Why “The 4 hour body” by Timothy Ferriss is the best fitness book
The 4 hour body book-There is a wealth of information in this book, and it will definitely help you lose weight, gain strength and run faster in few months. Like most of Ferriss’ work, this book could easily be misunderstood. Be clear that it isn’t about shortcuts or ‘hacks’, it’s about efficiently getting maximum benefit from minimum input – but that ‘minimum input’ still requires effort and dedication. You’ll get out what you’re prepared to put in. Even if you don’t actually apply any of the techniques, this book will likely make you think about your overall health in a different way.
The rules of weight loss always say that some things are impossible: you cannot lose more than 1kg per week; you cannot change your muscle type; the only way to lose weight is by cutting calories.
You have heard all these things and tried to be healthier, but the reality is these rules are not as accurate as most think.
You can do some things differently, small changes that will allow you to reach your ideal weight.
The purpose of 4HB is to show what you can change in your life to improve your health regarding weight loss, sleep habits, physical stamina, and overall longevity.
Measuring and Accompanying the Results
When you start following the 4HB plan, you will lose body fat and gain muscle.
You will begin to notice a substantial difference in your weight in the first few months. You may also notice that your weight loss will begin to get less dramatic after the initial three months.
While you lose fat, you are gaining muscle as well. Muscle gain appears on the scale, so even though you are still losing fat, it will not appear because of the muscles you gain in the process.
You cannot let the numbers on the scale hinder your progress.
Eliminating Fat
When you are following the 4HB plan, your diet will be low-carb. If you follow the diet correctly, you can lose up to 10kg of fat in a month.
The first rule of dieting is to avoid white carbs. These foods are banned during the diet, except thirty minutes after a high-strength workout.
That means you’ll need to cut out all bread, rice, cereal, potatoes, pasta, and fried breaded foods. That includes whole foods as well.
The second rule is to have repeat meals. You can mix the foods in your meals, but you should eat the same foods in your meals.
Another important factor for dieting is the time you eat. You need to make your first meal of the day the first hour you wake up. From there, your meals should have a 4 hours gap.
If you NEED to snack between meals, carrots are the best thing to eat but do not eat too many. If you have noticed that you are getting hungry between meals, you are not eating enough and you should increase your portions.
The third rule is to stay away from liquid calories. You can drink as much water as you want, unsweetened tea, black coffee or other non-calorie beverages. You cannot drink milk, soda or fruit juices.
Getting Stronger and Building Muscles
The next step is to learn how to gain muscle, which will help keep the fat away and make you feel better. For this, we present some exercises that you can do:
Balancing with Kettlebells: balancing with kettlebell done with two hands is one of the best exercises you can do to gain muscle. It is, in fact, the only exercise you need to produce drastic changes.
To properly balance the kettlebell, stand with your feet at a distance of approximately 30 cm (12 in) from each other, and with your fingers pointed slightly outward.
Keep your shoulders back, start swinging backward with the kettlebell while making a movement as if you would sit in a chair.
Hold your shoulders back and push your hips forward as you squeeze your buttocks. As you move forward, the thrust and weight of the kettlebell will push your arms, creating a swing.
Exercises to build muscle mass: These exercises are designed to help you get in shape and improve your posture quickly and easily.
Improving Your Sleep
If it takes a long time to fall asleep, this is considered early insomnia. If you wake up several times during the night, this is called intermediate insomnia.
If you wake up too soon and cannot go back to sleep, you have terminal insomnia.
Because it is very hard for someone to assess their own sleep quality and understand what is actually happening, it may be necessary to have some outside help, such as using a sleep monitor with a variety of functions.
Some important points about having a good night of sleep are:
The percentage of REM sleep: Whether or not you get a good night’s sleep for eight or ten hours depends on the relationship between your REM sleep and your total sleep.
If you have high percentages of REM sleep, you feel more rested. You can increase your REM percentage by waking up for five minutes approximately four and a half hours after sleeping.
You can also increase your REM sleep percentage by taking huperzine A thirty minutes before bed.
The percentage of deep sleep: If you have a high percentage of deep sleep, you will perform better the next day. Be careful about your wine consumption: drinking more than two glasses of wine in the four hours before bedtime can decrease your percentage of deep sleep.
You can also find the ideal temperature for your room. On average, you’ll want your room to register somewhere between 19 to 21 degrees Celsius.
You can also make great meals based on protein and fat four hours before bed to improve your sleep. Light therapy can also improve the quality of sleep.
Insulated movements performed before bedtime as well as a cold bath an hour before.
The sheer amount of scientific research used in the different aspects of the plan and the fact that the creator himself made personal experiments puts this plan into a different class when compared to standard diets and exercise plans.
The downside of this plan is that either you do everything or nothing. You cannot choose to follow just one part of the diet and expect it to be successful.