Sex Machine By Tim Ferriss | 4-hour Body 1m6z3g

The 4-Hour Body AN UNCOMMON GUIDE TO RAPID FAT-LOSS, INCREDIBLE SEX, AND BECOMING SUPERHUMAN

Timothy Ferriss

CROWN ARCHETYPE N E W YOR K

For my parents, who taught a little hellion that marching to a different drummer was a good thing. I love you both and owe you everything. Mom, sorry about all the crazy experiments. good science— 10% of all author royalties are donated to cure-driven research, including the excellent work of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

T I M’ S DI SCLAI MER Please don’t be stupid and kill yourself. It would make us both quite unhappy. Consult a doctor before doing anything in this book.

PUBLI SHER’ S DI SCLAI MER The material in this book is for informational purposes only. As each individual situation is unique, you should use proper discretion, in consultation with a health care practitioner, before undertaking the diet, exercises, and techniques described in this book. The author and publisher expressly disclaim responsibility for any adverse effects that may result from the use or application of the information contained in this book.

SEX MACHINE I Adventures in Tripling Testosterone

Sex is one of the nine reasons for reincarnation. The other eight are unimportant. —George Burns

NOONISH, ONE BEAUTIFUL SATURDAY, SAN FRANCISCO, 21 FLOORS ABOVE THE EMBARCADERO PIERS

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hat’s kind of creepy. They’re already 75% healed.” Vesper had come out of the shower and was staring at my shoulders. “Are you kidding? It’s fucking awesome! I’m becoming Wolverine.” I was referring, of course, to the superhero with mutant healing powers. He also has adamantium claws, but that’s where Vesper was a much better comparison. The night before, she’d inflicted bedroom wounds on my back and arms that weren’t really “scratches.” The masterpiece: four 4–7" gashes in my right shoulder streaming blood that made me look like Bruce Lee from Enter the Dragon. Bruce in dire need of Neosporin. Now, less than 10 hours later, three of the gashes had disappeared completely, and the last and deepest was barely visible. Strange. The strangeness started much earlier, well before the bedroom, at The Americano restaurant. Friday at 8:00 p.m. brought the crowds, and the

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alpha investment bankers were fighting the alpha lawyers for female attention everywhere inside Hotel Vitale. The pressed shirts and dresses spilled from the outdoor patio into the restaurant, where we had reservations. It took a chaperone using football-like blocking to get us to our booth in a secluded back corner. The catch-up chat with Vesper looked like this: Her: “How are you?” Me: “Unbelievable. But I need to give you fair warning. My biochem-

istry is very different from the last time you saw me. I feel . . . well, superhuman.” Her (eyebrows raised): “Oh reeeeally? Details, please.” Yes, really. The last time we’d met, I had just taken my total testosterone from 244.8 to 653.3 ng/dL (nanograms per deciliter), while cutting my estradiol (estrogen) in half. The subsequent roughhousing had been a physical encounter of the first class. This time around, I’d just returned from Nicaragua, where I ate grass-fed beef three times per day for 21 days. I had protein-loaded for the last three days, eating two to three pounds of fatty organic grass-fed beef per day, including at least 400 grams just before bed. (Don’t worry. I won’t suggest that you do this.) The result? Fifteen minutes after we sat down, Vesper was in a sexually aggressive stupor. The bread hadn’t arrived and she was already climbing on top of me. This is not a boast. This is not Penthouse Forum. It’s a statement of pure confusion. She is a CEO, and this is not typical public CEO behavior. I thought she was on drugs. Heavy nose breathing, interrupted occasionally with “What is going on? I don’t understand what’s going on . . .” The whole spectacle was surreal. She was, literally, intoxicated on pheromones. I excused myself to the bathroom at one point, and what came next was even more absurd. Vesper witnessed it later when we left. Both en route to the bathroom and coming back to the table, it was as if I had a 10-foot-radius field of hormonal impact. I received at least three times the normal eye from women. The animal kingdom was alive and well in San Francisco. Dinner ended immediately thereafter, and it was a short trip to her

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apartment on the 21st floor and our version of Enter the Dragon, complete with furniture smashing and most of the same sound effects.11 The next morning, after more of the same, I asked her, “Do you have a gong on the other side of your headboard?” It turned out to be metal artwork hanging on the neighbor’s wall. After her second shower, and taking another look at my shoulder, Vesper had just one thing to say: “Whatever you’re doing—keep doing it.”

