Question about strength training/ New Rules of Lifting for Women

fitter_happier94

I'm completely new to strength training and have just downloaded "The New Rules of Lifting for Women". I started reading it last night and I'm hoping to start it in the next couple of months, but I'm thinking that I might benefit from building some strength via calisthenics first? I bought a pull up bar and I physically can't pull my chin above the bar from a "hanging" position - I have to start on my toes. I've built my way up to a one minute plank (I know, I know) in the last three weeks, but in truth, my arms are noodles and I have no core strength. I can do like 20 crunches in one go before my stomach gives in and I have to rest for a bit. I'm just outlining what I can/ can't do to give you an idea of my fitness/ strength (or lack thereof). I'm eating (most days) a couple hundred calories under maintenance and my goal is to start a re-comp. At the moment, cardio (mostly HIIT and tabatas)/ endurance stuff is pretty much all I can do. I do a bit of yoga cause I like it.

Basically, will I injure myself if I jump into this lifting program with my background, or will I be okay? Am I wasting my time starting with calisthenics or would that be the sensible option? Are there any TOTAL noodles out there who have had success starting with this? Any and ALL suggestions/ advice would be massively appreciated.

arditarose

NROL starts pretty slow. I would just start it. Watch videos on the all the lifts you are to perform, a couple days in advance...and watch them over and over again. Practice the movement with body weight, add the bar.

cwolfman13

It's a beginner program...the whole program is designed for women who've never lifted...it's totally an introduction to lifting...you'll be fine...follow the program...use the appropriate amount of weight for your level of experience...keep an eye on form and you'll be fine.

Nobody starts out lifting all of the weight....

fitter_happier94

@arditarose @cwolfman13 Cheers for the advice, I'll take your word(s) for it. The book does say it's for "everyone" but I was worried I was sub-everyone as a skinnyfat newbie. What is the consensus on calisthenics? Will I benefit from body weight circuits too?

MamaBirdBoss

NROL starts with bodyweight exercises mostly. It's very beginner-friendly.

It just seemed overly complicated to me, and I don't like high reps, so I've decided to do Stronglifts later instead.

fitter_happier94

@MamaBirdBoss Stronglifts is also something I've been looking into, I'm gonna start off with NROL and see how I find it. I'm skinnyfat though, so I figure that I'll see some progress regardless of what I do provided I stick to it. Not that I'll have anything to compare it to, but I'm sure so long as I don't hate every second of it I'll manage... eventually

Is Stronglifts any more/ less physically challenging, do you think? Or are they on-par?

arditarose

fitter_happier94 wrote: »

@arditarose @cwolfman13 Cheers for the advice, I'll take your word(s) for it. The book does say it's for "everyone" but I was worried I was sub-everyone as a skinnyfat newbie. What is the consensus on calisthenics? Will I benefit from body weight circuits too?

Do the calisthenics if you want, there's not really any need-they won't necessarily make you better or worse at the program. It really is a beginner program.

fitter_happier94

@arditarose This probably sounds stupid, but once I'm finished, if I continue doing the most intensive stage of the program, will I retain my muscle mass, or does it not work that way? In short, do you need to consistently increase your workload to maintain muscle mass? I'm not sure how muscles work lmfao

MamaBirdBoss

Stronglifts can start as easy as you want with alternative equipment. Like using dumbbells instead of barbells at first.

I'm just kinda meh on the reps of NROL and how complicated it is. It's still a good program. Reps are very bad for my strength building because I have a genetic metabolic disorder and have no recovery, though, so that's specific to me.

MamaBirdBoss

fitter_happier94 wrote: »

@arditarose This probably sounds stupid, but once I'm finished, if I continue doing the most intensive stage of the program, will I retain my muscle mass, or does it not work that way? In short, do you need to consistently increase your workload to maintain muscle mass? I'm not sure how muscles work lmfao

no, you should plateau.

professionalHobbyist

Muscle Fitness Her

Great website and has a section for women

There are lots of sample workouts

Muscle Fitness also has a free online body type quiz you can take. You may find it helpful in picking the optimal type of workout for your goal.

Good luck!!

fitter_happier94

@MamaBirdBoss Hats off to ya for working on your strength despite ill health, that's inspiring. I have scoliosis and sometimes get pretty bad back pain, but in truth that happens whether I exercise or not, and building some muscles to support my bones/ increasing bone density et cetera can only do me good (my mother and grandmother both have/ had osteoporosis).

Suppose that's extra incentive for me to be careful with my form . I also have joint hypermobility, so I'm gonna ask my specialist next time I see him what he makes of me starting a lifting program. To be honest, my shins are so weak that walking down a steep hill gives me shin splints. I can't imagine that any kind of responsible workout routine could actually worsen the state my body is in (I'm only 20!!), but I'll try to monitor my health and listen to my body.

Thanks for your help, and best of luck with your progress and health

DavPul

you'll be fine

fitter_happier94

@professionalHobbyist Thanks! I'm gonna bookmark that and take a look tonight. I've been struggling to find reputable resources for this.

MamaBirdBoss

Weight lifting should reduce joint mobility somewhat and stabilize your joints. JUST DON'T STRETCH. lolol.

Shin splints aren't usually from simply being out of shape. They're usually from foot strike and/or shoes, too.

