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419 of 421 humans found the following review helpful.
“New Rules” Rules
By swimmer45
“Lift like a man, look like a Goddess” says the book. But is it true? I believe it is, and this book is right on the money. It is cleanly separated into three parts.
The basi part discusses the correspondings among men’s and women’s bodies as it appertains to weight lifting- and why they ought to train the same. I agree with the book on this point entirely. While women’s muscles won’t get as huge as a man’s from lifting weights, the stimulus to make a woman’s muscle larger and more inviolable is identical to that of a man’s- overload the muscle with progressively heavier weights.
Part two, “You aren’t what you don’t eat”, is the eating/diet division of the book. A lot of wisdom is likewise packed in here as the book gives the reader a lot of basic nutrition info, such as calorie needs, protein intake, etc. The reader is also introduced to the four “Ironclad Rules” which include: you must eat breakfast, you ought to eat a total of 5 meals and snacks a day, you ought to have a post-workout recovery shake on the days you lift, and you will have to have more calories on workout days than the other days. Meal plans are nicely laid out for the reader in this section as well.
Lastly comes share three, “Resistance is vital.” Of course this is the division that discusses the workout routines and the exercises. Without going into details, you work out 2-3 times a week, and the workouts are disunited in 7 stages (each with a sure goal) which roughly give you 6 months worth of workouts- which I might add, are all highly elaborate in the book. Pictures of warm-up exercises and the resistance exercises are included and very easy to follow. Weight lifting exercises are not one thing crazy, with a lot of them being sensible, basic exercises such as squats, deadlifts, and respective presses.
As a trainer, I found this to be a very sensible weight lifting book for women. Yes it does invovlve a good deal of work, but then again that is the only way to make a muscle stronger, whether you’re a man or a woman- which is the whole point of the book. Based on a lot of sound science, I give it two thumbs up for a very helpful, effective, and “doable” book. Also commend Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff for readers who have a shoulder problem that interferes with their training.
294 of 300 humans found the following review helpful.
Most successful book for me
By CMCM
New Rules of Lifting for Men was rather interesting, but I didn’t do anything with it as it was so aimed at men. But I eagerly purchased this new women’s version, which is similar in numerous ways but overall is rather dissimilar and unquestionably purposed for women. I enjoyed Lou Schuler’s witty writing style and offbeat humor, which made the info more comfortable to digest and less dry. I read this entire book conservatively front to back (important to do!!) and decisive to utilize co-writer Alwyn Cosgrove’s workouts precisely as written and stick with it. One caveat: I think this book and it is workouts is NOT for total beginners. In a way, you have to “arrive” at this book and the ideas it presents. I think if you were a newcomer to weight training you’d need a good deal of support with the exercises and proper form (particularly the squats and deadlifts, which must be done correctly to refrain from injury). As a newcomer you would not have the frame of reference to be grateful for the total splendor of the workouts.
I’ve worked out and tried some dissimilar programs in the last 10 years. I confess to having a tendency to “over-do” my workouts, my approach was always “more ought to be better”, and accordingly I always burned out on the programs and the 2-hour workouts I’d end up doing. Despite my hard work, I never got the results I wanted. Coming into this book, I knew a lot of weight routines and was intimate with proper weightlifting form. At basi glimpse I thought the routines didn’t look hard or elaborated enough, that there were too few exercises! But I was WRONG! Despite the apparent simplicity of the workouts, they are not easy or fluffy. Rather, they are rather significant because they are not isolation exercises. Every exercise works multiple muscles at one time. Fewer exercises but more muscles worked in a natural way. (Think of tripceps kickbacks with dumbbells: This is not a motion you’d ever do in real life. Plus, it’s not outstanding for your elbows!!).
This book argues that to build muscle, gain strength and lose fat, you need to concentrate on multi-joint type exercises (i.e. squats, deadlifts, pushups, step-ups etc.) and not waste time with a multitude of person isolation type exercises (i.e. bicep curls, tricep kickbacks and pushdowns, etc.), Alwyn Cosgrove’s exercises are designed for practicality in real life utility. Having the strength to lift heavy things is a reality….hence the value of squats. On the other hand, laying back at an angle on a leg press machine and pressing weights outwards and upwards is not something we would do in real life. He stresses less reps with growingly heavier weights. Strength over endurance. The reasoning behind each exercise is explained, and you need to be more than willing to do the background reading in this book so you may absorb the logic of the workouts and their design and sequencing. Coming into this book with my former weightlifting experience, wrong though it was, this program without delay made a whole lot of sense as a veritably dissimilar approach. I knew all my former attempts hadn’t remunerated off to my satisfaction, so I was in the end ready to try this new approach: Stick for the most part to huge muscle exercises, no isolation exercises at all, less reps, lifting more and more heavier (no “Barbie weights!!”), and LIMITED exercises per workout (usually just 5 exercises), and short but high intensity interval cardio if any at all. (Cardio is not emphasized here). Each workout takes regarding 30 minutes, ideally done 3 days a week (although two workouts may suffice, but 3 is ideal) calling for at least a day amid weight workouts (I in general did Mon-Wed-Fri). I have resisted my former tendency to “do more”, so I’ve done the workouts strictly as written and haven’t added anything additional. I wanted to see what results I would get with the program “as written.” And surprise….I’ve got better, more specified biceps doing pushups, squats and deadlifts (but not a single bicep curl), my quads, glutes and hamstrings are rock hard and strong without any of the hamstring curls, leg extensions, etc. The squats, deadlifts, step-ups, pushups and a few other things have worked wonders in just 4 weeks. In this short time I’m more inviolable and more specified than I’ve ever been. I’m actually rather amazed.