The Death of the Metrosexual: Reclaiming Aggression Things hadn’t always been this way. In fact, for several years, things were quite the opposite. Somewhere between late 2007 and 2009, at 30–32 years old, I found myself in an odd place: able to perform in the bedroom as well as I had in college, but having less and less desire to do so. Even with the most attractive of girls, after a week or two of rabbit love, sex frequency would drop to once a day. Then it would drop to a few times a week or once a week. I enjoyed sex as much as ever, once in the act, but fatigue or disinterest often led me to opt-out. “I’ll get to it in the morning” became a constant self-promise. It made no sense. I was young, athletic, and felt perfectly healthy. Then, looking under the hood, I ended up in the lower-range of “normal” for total testosterone in blood testing. What was the problem? POSSIBLE SHORT CIRCUITS

Testosterone is a molecule of many dependencies. The hypothalamus releases gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which tells the pituitary (anterior pituitary) gland to release luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). LH then stimulates the Leydig cells in the testicles to produce—ta-da— testosterone. 11. Check out the original at www.fourhourbody.com/enter-dragon. My massage therapist later asked me: “Have you been crawling through barbed wire?”

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Brain– Suprahypothalamic:

Many factors affect this area of the brain GnRH affected by the other parts of the brain

Hypothalamus:

GnRH

GnRH increases LH Pituitary:

LH decreases GnRH release LH & FSH

LH increases testosterone Testicles:

Testosterone and estrogen decrease LH Testosterone

The Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Testosterone Axis (HPTA)

It is a major but rampant mistake to treat low testosterone with external testosterone in the form of a gel or injection12 without troubleshooting the upstream parts of the axis first. It’s also a mistake to think of low libido as strictly a low-testosterone problem. In 2004, I experimented with a hormone and drug called human chorionic gonadotropin, commonly known as “hCG,” which effectively acts as a form of luteinizing hormone. Injected once per week, it immediately had the effect of more than tripling seminal volume and requiring—requiring— ejaculation three to four times per day just to think straight. If you want to kill productivity, look no further than hCG. This inconvenience was compensated for by sex with my girlfriend, which jumped from a few times a week to a few times a day. Happy days. So just inject hCG and problem solved, right? Not quite. Here’s the catch: repeated use of hCG can desensitize the testes to real luteinizing hormone.13 Then the testes can’t receive the signal to produce testosterone naturally. Big trouble. 12. Called “exogenous” testosterone (created outside the body), as opposed to “endogenous” (created inside the body). Think of “external” to the difference. 13. hCG can also inhibit GnRH at the hypothalamus. It’s a serious drug and shouldn’t be taken lightly.

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This disqualifies hCG as a permanent solution, but it suggests that increasing luteinizing hormone (LH) increases sex drive.

Ovarian Histology

But, you might ask, couldn’t the sex drive be due to more testosterone, since luteinizing hormone (and therefore hCG) stimulates its release in the flowchart? This is true, but I’d also used straight testosterone injections earlier in 2004 (as detailed in “The Last Mile”), which more than doubled testosterone levels but didn’t improve libido at all. LH seems to do more. LH also correlates perfectly with the heightened sex drive experienced by women just prior to ovulation.14

Recruited Follicle

37oC

Maturing Follicle

Ovulation

Corpus Luteum

Degenerate C. Luteum

Body Temperature

36oC Progesterone Hormones

Estradiol Luteinizing Hormone (LH)

Follicle–Stimulating Hormone (FSH)

Luteal Phase

Ovulation

Follicular Phase

Endomentrial Histology

Menstruation

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Day of Menstrual Cycle (Average values. Durations and values may differ between different females or different cycles.)

14. Though other hormones like FSH also correlate to the increased sex drive, LH shows the most pronounced jump.

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My Solution: Two Protocols I didn’t consume much red meat for my first increase from 244.8 to 653.3 ng/dL, and I believe this type of jump can be achieved without eating red meat at all. The meat marathon was actually for tracking changes in food allergies. I now use two protocols that I believe are effective for increasing both testosterone and LH, based on repeated blood test results. Neither requires needles or prescription meds. The first is for long-term maintenance and general well-being. The second is for short-term “nitro” boosts of sex drive and testosterone. Sheer fun, in other words. The detailed rationales behind each can be found in “Sex Machine II” in the Appendices, but let’s start with the nutshell version. PROTOCOL #1: LONG-TERM AND SUSTAINED

Fermented cod liver oil + vitamin-rich butter fat—2 capsules upon waking and before bed V itamin D 3—3,000–5,000 IU upon waking and before bed (6,000– 10,000 IU per day), until you reach blood levels of 55 ng/mL. Short ice baths and/or cold showers—10 minutes each, upon waking and right before bed Brazil nuts—3 nuts upon waking, 3 nuts before bed (see important footnote).15 PROTOCOL #2: SHORT-TERM AND FUN “NITRO BOOST”

20–24 H ours Prior to Sex Eat at least 800 milligrams of cholesterol (example: four or more large whole eggs or egg yolks) within three hours of bedtime, the night before you want to have incredible sex. The Wolverine intro to this chapter was partially thanks to two ¾-pound rib-eye steaks the night before, but it’s easier to stomach hard-boiled eggs. Why before bed? Testosterone is derived from cholesterol, which is primarily produced at night during sleep (between midnight and 4:00–6:00 a.m.). 15. This is personal, and I don’t suggest the same unless you’re deficient in selenium. See SpectraCell in the resources, as well as the explanation in “Sex Machine II.”

