The 4-Hour Body Part 6

Andrea Bell 13.4% bodyfat

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End of Chapter Notes 2. This subject had more than 10 fractures in his knees and could not perform lower-body exercises. This subject had more than 10 fractures in his knees and could not perform lower-body exercises.

3. For those unfamiliar with lifting parlance, "reps" are repet.i.tions of a movement. If you do 20 push-ups, you've done 20 reps of the push-up. For those unfamiliar with lifting parlance, "reps" are repet.i.tions of a movement. If you do 20 push-ups, you've done 20 reps of the push-up.

4. From noon on October 3, 2009, to noon on October 4, 2009. From noon on October 3, 2009, to noon on October 4, 2009.

5. These error ranges a.s.sume trained professionals and optimum conditions for measurements (e.g., good hydration for body-impedance). The order was determined using the median of their lower and upper error percentages. These error ranges a.s.sume trained professionals and optimum conditions for measurements (e.g., good hydration for body-impedance). The order was determined using the median of their lower and upper error percentages.

6. In an ideal world, X-ray CT and MRI would be used, but I omitted them due to radiation and cost, respectively. In an ideal world, X-ray CT and MRI would be used, but I omitted them due to radiation and cost, respectively.

7. Nor should you compare different algorithms on the same equipment. This most frequently causes confusion when you get caliper readings from different trainers. Use the same person and same algorithm (e.g., 3-point Jackson-Pollock). Nor should you compare different algorithms on the same equipment. This most frequently causes confusion when you get caliper readings from different trainers. Use the same person and same algorithm (e.g., 3-point Jackson-Pollock).

8. Also referred to as bio-impedance, or BI. Also referred to as bio-impedance, or BI.

9. The coldness of the water will also help fat-loss. The coldness of the water will also help fat-loss.

10. There are population-specific formulas that give better numbers, but they are not commonly used since most fitness clubs and personal trainers deal with the broad population. There are population-specific formulas that give better numbers, but they are not commonly used since most fitness clubs and personal trainers deal with the broad population.

11. www.fourhourbody.com/bodyfat-examples

FROM PHOTOS TO FEAR.

Making Failure Impossible I have a great diet. You're allowed to eat anything you want, but you must eat it with naked fat people.-Ed BluestoneWhat gets measured gets managed.-Peter Drucker, recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom

199.2 ...

Trevor stared at the LCD as it delivered the news. He blinked a few times. 199.2. Then he blinked a few more times.

"Holy c.r.a.p!"

He'd put on about 10 pounds a year after soph.o.m.ore year in high school, tipping the scales at 240 pounds at college graduation. Now, for the first time since his teens, Trevor weighed less than 200 pounds.

That had been the goal since stepping on a treadmill almost two years earlier, but a distant goal. Breaking the 200 barrier had seemed unattainable. Now he'd done it. The question wasn't so much how he did it. The real question was: why why did it work? did it work?

Simple. He'd made an agreement with a coworker: they would go to the gym together three times per week, and if either of them missed a session, that person had to pay the other $1.

In his first gym visit, Trevor walked for four minutes on the treadmill.

Not long thereafter, he ran a mile for the first time since fourth grade.

Now he has run two half-marathons.

It's not the $1 that matters (Trevor does quite well), it's the underlying psychology.

Whether it's one dollar or one inch, there are ways to ensure that the first step takes you to where you want to go.

Cheap Insurance- Four Principles of Failure-Proofing I love SkyMall magazines. But one fateful Tuesday, despite my best efforts to read about poolside hammocks and wall-sized maps, I couldn't concentrate. There was a battle being waged across the aisle on Frontier Airlines, and I had a front-row seat.

In stunned silence, I watched a man, so obese that he needed a belt extension to buckle himself in, eat a full bag of Twizzlers prior to takeoff. He then proceeded to eat a full bag of Oreos, which he polished off before we had reached cruising alt.i.tude. It was an impressive display.

I recall asking myself: How can he rationalize eating so much? How can he rationalize eating so much? He had a cane, for G.o.d's sake. The answer was, of course, that he couldn't. I doubt he'd even tried. There was no logical justification for his behavior, but then again, there is no logical justification for how I hit the snooze b.u.t.ton every 10 minutes for an hour or two every Sat.u.r.day. He had a cane, for G.o.d's sake. The answer was, of course, that he couldn't. I doubt he'd even tried. There was no logical justification for his behavior, but then again, there is no logical justification for how I hit the snooze b.u.t.ton every 10 minutes for an hour or two every Sat.u.r.day.

