“Geek to Freak”: Stripped Down
How I made it work for me, and what were my results.
If you’ve read The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss, then you might remember his “Geek to Freak” experiment. This experiment was performed by Ferriss and modeled after Arthur Jones’ Colorado Experiment.
Essentially, it entailed a very minimal workout routine, paired with supplements and a ton of food, that resulted in the gain of 34 pounds of lean muscle in one month.
What makes this result so impressive is the fact that the average person, when attempting to gain muscle, can healthfully (maintaining an ideal ratio of muscle-fat gain) put on about 1lb of lean muscle per month.
I have thumbed through Ferriss’ book more times than I care to admit, I figured it was time to give this one a go.
(Because what 20-something year-old male doesn’t want to put on 34 pounds of muscle in one month?)
Frankly, simply the possibility of this physical change in such a short amount of time sounds insane. So, on August 23, 2019 I set my sights for September 23, 2019 and got started.
The Setup
Ferriss sets up the experiment with six main tenets:
1. Follow Arthur Jones’ general recommendations for one-set-to-failure from the little-known Colorado Experiment, but with lower frequency (maximum of twice per week) and with at least 3 minutes between exercises.
2. Perform every repetition with a 5/5 cadence (5 seconds up, 5 seconds down) to eliminate momentum and ensure constant load.
3. Focus on no more than 4–7 multi-joint exercises (leg press, trap bar deadlift, overhead press, Yates bent row, dips, incline machine benchpress, etc.) and exercise your entire body each workout to elicit a maximal hormonal (testosterone, growth hormone + IGF-1) response.
4. Eat enormous quantities of protein (much like my current fat-loss diet) with low-glycemic index carbohydrates like quinoa, but drop calories by 50% one day per week to prevent protein uptake downregulation.
5. Exercise less frequently as you increase strength and size, as your recovery abilities can only increase 20–30%, while you can often increase fat-free muscle tissue up to 100% before reaching a genetic set-point.
6. Record every workout in detail, including date, time of day, order of exercises, reps, and weight. Remember that this is an experiment, and you need to control the variables to accurately assess progress and make adjustments.
The plan also recommends the following supplements, taken at the times prescribed below.
AM: NO-xplode, Slo-Niacin
Meals: ChromeMate, Alpha-Lipoic Acid
Post-Workout: Micellean Casein
PM: Policosanol, ChromeMate, Alpha-Lipoic Acid, Slo-Niacin
Supplement List (links to Amazon products):
- NO-xplode (2 scoops; I used the caffeine-free version)
- Slo-Niacin (500mg)
- ChromeMate (200mcg)
- Alpha-Lipoic Acid (200mg)
- Micellean Casein (30g post workout)
- Policosanol (23mg)
The Execution
While I’m a big fan of the 80/20 principle, and believe it would have applied quite aptly with this experiment, I would honestly say that I probably adhered to Ferriss’ suggestions (to his already paired-down strategy) at about 60/40.
I followed tenets #1, #2, #3, and #6 quite effectively, but I did not maintain a low-carb diet, and in fact, (over) simplified the nutritional aspect of this experiment to 170 grams of protein and at least 3,000 calories per day, not concerning myself with the makeup of said calories (save for protein).
To arrive at those two daily goals, I simply calculated 1g/lb of total (desired) body weight, in this case 170lb. For calories, I used MyFitnessPal’s default calculator to estimate the amount of calories I would need to eat each day to increase my weight (factoring in exercise and movement) to the desired amount.
As for the workout routine, it was incredibly minimal. While certainly working muscles to exhaustion (sometimes leaving mine shaking), it did not incur the usual soreness common with hypertrophy training.
Additionally, I found that I recovered quite quickly resting four days per week and consuming such a high-protein/calorie diet (although it felt like I was always eating and never hungry).
