From Geek to Freak: How I Gained 34 lbs. of Muscle in 4 Weeks(fourhourworkweek.com)

From Geek to Freak: How I Gained 34 lbs. of Muscle in 4 Weeks

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/29/from-geek-to-freak-how-i-gained-34-lbs-of-muscle-in-4-weeks/

8 comments

shard17년 전

I am very skeptical of the article. It seems highly unlikely that with only four hours of weight training that he packed on 34 lbs of muscle. The research he quoted wasn't as esoteric as he purports. I was a regular reader of misc.fitness.weights around '01-'04 where the adherents of various methods slugged it out. The general consensus was that High Intensity Training (HIT) is no worse than other workouts at best, and even the proponents of HIT made no such outrageous claims as he did. There are enough bodybuilders and weightlifters out there that every technique has likely been tried hundreds if not thousands of times, especially with money on the line, and any technique that had such a dramatic result would have spread like wildfire.

The photos on that webpage already exhibit several of the tricks used by the exercise equipment infomercial industry to make the difference between before and after pictures more dramatic: untightened versus tightened muscles, posture, tanning, shaving, strategic placement of clothing. I will not guess at any other techniques he used which can't be proven by examining the photographs.

If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

noodle17년 전

the pictures are definitely played up, as is a lot of the rhetoric.

for me, the process worked because i wasn't very strong to begin with, but was athletic. its much easier to put on muscle mass when you don't have much to begin with, as opposed to being a bodybuilder to start and then try to use this process to bulk up even more. there are diminishing returns.

the point of the post is valid, imo -- minimal time and work, when done intelligently, does show large results. in this case.

noodle17년 전

old article.

for what its worth, the process outlined does works, i tried it. part of it is metabolism and body type, though. not everyone will gain as much. and not everyone will really want this type of muscle. its bulky and slow, not the best for more dynamic athletes. you can alter the routine to build more lean muscle, though, and it works the same way. you just won't be able to say you put on some huge number of lbs in muscle.

p.s. - don't use supplements and such. they're bad for you.

HalcyonMuse17년 전

How do you recommend altering it for leaner muscle?

noodle17년 전

decrease weight, increase reps and slightly increase speed. aim to do around 3x the reps you would be doing according to the article before you hit failure. use freeweights as much as possible instead of bars or machines.

note - i'm not an expert and this is based on my personal research. its worked for me, though. i actually decreased in size but maintained strength after switching from one style to another.

Rabidmonkey117년 전

Sorry, didn't see the date on the article until you mentioned it - then I found it on the bottom of the page. Still, it seems like interesting information to me. I want to form a routine around these principles. How well did this process work for you?

Also, could you be more specific about detrimental supplements?

noodle17년 전

worked very well. i doubled the weight i could handle in all muscle groups except legs (i have strong legs) over two months.

i highly recommend avoiding vitamins, supplements, powders, and such as much as possible. its easy to overdo them, and they will start to harm your liver. if you can find some sort of natural protein source powder, that would probably be cool. for context, i know someone who is in a coma after liver failure brought on through supplement usage.

chiffonade17년 전

This guy Tim Ferriss is a master BS artist.