We break commitments to ourselves with embarra.s.sing regularity. How can someone trying to lose weight binge on an entire pint of ice cream before bed? How can even the most disciplined of executives fail to make 30 minutes of time per week for exercise? How can someone whose marriage depends on quitting smoking pick up a cigarette?

Simple: logic fails. If you were to summarize the last 100 years of behavioral psychology in two words, that would be the takeaway.

Fortunately, knowing this, it is possible to engineer compliance. Pulling from both new and often-neglected data, including photographic research and auctions, there are four principles of failure-proofing behavior.

Think of them as insurance against the weaknesses of human nature-your weaknesses, my weaknesses, our our weaknesses: weaknesses:

1. Make it conscious.

2. Make it a game.

3. Make it compet.i.tive.

4. Make it small and temporary.

1. MAKE IT CONSCIOUS: FLAs.h.i.+NG AND "BEFORE" PHOTOS The fastest way to correct a behavior is to be aware of it in real time, not after-the-fact.

The curious case of the so-called "flash diet" is a prime example of the difference. Dr. Lydia Zepeda and David Deal of the University of WisconsinMadison enlisted 43 subjects to photograph all of their meals or snacks prior to eating. Unlike food diaries, which require time- consuming entries often written long after eating, the photographs acted as an instantaneous intervention and forced people to consider their choices before before the damage was done. In the words of one partic.i.p.ant: "I was less likely to have a jumbo bag of M&Ms. It curbed my choices. It didn't alter them completely, but who wants to take a photo of a jumbo bag of M&Ms?" the damage was done. In the words of one partic.i.p.ant: "I was less likely to have a jumbo bag of M&Ms. It curbed my choices. It didn't alter them completely, but who wants to take a photo of a jumbo bag of M&Ms?"

The researchers concluded that photographs are more effective than written food diaries. This is saying something, as prior studies had confirmed that subjects who use food diaries lose three times three times as much weight as those who don't. The upshot: use your camera phone to take a snapshot before opening your mouth. Even without a prescribed diet, this awareness alone will result in fat-loss. as much weight as those who don't. The upshot: use your camera phone to take a snapshot before opening your mouth. Even without a prescribed diet, this awareness alone will result in fat-loss.

The camera can also be used to accentuate your flaws...to your benefit.

If we a.n.a.lyze the post-contest submissions of the winners of the Body- for- Life Challenge, the largest physique transformation contest in the last 50 years of publis.h.i.+ng, we can isolate one common understated element: "before" photographs. The training methods and diet varied, but those who experienced the most dramatic changes credited the "before" photographs with adherence to the program. The pictures were placed in an unavoidable spot, often on the refrigerator, and served as inoculation against self-sabotage.

Get an accurate picture of your baseline. It will look worse than you expect. This need not be bad news. Ignoring it won't fix it, so capture it and use it.

2. MAKE IT A GAME:.

JACK STACK AND THE STICKINESS OF FIVE SESSIONS.

Jack Stack was nervous. It was 1983, and he had just joined his employees to purchase SRC, a near-bankrupt engine remanufacturer, from their parent company, International Harvester. It was done in remarkable fas.h.i.+on, with $100,000 applied to a loan of $9 million, for a debt ratio of 89-to-1. The bank officer who handled the loan was fired within hours of approving it.

The 13 managers who contributed their life savings to make it possible were also nervous, but they needn't have been. That $100,000 would be worth $23 million in 1993, just 10 years later. By 2008, sales had increased from $16 million to more than $400 million, and stock value had risen from 10 per share to $234 per share.

What was to thank?

Games. Frequent games.

Jack Stack taught all of his employees how to read the financial statements, opened the books, and put numerical goals alongside individual performance numbers on grease boards around the plant. Daily goals and public accountability were combined with daily rewards and public recognition.

The Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company in Cicero, Illinois, also figured this out, albeit accidentally. The year was 1955, and their finding was significant: increasing lighting in the plant made workers more productive. Then someone pointed out (I have to imagine a sweaty- palmed intern) a confusing detail. Productivity also improved when they dimmed the lighting! In fact, making any change at all seemed to result in increased productivity.

It turned out that, with each change, the workers suspected they were being observed and therefore worked harder. This phenomenon-also called the "observer effect"-came to be known as "the Hawthorne Effect."

Reinforced by research in game design, Jack Stack and Western Electric's results can be condensed into a simple equation: measurement = motivation measurement = motivation.