My muscles hurt when I exercise too little. They also hurt when I exercise too much. (Not post-exercise pain--severe cramping.) lol! I have to admit that I've been hitting the ibuprofen bottle harder than I want to be this week, but I usually adjust after a while. Fortunately, what I have is probably not-very-progressive. (It's so insanely rare that it doesn't even have a name, sooooooo...no one's quite sure.)

fitter_happier94

@MamaBirdBoss Yeah, I'm not supposed to do yoga either but I enjoy it and try to keep it light. Didn't know lifting was actually beneficial for joint mobility though?!

Sounds awful man, seems like you're well equipped to deal with it though. I hope you find some means of relieving the pain! Chronic pain is just about the most disheartening thing ever when you're trying to better yourself

LiftAndBalance

What everyone else said, it's a programme for beginners. And once you're done with it, you can do another programme or you could even run it again with increased weights.

Oh, and fyi, I've been lifting for almost a year now and I still can't do a single pull-up.

fitter_happier94

@LiftAndBalance is increasing the weights necessary to maintain the muscle? And heh, maybe it's the fault of boobs

cwolfman13

fitter_happier94 wrote: »

@MamaBirdBoss Stronglifts is also something I've been looking into, I'm gonna start off with NROL and see how I find it. I'm skinnyfat though, so I figure that I'll see some progress regardless of what I do provided I stick to it. Not that I'll have anything to compare it to, but I'm sure so long as I don't hate every second of it I'll manage... eventually

Is Stronglifts any more/ less physically challenging, do you think? Or are they on-par?

Stronglifts is a program designed to build optimal strength...it's basically an intro to power lifting. New Rules is more of a general fitness type of program.

This is where having goals comes into play...

sarabrunning

A good way to get to where you can do your first pull up is to start on a chair to hold yourself at "chin at bar" then pick up your feet and slowly lower yourself to full extension. Do reps of these and it will build the muscles until you can achieve your first full pull up.

Also, try planks, supermans etc they are easier on your neck/back than crunches. Best of luck and remember consistency is the most important thing!

fitter_happier94

@cwolfman13 Sounds like I'm better suited to New Rules for now then. Goals wise, I just want to lower my body fat percentage and gain some strength - priorities wise, lowering my body fat is #1.

@sarabrunning I'll give it a go. I can do a pull up but I don't think it counts (have to start on my toes, can't start from a hanging position), that sounds really useful for building my way up to doing a proper one. I've been doing planks and can do one minute planks atm but they absolutely kill me. Supermans look good too, thank you!

sarabrunning

You've got this! If your main goal is to drop body fat percentage, that's really 90% diet and 10% exercise. Best muscles to build to help with that will be legs to get the biggest fat burning muscles growing. Just keep moving, eat clean at least 80% of the time and make sure you are eating small frequent meals with lots and lots of protein and you will see results soon!

pznatti

I've been doing. New rules for a month now and I've lifted off and on for a long time... I think what Lou says in the book - that it's for everyone - is exactly true. Since I am starting with a strongish base, I'm starting with heavier weights than others might. I would also encourage you to remember what he says - that men overestimate how much they can lift and women underestimate. I started deadlifting 45lbs and am now at 85.

I really like it so far and should finish stage 1 next week.

Also, whoever said the thing about high reps is mistaken. For the first four workouts you do have high reps - lower weight because you're just getting started. I'm now at 3 sets of 10 and will soon go to 3 sets of 8 (higher weights). In fact, Lou spends quite some time in his book talking about the flaw in "common knowledge" about what women "need"... That we've been told to do high reps low weight when we really should mix it up and lift just like men... And that low reps/ high weights will get us stronger... And burn more energy while we're at it.

OffKilter5150

I just did my first workout with NROLW. I liked it. I'm not at all sore today, but I wasn't sure of where to start with my weights. As the book suggests, I will add more weight on my next workout! So far though, I like the program. Seems pretty straightforward and progressive!

laineybz

Bookmarking this as I have the book and want to start doing it, I just worry I won't be able to do the moves as well as needed as I'll be doing it from home. Good luck!

CallMeCupcakeDammit

These pre-filled spreadsheets help take some of the confusion out of the program. maggiewang.com/nrolfw/nrolfw_log_sheets.xls

This video should help with pull-ups. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRznU6pzez0

HollieWould1

I would like to piggy back on this thread. Tomorrow I do my second day of workout B. Does it matter that my body is still very achey? If my body is aching, does it mean my muscles are still in repair? Do I do workout B regardless? Thanks.

loulamb7

HollieWould1 wrote: »

I would like to piggy back on this thread. Tomorrow I do my second day of workout B. Does it matter that my body is still very achey? If my body is aching, does it mean my muscles are still in repair? Do I do workout B regardless? Thanks.

If you've just started lifting it's normal for your body to be sore. Continue with workout B as planned. After a couple of weeks you won't be sore anymore.

HollieWould1

Awesome. Just making sure I wasn't going to do any damage. Will do as planned Thanks! The power rack, bar and plates arrive tomorrow Lou! So I am anxious to lift. I wonder how long this thing is going to take me to put together.

normoth

As for chin-ups, years ago I started out by jumping up so my chin was at the level of the bar and then trying slowly to lower myself down. After doing this for weeks, one day I tried to pull up from hanging...and I could do it! It felt like magic.

pfgaytriot

NROL is a great program to start with. It's what I used a couple of years ago when I wanted to start lifting heavy. I was also skinny fat when I started. It's great for beginners. I also did Stronglifts 5x5 and absolutely loved it. The Stronglifts app also has an accessory dip and pull-up workout designed to allow you to work up to unassisted dips and pull-ups.

I think you should go for it!