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Four H ours Prior to Sex 4 Brazil nuts 20 raw almonds 2 capsules of the above-mentioned fermented cod/butter combination SHBG—THE PARTY SPOILER Sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG) is the party spoiler. SHBG binds to testosterone16 and renders it inert for our purposes, and “total testosterone” in blood tests can therefore be misleading. Some vegans have been shown to have higher testosterone levels than both meat-eaters and vegetarians, for example, but higher levels of SHBG cancel out this advantage. In other studies, consumption of cholesterol has been shown to be inversely correlated with SHBG. In other words, the more cholesterol you eat, the less SHBG you have. From Carruthers’s Androgen Deficiency in the Adult Male: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment: Strict low cholesterol diets have been shown to lower total and free testosterone levels by 14%. Vegetarian diets, especially if low in protein, can increase SHBG, further reducing FT [free testosterone]. However, men put on a low-fat, high-fiber, vegetarian diet have a 18% reduction in both total testosterone and FT, which is reversed when they go back on a normal diet. . . . Conversely, high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets, such as the fashionable weight-reduction Atkins diet, may partly exert their slimming action by raising total testosterone and lowering SHBG.

SHBG isn’t evil, and we don’t want to eliminate it, but a little less SHBG equals a little more free testosterone. This isn’t evil either. It actually makes life much more interesting. This is the reason for our cholesterol-loading in Protocol 2.

How Well Can It Work? Here is a sample of before-and-after sex hormone results from my first experiment (protocol 1), excluding Brazil nuts, which were added later:

16. Albumin also does this to a lesser extent.

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APRIL 3, 2009 (BEFORE) TO AUGUST 20, 2009 (AFTER)

Total testosterone: 244.8 to 653.3 (normal: 170–780; it would later jump to 835, more than tripling my original value, with the addition of Brazil nuts) Free testosterone: 56 to 118 (normal: 47–244) Percentage free testosterone: 2.3% to 1.8% Bioavailable testosterone: 150 to 294 (normal: 128–430) Albumin: 5 to 4.6 (normal: 3.5–4.8) DHEA-S: 170.5 to 201.8 FSH: 6 to 8.5 (normal: 1.27–19.26) Estradiol: 39 to <20 (normal in males: <47) Eager to give it a shot? This chapter is enough to get started, but the real magic happens when we finesse the details. Be sure to read “Sex Machine II: Details and Dangers” in the Appendices if you’re serious about kicking testosterone and sex drive into overdrive.

T O O LS AN D T R I CK S SpectraCell Laboratories (www.fourhourbody.com/spectra) SpectraCell is the micronutrient test-

ing lab allegedly used by Lance Armstrong. I uncovered my selenium deficiency through SpectraCell and used Brazil nuts, among other things, to correct it. To find local SpectraCell clinicians, go to: www.fourhourbody.com/spectra. More on this in “Sex Machine II.” Blue I ce™ Butter O il/Fermented Cod Liver O il Blend (www.fourhourbody.com/butterblend) This

is the cod/butter combination I used. Blue Ice™ is from a small manufacturer and production is limited. Carlson Super 1000mg Cod Liver O il (www.fourhourworkweek.com/cod) A decent substitute if

the above is sold-out, but consume at the same time as the below. V itamin-R ich Butter Fat: K errygold I rish butter (www.kerrygold.com/usa/locator.php) This site helps you find local stores where you can buy Kerrygold Irish butter. If you’d prefer to order online, check www.foodireland.com and click “Deli Counter” at the top of the screen.

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Z RT At-H ome V itamin D Test K its (www.fourhourbody.com/testd) If you spend a lot of your time

indoors, there’s a good chance that you are deficient in vitamin D. Don’t just guess what amount of vitamin D you need, as overdosing will produce side effects. Spectracell is a more reliable blood-based test, but ZRT’s saliva mail-in kit can give you an inexpensive estimate of your vitamin D levels. Once you’ve established your baseline, you can use sunlight, supplementation, and UV-B lamps to increase levels, following eight weeks of which you can perform an “after” test to track changes. V itamin D 3

NOW Liquid Vitamin D3, 2 fl oz (www.fourhourbody.com/vitamin-d) U V-B/F Lamps

Sperti Ultraviolet Systems (www.sperti.com) The KBD D/UV-F fluorescent lamp was developed in 2010 for individuals who can’t tolerate direct sunlight exposure or oral Vitamin D supplements.