The program is separated into a number of levels (varying weeks of length per level), with each level having 2 alternating workouts (so you never do the same workout twice in a row–important to prevent plateaus). If you do all the levels and workouts, the whole thing would take when it comes to 6 months to finish. –> This is NOT a quick fix, it’s steady strength development done realistically over a reasonable time. It requires dedication and a solid determination to follow the program as staged (if you “tweak” it, you’re not doing the program). After finishing the program you could then repeat it to hold on to your progression level.
I decisive to wait until I was adequately into the program to review it. Now after regarding 4 weeks, here’s my initial opinion: I may already tell this is the BEST program I’ve ever embarked upon and I’m seeing results already on a level which I never reached previously…..not even after 12 weeks of Body for Life! I’ve got stronger, more specified biceps than ever before without doing a single bicep curl! Back of the arm flab is gone! Quads are firm without a single leg extension! Squats and Deadlifts are amazing, and those two alone target an unbelievable number of muscles all at once. My mid section fat is speedily diminishing, in spite of a pretty modest amount of ab work (so far in Level 1, only modest reps (2 sets of 15 reps on two stability ball exercises disunited amidst two dissimilar workouts: jackknives in one workout, and ball crunches in the other workout, that’s it for Level 1). No endless ab work here! After all, most of the OTHER exercises are likewise working your abs!
I’m fantastically impressed with this program. I may say it is working better for me than the multitiude of other programs I’ve antecedently tried in the last 10 years. And I work out far less, ordinarily 3 weight workouts a week (occasionally only 2), with 20 to 30 minute interval cardio (elliptical) ordinarily done after weight workouts or on occasion an interval aerobic workout on days I don’t do weights. The max I go to the gym in any week is 4 times. The structure of the program has permitted me to stay very positive and enthusiastic regarding the program. I in truth like the full body nature of the workouts (I antecedently had done upper vs. lower body days), It’s nice to have alternating workouts…..not so boring. I like the challenge of gradually increasing the weight on the respective exercises. (Note: on this program it’s important to keep a record of all workouts). This a program you may sustain everlastingly because it doesn’t burn you out mentally or physically–importantly, you are not overexercising to get results. The program may in truth be fit into your life rather nicely. I look forward to the workouts! I feel great afterwards!
The book has what appears to be a good nutrition section, even though I don’t follow it because I have sure dietary limitations (no gluten grains, for example) that don’t fit with the recipes and recommendations. But it looks very solid for most people. I don’t consider the nutrition section to be the most necessary share of the book since at this point in time I’ve got a very careful nutrition plan that works for me. The nutrition part would be good for somebody who has a comparatively controlled diet already. It would in all probability be hard for somebody who is a junk feed junkie to transition to what is staged here.
Final thoughts in regards to fat loss: This is probably not the book for somebody looking to lose 50-100 or more pounds. It’s for somebody who is probably 30 lbs. or less from goal and who has worked out before, who has a sure level of current fitness, and who is comfortable in the weight room. You need a sure level of independence and self motivation. Having these prerequisites, this book is a wondrous blueprint for getting to your goal, and you will lose that last fat in the process.
The only negative was a tiny bit of vagueness in figuring out the exercise routines. A blank workout sheet is in the book, or you may go to a internet site and print off a workout sheet, but I didn’t like the set up of either of them so I used a spreadsheet program to fabricate my own workout sheets. It took me a bit of time to figure out the Levels/workouts and precisely how they worked (a completely filled out sample would have been nice and would have cleared up this confusion). It’s primary to record each workout, the weights used, etc. as this is your record of progress. Since you are alternating amidst two workouts I think it would be difficult to do not forget what you did/what weights you employed antecedently if you weren’t writing it all down. The idea is to systematically challenge yourself with more and more weight (slowly, of course). At the end, it will be nice to see a record of how you got there!
If you are a relative newbie to exercise and are someone who needs to get your diet under control, doing Body for Life would be a very good way to get your diet beneath control and learn weightlifting basics. After that you might be ready for this program.
94 of 97 humans found the following review helpful.
For severe weight training
By TheCafeWriter
This is genuinely a book for women who aren’t frighted of gyms or barbells, who want to get severe regarding their efforts, and who want to see real results.
It’s a mix of straight sets and superset total-body workouts with special importance and significance on functional fitness and periodization, so it’s built around 6 basic multi-muscles moves (such as squats and deadlifts). There’s likewise a progession with a mix of variations to prevent workout boredom. It’s a little hard to figure out the charts at original glance, but what they’ve done is spell out each workout for you.
The workout incorporates use of a barbell, dumbbells, a step, and a stability ball (but you don’t need all of them). You may do a home workout with this book, but having a gym membership is helpful.
I like the eating plan, too. There’s not a lot of elaborate recipes, and most of it is gorgeous simple. It builds on plans like the Zone and other similar 30/30/40 types of diets.
The only con I have with this book is that there aren’t variations within a given exercise to make it having little impact or harder. Some of these will be very easy for a beginner but others will be rather challenging.
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