Seeing progress in changing numbers makes the repet.i.tive fascinating and creates a positive feedback loop. Once again, the act of measuring is often more important than what you measure. To quote the industrial statistician George Box: "Every model is wrong, but some are useful."

It's critical that you measure something. But that begets the question: to replace self-discipline, how often do you need to record things?

That is, how many times do you need to log data to get hooked and never stop? In the experience of the brilliant Nike+ team, and in the experience of their users, more than 1.2 million runners who have tracked more than 130 million miles, that magic number is five:

If someone uploads only a couple of runs to the site, they might just be trying it out. But once they hit five runs, they're ma.s.sively more likely to keep running and uploading data. At five runs, they've gotten hooked on what their data tells them about themselves.

Aristotle had it right, but he was missing a number: "We are what we do repeatedly." A mere five times (five workouts, five meals, five of whatever we want) will be our goal.

When in doubt, "take five" is the rule.

3. MAKE IT COMPEt.i.tIVE:.

FEAR OF LOSS AND THE BENEFITS OF COMPARISON.

Would you work harder to earn $100 or to avoid losing $100? If research from the Center for Experimental Social Science at New York University is any indication, fear of loss is the winner.

Their three-group experiment looked like this: the first group received $15 and was told the $15 would be taken back if they lost a subsequent auction; the second group was told they'd be given $15 if they won the auction; and the third group was a control with no incentive. The first group routinely overbid the most.

Partic.i.p.ating economist Eric Schotter explained the results:

Economists typically attribute excessive bidding to risk aversion, or the joy of winning. What we found is that the actual cause of overbidding is a fear of losing, a completely new theory from past investigations.

This is not a depressing realization. It's a useful one. Knowing that potential loss is a greater motivator than potential reward, we can set you up for success by including a tangible risk of public failure. Real weight-loss numbers support this. Examining random 500-person samples from the 500,000+ users of DailyBurn, a diet and exercise tracking website, those who compete against their peers in "challenges" lose an average of 5.9 pounds more than those who do not compete.

There is another phenomenon that makes groups an ideal environment for change: social comparison theory. In plain English, it means that, in a group, some people will do worse than you ("Sarah lost only one pound-good for me!") and others will do better ("Mike's nothing special. If he can do it, so can I."). Seeing inferior performers makes you proud of even minor progress, and superior performers in your peer group make greater results seem achievable.

Looking at DailyBurn's data set, those who have three or more "motivators" in their peer group lose an average of 5.8 pounds more than those with fewer.

Embrace peer pressure. It's not just for kids.

4. MAKE IT SMALL AND TEMPORARY.

That brings us to your most important next steps, detailed below.

Questions and Actions Before you move on to another chapter, take (or in the case of #2, start start) at least two of the following four actions. Your choice:

1. Do I really look like that in underwear? Take digital photos of yourself from the front, back, and side. Wear either underwear or a bathing suit. Not eager to ask a neighbor for a favor? Use a camera with a timer or a computer webcam like the Mac iSight. Put the least flattering "before" photo somewhere you will see it often: the refrigerator, bathroom mirror, dog's forehead, etc. Take digital photos of yourself from the front, back, and side. Wear either underwear or a bathing suit. Not eager to ask a neighbor for a favor? Use a camera with a timer or a computer webcam like the Mac iSight. Put the least flattering "before" photo somewhere you will see it often: the refrigerator, bathroom mirror, dog's forehead, etc.

2. Do I really eat that? Use a digital camera or camera phone to take photographs of everything you eat for 35 days, preferably including at least one weekend day. For sizing, put your hand next to each item or plate in the photographs. For maximum effect, put these photos online for others to see. Use a digital camera or camera phone to take photographs of everything you eat for 35 days, preferably including at least one weekend day. For sizing, put your hand next to each item or plate in the photographs. For maximum effect, put these photos online for others to see.

3. Who can I get to do this with me? Find at least one person to engage in a friendly compet.i.tion using either total inches (TI) or bodyfat percentage. Weight is a poor subst.i.tute but another option. Use compet.i.tive drive, guilt, and fear of humiliation to your advantage. Embrace the stick. The carrot is overrated. Find at least one person to engage in a friendly compet.i.tion using either total inches (TI) or bodyfat percentage. Weight is a poor subst.i.tute but another option. Use compet.i.tive drive, guilt, and fear of humiliation to your advantage. Embrace the stick. The carrot is overrated.

