New Rules of Lifting for Women

wuvolleyball · 04-09-2008, 07:46 PM

I recently bought this book and have found it to be very interesting. I was wondering if anyone has followed this program that has been outlined in the book and if they have been seeing good results?

I am kind of struggling with the idea of only working out three days out of the week. I currently hit the gym 6 out of 7 days a week and wonder how that would effect me cutting that time in half?

I would love to hear from anyone that has given this program a try and to hear if it's worth giving it a shot or not?!

Thanks!!

frogguruami · 04-09-2008, 09:51 PM

I did Stage 1 of NRoL4Women and I am now doing the Fat Loss in NROL (the original). It is great and I see amazing results. My strength increased drastically in the first stage. So far I have lost 4.5% body fat and 7 1/4 inches. I started on Feb 20th so it hasn't even been two months. It is a very challenging program. It doesn't look so on paper but it is and the stages get progressively harder as you move further into the program. I added the occasional HIIT session in Stage 1 and now I do HIIT at least twice a week, three if I can manage.

AM
ps. I switched because I wanted to make a more concentrated effort on fat loss not because of any fault of the program!

98shadow · 04-10-2008, 08:16 AM

I just started the last stage of the program this week.

I already have been training steadily for 3 1/2 years so am a little
past the beginner stage. Trying to shed a little fat so I am trying
this for the last stage. Like it so far.

blackandblonde · 04-10-2008, 11:18 AM

i would be skeptical of something that gave different rules of lifting for women. we should all lift the same. obviously not the same weight, but the same rules apply for both men and women.

wuvolleyball · 04-10-2008, 11:23 AM

Thanks for the replies!

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackandblonde

i would be skeptical of something that gave different rules of lifting for women. we should all lift the same. obviously not the same weight, but the same rules apply for both men and women.

Actually that is kind of the point of this book. It explains why women should lift like heavy like men and not just light 5 lb weights with a lot of reps.

blackandblonde · 04-10-2008, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wuvolleyball

Thanks for the replies!

Actually that is kind of the point of this book. It explains why women should lift like heavy like men and not just light 5 lb weights with a lot of reps.

ah. excellent.
i should look into this program.

bbbom · 04-10-2008, 11:40 AM

So where is WU? A fellow volleyball player YAY! But I'm old.

What does the New Rules program entail? I'm curious because I looked the book up and read the online excerpts so I'd like to see how the program compares to the Starting Strength program my son and I have been using.

wuvolleyball · 04-10-2008, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbbom

So where is WU? A fellow volleyball player YAY! But I'm old.

What does the New Rules program entail? I'm curious because I looked the book up and read the online excerpts so I'd like to see how the program compares to the Starting Strength program my son and I have been using.

Washburn University in good ol Topeka Kansas

It's a program with stages and it progresses with these work outs as you go. It's set up as total body work outs 3 times a week with of course heavy lifting. Honestly even if you wouldn't follow the training program it is a very interesting book that personally I learned a lot from.

anandagirl · 04-10-2008, 11:52 AM

Especially for the seasoned lifters - do you feel there was anything new in this book? I keep hearing people talk about it, but there is already so much out there on T-nation, BB.com, etc. that I wonder if it's just a rehash of everything out there. Do you like the program? Did it teach you anything new or has you do something you never considered before? I hope those questions came out the way I meant them

TurbulentFluid · 04-10-2008, 11:58 AM

Well, I lift 3x a week... I wouldn't be able to go to the gym more than that. Actually I do go only 2x (push/pull split) and do 1xFBW... I used to do 3xFBW before...

I think it's more about "working the muscles" than "going to the gym". I used to work every muscle 3x a week, now I do it 2x a week. Do you GO to the gym 6-7x a week, or work EVERY MUSCLE 6-7x a week? The former seems a rather bad idea...

bbbom · 04-10-2008, 12:39 PM

Kansas, cool!

Good question anandagirl - from what I read in the online excerpt it sounds like a good program and at least he does state that women should lift heavy but like anandagirl asked - is it anything new?

In all my years of training for sports, lifting heavy was the way I was taught to train way back in high school. If you don't lift heavy and feel like you lifted, why go to the trouble of even showing up at the gym? Could be that I was just extemely competitive and so were the girls I played sports with so we all tried to outlift each other.

As far as the debate over how many days to lift/hit the gym/etc. - I have done a 6 day a week lifting program in the past but that was because I was addicted to lifting and being in the gym. I was extremely depressed and it made me feel better to be around my lifting buds and be working out. But I did a 3 day split and did each split twice a week so each muscle was worked 2x a week basically.

I didn't see any detriments to that program other than the amount of time I spent in the gym so I would say that a properly planned 6 day a week or even 7 day a week program for a reasonable period of time would be doable.