Below is the entire workout regime for the month-long experiment (with some personal customizations):
Day 1, Workout A:
- Lat Pull-Down
- Machine Shoulder Press
- Abs Circuit x1 (Myotatic Crunch, Cat Vomit, Bicycle)
Day 2, Workout B:
- Incline Chest Press
- Leg Press + Calf Raises
- (Optional: Kettlebell Swings x50)
- Stationary Bike (3 minutes at 85+ rpm to loosen up legs/break down lactic acid buildup from the leg press)
Day 3, Workout C:
- Two-hand Kettlebell Swings (I occasionally rotated these with sledgehammer tire hits)
- Yates Row
- Reverse Drag Curl
- Triceps (I chose a different triceps exercise to add in each time, following the same cadence prescribed for the other exercises)
- Heavy Bag Boxing Sets
All exercises (when possible) were performed on a machine in order to maximize time under tension as well as create safer conditions for complete muscle fatigue.
Each repetition was performed at a 5/5 cadence (5 seconds up, 5 seconds down).
Only one set of 7–10 reps was performed per exercise, at 80–100% of maximal effort, with three minutes in between each exercise.
That’s it!
The Results
My first measurement was taken on 8/19/19, and I began the workouts on the same day. However, the supplements and full nutrition plan weren’t fully in effect until 8/23/19, hence the “official” timeline for this experiment being 8/23/19 to 9/23/19.
For my measurements, I used the 1byone Health Scale and mobile app (for context, I’m about 5’11”). My general goal was to weigh 170lbs by September 23rd, with 135 of those pounds consisting of lean muscle.
Measurement #1 — 8/19
Weight: 157.6lbs
Body Fat Percentage: 17.7%
Lean Muscle Mass: 123.2lbs
Weight, Visceral Fat: 8lbs
Measurement #2 — 8/26
Weight: 164.6lbs
Body Fat Percentage: 19.7%
Lean Muscle Mass: 125.6lbs
Weight, Visceral Fat: 9lbs
Measurement #3 — 9/02
Weight: 166.2lbs
Body Fat Percentage: 20.0%
Lean Muscle Mass: 126.4lbs
Weight, Visceral Fat: 9lbs
Measurement #4 — 9/09
Weight: 167.4lbs
Body Fat Percentage: 20.3%
Lean Muscle Mass: 126.6lbs
Weight, Visceral Fat: 9lbs
Measurement #5 — 9/16
Weight: 169.8lbs
Body Fat Percentage: 21.2%
Lean Muscle Mass: 127.0lbs
Weight, Visceral Fat: 9lbs
Measurement #6 (Final) — 9/23
Weight: 170.6lbs
Body Fat Percentage: 21.4%
Lean Muscle Mass: 127.4lbs
Weight, Visceral Fat: 9lbs
Summary
Weight: +13lbs
Body Fat Percentage: +3.7%
Lean Muscle Mass: +4.2lbs
Weight, Visceral Fat: +1lb
The Verdict
I hit my general goal of weight at 170.6lbs, but I fell short of my lean muscle mass goal of 135lbs, instead hitting 127.4lbs.
Overall, I was fairly impressed and satisfied with an increase of 13lbs, 4.2lbs of which were composed of lean muscle, in a 30-day period (this is in comparison to the average rate of muscle gain, which floats somewhere around one pound of lean muscle per month).
I was also able to lift more weight for each exercise nearly every subsequent session I returned, a testament to rest, not over-fatiguing muscle groups, and ample nutrition.
So, was the experiment worth it? Sure.
Would I do it again? Probably not.
I also had a general blood panel done following the experiment to see if my lipids and other biometrics (cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL, and fasting glucose) were affected by my diet during the experiment.
Fortunately, the results were in the normal range; unfortunately, they were inconclusive given my lack of a control panel before starting the experiment.
Otherwise, my mood felt more consistently “happy,” and I definitely felt like I had more energy throughout the experiment (the only real variable being changes to diet and supplementation).
My guess? I was riding the highs of a caloric surplus and subsequent dopamine rushes.
What would I do differently next time for better results?
- Make sure I have controls for biometrics and scale metrics leading up to and right before beginning the experiment.
- Follow Ferriss’ Steps #4 and #5. I expect this would strongly impact the total body weight, body fat percentage, and visceral fat weight (for the better).
- Extend each workout session to cover one or two more muscle groups each day for a more effective total body workout (I did leave some days feeling rather underworked).
- Probably drop all of the supplements save for the casein or another supplementary protein source.
Before and After
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If you’re looking for more content like this, check out my personal experience with Intermittent Fasting.