4. How do I measure up? Get a simple tape measure and measure five locations: both upper arms (mid-bicep), waist (horizontal at navel), hips (widest point between navel and legs), and both legs (mid-thigh). Total these numbers to arrive at your Get a simple tape measure and measure five locations: both upper arms (mid-bicep), waist (horizontal at navel), hips (widest point between navel and legs), and both legs (mid-thigh). Total these numbers to arrive at your total inches (TI) total inches (TI). I'm telling you again because I know you didn't do it after the last chapter. Get off your a.s.s and get 'er done. It takes five minutes.

5. What is the smallest meaningful change I can make? Make it small. Small is achievable. For now, this means getting started on at least two of the above four steps before moving on. The rest and best is yet to come. Make it small. Small is achievable. For now, this means getting started on at least two of the above four steps before moving on. The rest and best is yet to come.

TOOLS AND TRICKS.

Grossly Dramatic and Realistic Fat Replicas (www.fourhourbody.com/fatreplica) These are disgusting but effective motivators. I keep a one-pound fat replica in the drawer of my refrigerator. The five-pound replica is the most effective visual aid I've ever seen for getting otherwise resistant people to lose fat. One biotech CEO I know goes so far as to carry one in his briefcase to show people who might benefit. If you want to thank yourself, be thanked, or perhaps be punched in the face, order one of these. These are disgusting but effective motivators. I keep a one-pound fat replica in the drawer of my refrigerator. The five-pound replica is the most effective visual aid I've ever seen for getting otherwise resistant people to lose fat. One biotech CEO I know goes so far as to carry one in his briefcase to show people who might benefit. If you want to thank yourself, be thanked, or perhaps be punched in the face, order one of these.

Services for Posting "Before" (and "After") Pictures Posterous (www.posterous.com) Evernote (www.evernote.com)12 Flickr (www.flickr.com) PBworks Personal Wiki Pages (www.fourhourbody.com/pbworks) Ramit Sethi (in the next sidebar) set up a free PBworks page (a simple wiki page like those found on Wikipedia) and invited all his bettors to be notified when he updated his weight. He also used his PBworks page to talk a ridiculous amount of trash. Ramit Sethi (in the next sidebar) set up a free PBworks page (a simple wiki page like those found on Wikipedia) and invited all his bettors to be notified when he updated his weight. He also used his PBworks page to talk a ridiculous amount of trash.

Eat.ly (http://eat.ly) Eat.ly is one of the easiest ways to start a photo-food journal. This site lets you track and keep a visual record of meals you've eaten. Eat.ly is one of the easiest ways to start a photo-food journal. This site lets you track and keep a visual record of meals you've eaten.

Habit Forge (www.habitforge.com) Habit Forge is an e-mail check-in tool for instilling new habits into your daily routine. Decide on the habit you want to form, and Habit Forge will e-mail you for 21 days straight. If you don't follow through, the e-mail cycle will start all over again. Habit Forge is an e-mail check-in tool for instilling new habits into your daily routine. Decide on the habit you want to form, and Habit Forge will e-mail you for 21 days straight. If you don't follow through, the e-mail cycle will start all over again.

stickK (www.stickk.com) stickK was founded on the principle that creating incentives and a.s.signing accountability are the two most important keys to achieving a goal. Cofounder Dean Karlan, an economics professor at Yale, came up with the idea of opening an online "Commitment Store," which eventually became stickK. If you don't fulfill your commitment with stickK, it automatically tells your friends and opens you up to endless mockery and derision. stickK was founded on the principle that creating incentives and a.s.signing accountability are the two most important keys to achieving a goal. Cofounder Dean Karlan, an economics professor at Yale, came up with the idea of opening an online "Commitment Store," which eventually became stickK. If you don't fulfill your commitment with stickK, it automatically tells your friends and opens you up to endless mockery and derision.

Bodys.p.a.ce (www.bodybuilding.com/superhuman) or DailyBurn (www.dailyburn.com/superhuman) Need to find someone to keep you accountable? To encourage or hara.s.s you when needed? Join more than 600,000 members on Bodys.p.a.ce, or 500,000 on DailyBurn who are tracking the results of their diet and exercise regimens. The URLs above will link you to 4HB communities on these sites. Need to find someone to keep you accountable? To encourage or hara.s.s you when needed? Join more than 600,000 members on Bodys.p.a.ce, or 500,000 on DailyBurn who are tracking the results of their diet and exercise regimens. The URLs above will link you to 4HB communities on these sites.

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