21 DAYS OF MEAT AND NUTS—AM I NUTS? Let’s take a closer look at what happened to my blood and cholesterol after those 21 days in Nicaragua, 21 days of consuming at least 30% of my calories as beef fat and 200–300 grams of protein and 40–70 almonds per day. I expected the worst. Here is the real impact on two common concerns: cholesterol levels and kidney function. BEFORE (AUGUST 20, 2009) vs. AFTER (SEPTEMBER 25, 2009)

Cholesterol Total cholesterol: 200 (borderline out-of-range) vs. 190 HDL: 57 vs. 57 LDL: 133 (out-of-range) vs. 108 VLDL: 10 vs. 25 Cholesterol/HDL ratio: 3.5 vs. 3.3 Triglycerides: 48 vs. 124 (normal: <150) Kidney function BUN: 17 vs. 18 (normal: 7–25) Creatinine: 1.0 vs. 1.1 (normal: 0.7–1.2) BUN/creatinine ratio: 16.4–17 (normal: 10–20)

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Even I was stunned. I took no cholesterol-lowering (or HDL-raising) drugs or supplements, and a 21- day marathon of red meat actually improved my cholesterol/HDL ratio, which most doctors view as an indication of cardiac health. I also lowered both total and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. I ended up within the “low-risk” range for triglycerides, according to the American Heart Association, but there was an elevation. I expected the increase for three reasons: 1. Triglycerides transport dietary fat, and I had been consuming massive quantities of fat. 2. Fat-loss can produce transient elevated triglycerides (as it did with my dad, who lost 70+ pounds of fat), and I had lost substantial bodyfat in the preceding 21 days. 3. I had consumed 14 ounces of pulp-free orange juice the morning before the blood draw—the first time I’d done so in at least a year—to measure my blood sugar response. Fructose, the sugar in fruit, is well known for rapidly increasing both triglycerides and LDL. All cardiac markers were brought within normal range within weeks of stopping the animal flesh binge. When I retested on October 16 (21 days later), my triglycerides had dropped from 124 to 82, and my VLDL had dropped from 25 to 16. What of the BUN and creatinine, considered indicators of kidney stress? Both were nominally elevated but well within normal range. I’m amazed that both weren’t higher, considering that muscular damage can increase both BUN and creatinine, and I had done a squat workout 48 hours prior to the “after” blood draw on September 24. But isn’t cholesterol bad for you? This belief is predicated on the Lipid Hypothesis of cardiac health (cholesterol = bad), which I disagree with based on the sum total of available evidence. Between 2006 and 2009, I had obsessed over lowering my total cholesterol. The outcome? Lower testosterone and fatigue. I’ll take my egg yolks, thank you very much.

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RECIPE FOR DISASTER: THE SALMONELLA SPECIAL It appears that splitting up the 800 milligrams of cholesterol also works for the earlier “Nitro Boost” Protocol 2. If you know your local sources and can avoid salmonella and raw milk issues, I’ve found the following shake to produce incredible effects when mixed with a hand blender and consumed at both 4:00 P.M. and before bed. It also helped me achieve the 100+-pound strength gains as detailed in “Effortless Superhuman”: 12 oz whole raw milk 4 tbsp raw almond butter 2 raw egg yolks 3 tbsp chia seeds 1 tsp vanilla extract ½ tsp cinnamon This is more appropriately called a “fat shake” instead of a protein shake, but I still dropped bodyfat while consuming it. How? The fat-loss was predicated on otherwise maintaining a slow-carb diet and taking the shakes only on workout days, no more than three times a week. If you’ve ever wondered what anabolics feel like, one week of these shakes will give you a good idea. Here is the nutritional yield, with all percentages of USRDA (recommended daily allowance): Total calories = 966 Calories from fat = 627 Fat grams = 73 g (113%) Saturated fat grams = 15 g (76%) Cholesterol = 456 g (152%) Protein = 34 g (69%) Carbohydrate grams = 55 g (18%) Dietary fiber = 20 g (81%) Sugars = 19 g Calcium = 93% Glycemic load = 15 (out of maximum 250) Know your food sources, and the statistics on salmonella poisoning, etc., before consuming this. If raw milk scares you, and I wouldn’t blame you, use organic whole milk instead.