The 4-Hour Body_ An Uncommon Guide to Ra - Timothy Ferriss [89]
“The workouts are the least challenging part of it. Going to the gym so rarely and for so short a time left me wanting more. I think the key is, like you told me in the gym, to know that you only grow in those last reps when your muscles want to give up. To really focus and keep pushing to complete failure is an internal battle, so one has to really have the mental strength to keep going when the body wants to quit, rush, or use bad form in those last reps.
“My main advice would be to: write out a meal/supplement plan and keep it with you at all times. Have a workout buddy in the gym to push you and help spot. Do this at a time when you aren’t traveling and can have a pretty routine schedule. And carry a pack with supplements and protein bars in your car or with you at all times, in case your schedule changes during the day. Interestingly, it was only the first few days when the creatine made me piss like a racehorse; after four days, my body began absorbing it like it should.
“I think my biggest worry was that all the food would just create a tire around my abdomen, but like you said, it all went to the right places and people noticed … there was no downside and no reason not to do this.”
TOOLS AND TRICKS
Free Printable Calendar (www.freeprintablecalendar.net) Use this free custom calendar maker to schedule your workouts and rest spacing for each month.
YouBar Custom Protein Bars (www.fourhourbody.com/youbar) Custom design your own protein bars with YouBar, which allows you to choose protein type and dozens of add-ons like cashew butter, chia seeds, goji berries, and much more. Anyone can have their own branded (you choose the label type) protein-on-the-go for a minimum of 12 bars. For my preferred mix, search for the “Training 33” bar.
Parkinson’s Law by Cyril Northcote Parkinson (www.fourhourbody.com/parkinsons) This is the seminal book on Parkinson’s Law, written by Parkinson himself. Everyone you meet will want to tell you how to train and eat. Read this hysterical book to cultivate your selective ignorance of these “bike shed” discussions, which will derail more than help.
Biceps are a male obsession. This usually leads to throwing everything and the kitchen sink at them.
In reality, to build large and vascular biceps, there is no need to do isolated arm work.
All you need are two compound exercises (one high-rep and high-speed, and the other low-rep and low-speed) and, if you absolutely must do curls, include one lesser-known version called the “reverse drag curl.”
The First Compound Exercise: The Two-Handed Kettlebell Swing
We covered this exercise in detail in “Building the Perfect Posterior.” Reps are 50+.
The Second Compound Exercise: The “Yates” Bent Row
Named after six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates, who used it as a staple of his back routine, this exercise is a palms-up bent row performed with a slight 20–30-degree bend at the waist from standing. The bar will generally be at the top of the kneecaps in the bottom hang position. To minimize wrist pain, perform with an EZ bar if possible (here demonstrated with a standard Olympic barbell) and pause for a second at your hip crease, where the bar should make contact.
The Reverse Drag Curl
This exercise, ideally performed with a thick bar, develops the brachialis on the side of the upper arm and provides more constant tension than traditional curls.
Traditional curls often place the elbow under the weight at the top of the moment, minimizing resistance:
The suboptimal traditional curl
The drag curl, in contrast, raises the bar straight up rather than in a circular motion, grazing the front of the body and maintaining tension throughout.
The “drag curl”
The above photos show a standard drag curl with palms up. To reverse