In fact I was in the best shape of my life back then and had a vertical jump when I played vball that scared me at times, not to mention I got comments all the time about how buff I was - ah, the good old days.

Now 20 years later with work, kids and other hobbies, sports interests and commitments, 3 days a week LIFTING is about all I can fit in so I do the full body workouts.

The Starting Strength program consists of 3 days a week of fullbody lifting using compound excersizes with 3 sets of 5 reps for the work sets after several lighter warmup sets of 5 - 2 reps. Squats each workout, Standing military press or bench press, alternating each workout and powercleans on days 1 & 3 with deadlifts in place of cleans on day 2, pullups alternated with chinups using bodyweight or assisted each workout and some weighted crunches each workout.

This program only takes about an hour and has increased my strength pretty well for the amount of dedication I've had to give it (which hasn't been very good lately).

It's a good, easy to understand basic strength building program. So I'm curious to hear what the New Rules is like. How many days a week? What type of lifts? How many sets/reps, etc.

I think that ANY program that involves lifting heavy and that you commit to do regularly along with a reasonable diet will get you results. It's all about how committed are you.

Man, just thinking about my days lifting everyday with no concerns or commitments to anyone else sure makes me miss those days. To have 2 or 3 hours everyday where I could just lift, run, workout, rest, play vball, or whatever - now I think I'll cry. Dang, I can't I gotta get back to WORK!

mandat28 · 04-10-2008, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wuvolleyball

Washburn University in good ol Topeka Kansas

WOW, my dad graduated from Washburn, I haven't heard about that school in a long time! I just ordered this book and am looking forward to getting started, seems like a no-fluff training manual. Me likey

wuvolleyball · 04-10-2008, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandat28

WOW, my dad graduated from Washburn, I haven't heard about that school in a long time! I just ordered this book and am looking forward to getting started, seems like a no-fluff training manual. Me likey

Small world isn't it? I am done with volleyball now but I still can't get out of the going to the gym 6 days a week thing. I have not started this program I am currently doing a 4 day split and quite a bit of cardio. It's hard changing from practicing for 3 hours a day to what I do now. I know doing a lot of cardio isn't the best thing but I ususally just have 2 cardio/ ab days along with my 4 day weight lifting split I do about 20-30 after. When I get home and look at the book I can give you a better idea of what it's about...

bbbom · 04-10-2008, 03:02 PM

I'd appreciate that.

I remember how hard it was to go from college athlete to normal working person. It's tough figuring out how to maintain your health & fitness levels when you go from practicing/training/playing 6 days a week or more to the world of working fulltime and trying to fit a good workout that challenges you but that you can fit into your schedule with new priorities.

I think the worst part was that I missed all the time I had for working out and all the food I could eat when I was working out all the time!

mandat28 · 04-10-2008, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wuvolleyball

I have not started this program I am currently doing a 4 day split and quite a bit of cardio. It's hard changing from practicing for 3 hours a day to what I do now. I know doing a lot of cardio isn't the best thing but I ususally just have 2 cardio/ ab days along with my 4 day weight lifting split I do about 20-30 after. When I get home and look at the book I can give you a better idea of what it's about...

I too am doing a 4 day split with 4 days of cardio. I also teach a full-body Lift class at 24 Hour one day/week. I don't usually count that as a workout though... I'm really just looking for a change from the current program I'm on. I always like to shake things up about every 12 weeks.

Emoore · 04-10-2008, 09:09 PM

I'm in stage 2 of the NROL4W program and have seen a good increase in strength. It's a six-month program that you follow from beginning to end. Highly focused on functional strength moves like squats, pullups, all varieties of pushups, stepups, etc., but Alwyn combines them in new and devious ways and manages to throw in a couple of exercises I've never done.

It starts out building up strength and muscle balance and ends with a fat-burning phase. There's even a phase to help work you up to doing unassisted pullups if you can't do those yet.

I think it's a great program, although a lot of serious trainers will think it's too "basic" for them, it doesn't hurt to get back to basics occasionally.

You can go to the forum at www.thenewrulesoflifting.com and talk to some other people who are doing the program if you're interested.

StephanieShine · 04-11-2008, 05:51 AM

The NROL forums have been suspended? I hope this is just temporary

frogguruami · 04-11-2008, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StephanieShine

The NROL forums have been suspended? I hope this is just temporary

Yes, they are back up now. I went there to get my fix this morning and they were down and then went to my homeschooling board to get my other fix and they were down. I think the universe is conspiring against me! LOL

orangechic · 04-22-2008, 11:01 AM

I am doing this right now, am currently on Stage 5 and have found it very challenging. I had been going to the gym 4-5 times a week and am now doing 3-4 and have stayed at the same weight and have noticed significant improvements.

I had been lifting seriously for about a year and a half before I started doing this program. I have felt very challenged by all of the workouts- especially the things like the one arm snatch and a move called YTWL.