, it hurts, but if you start off with shorter
than usual sessions you will keep up eventually. Talk to whoever is running
the classes and don't be afraid to leaave half-way through a class!

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chime
I don't think I would trust a sample size of one to tell me anything about my
body, especially when my body is nothing like the subject.

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Evgeny
I don't see why he doesn't approach, say, the national Olympic Weightlifting
team or something like that. They would just win all the gold medals, break
all the world records and I don't think anyone would need more proof after
that feat.

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Ardit20
"I can show you how I safely do things outdated physiology textbooks tell you
is impossible. This isn’t because I have some unique intelligence. It’s
because I’ve tested the most basic assumptions of nutrition and exercise… and
I experiment with outrageous alternatives that end up working."

I don't buy it. It sounds too good to be true and it most probably is, it most
probably will sound like the article itself on and on without saying much.

What assumptions has he tested? This is like some amature physicist suggesting
he has found out the secrets to the whole universe or something and and who
reads outdated physiology books for practical information anyway?

One more... Outrageous Alternatives to me seems to suggest like alternative
medicine or something, or alchemy :P

I mean good for him for using his publicity from 4 hours work week to come up
with any other book. This guy is a marketer in my opinion and if I had his
publicity I too would spend a month going through medicine journals and come
up with some advice.

That all said, I wouldn't mind some online sources for optimal home
exercising, like you know push ups and other alternatives. And what I think
would be supper cool is like distance karate learning or something :)

~~~
utnick
if you want info on home excercising check out rosstraining.com and his books,
tons of info there on workout routines you can do without a gym

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kingkongrevenge
This guy's fifteen minutes is way up.

