New Rules of Lifting Weights For Women??

nakis623

I am curious to here others experience, thoughts or feelings about NROLW Program. I recently purchased and read the book, and I was not super impressed, but it is pretty straight forward., I just started Stage 1, and I am not a beginner by all means. I can honestly say after each workout I have felt sore the next day which I have no longer been feeling after Body Pump.
The consensus I have been reading is that many report a definite notice in Strength some feeling of inches Loss, but relatively very little reported weight Loss. I am not following his nutrition recommendation.

arditarose

I like the book and keep it for reference. If you notice, the book doesn't really suggest a calorie deficit. I think that is why a lot of women don't report weight loss with the program. They're either following it and recomping, or they are not logging their food well/don't understand CICO.

Personally, it is not a program I chose. Too much...stuff. Not enough power lifting.

rainbowbow

I think it's good to get a complete beginner into the gym and learning how to use the various equipment. The focus seems to be on convincing women that they wont become she hulks for lifting weights and trying to get them more accustomed to the weight section of the gym.

For me, as i was also not a beginner, i did not like the program. I was hauling around equipment, trying to do the circuits in a crowded gym, etc. It was too tedious with too much going on.

As far as losing fat, you should have no worries as long as you're in a deficit.

charlotteX92X

I started it as a complete beginner to weights and lifting and I really enjoyed it. I didn't follow the nutrition in the book but ate at a very small deficit during the program (was eating between 1900 and 2200 calories) and lost 9kg (18ish pounds) and a lot of inches by the end of the program. It definitely improved my strength and confidence. I still use the book for reference and have completed it all the way through twice. It's possible to lose weight with it but it was slow and more a side effect than a real goal for me.

I have moved on from this program but I did find it a great help and really useful as an introduction to lifting. It was instrumental in the discovery of my love for lifting and I would recommend it to complete beginners.

kshama2001

I got NROLFW from the library and thought the layout was confusing. However, I liked the concept so bought his newer book, "Strong" which did improve the layout. Right now I have both but haven't officially started either as I hurt my knee attempting step ups. I have knee problems in general and am trying to figure out what to do with the lower body section.

Meanwhile I've been testing out the upper body and core exercises. I'm frustrated with the bodyweight exercises. "Strong" Stage 1 Workout B:
- Inverted Row. Simply not happening at the height suggested or even higher. No alternatives given. I suppose I could do dumbbell rows, but those were in Workout A and the point is to do a different variation.
- Side Plank. Not happening. Alternatives suggested did not work. Did find my own alternative.
- Pushup Alternative. Already did the alternative (counter height) in Workout A and it was more than enough. My bodyweight is too much to be starting with. Did dumbbell bench press instead.

So, between not being able to do the bodyweight exercises at this weight or the lower body exercises because of my knees, the program as a whole is not working out for me.

However, I am picking up random exercises like prone jack knife and adding them to the mix and learning more about the equipment in my gym.

lemurcat12

I liked the NR Supercharged better, thought it worked better with how I like to work out, although I am probably in the same camp as arditarose at the moment -- prefer other approaches that push more the basic lifts and getting stronger faster. I've heard the author interviewed a few times and he talks about how "for Women" is still the most popular even though he prefers some of the changes made for later New Rules books and doesn't think there's a reason for a woman-specific workout -- he'd say men can do the women's workout and women can do any of them.

Anyway, of course recently he's been high on his new book Strong, which I keep meaning to read.

Alassonde

I just started it and am liking it so far. I've been doing body weight only and felt like it was time to progress to weights. Seems like it's a good intro to lifting.

DawnEmbers

Some of the results depend on a few variables, such as nutrition and starting point. I had some strength gains on some of the lifts and not so much on others as prior to starting NROLFW I had run Stronglifts. The higher rep range and different stages didn't do much to increase my deadlift, but it introduced me to a number of lifts I may not have considered before. I also was obese using both programs and because of a calorie deficit, lost weight along with inches. Now things are moving slower on many sides but I'm also at a lower weight and getting closer to the "healthy" range for my height, so that's to be expected. I'm also following PHUL now for programming.

There is a NROLFW group on here, if you're interested. Lots of experiences posted in the forums there.

nakis623

A lot of the information in the book I knew before I Started. I just wanted to Start an actual program and stick to it and be able to see and feel the results. I do take many classes in the Gym. They currently run the "Les Mills Program" which is a whole assortment of classes. It truly has anything and everything, but I wanted something I could do on my own. Well, Now that I have started it; I think I am going to finish it.
I do truly believe the best way to lose weight is in a Calorie deficit.

Sued0nim

nakis623 wrote: »

I am curious to here others experience, thoughts or feelings about NROLW Program. I recently purchased and read the book, and I was not super impressed, but it is pretty straight forward., I just started Stage 1, and I am not a beginner by all means. I can honestly say after each workout I have felt sore the next day which I have no longer been feeling after Body Pump.
The consensus I have been reading is that many report a definite notice in Strength some feeling of inches Loss, but relatively very little reported weight Loss. I am not following his nutrition recommendation.

Why would you have weight loss from a strength training programme? Weight loss is down to your food intake. If you're eating at defecit I can think of worse programmes to follow to maintain LBM

I've got NROLFW...I dip into it sometimes but I don't follow it because I get a programme from my PT which is updated weekly ...I think it covers some decent areas.

Luna99999

NROLFW was my first weight lifting program. I guess I was hoping that weight lifting would magically rev up my metabolism so that I wouldn't have to be as careful with what I ate...but it didn't work that way. Still loved the program but didn't see any weight loss.

If your weight is the same, but you're losing inches, then you're certainly losing fat while maintaining muscle. That's the goal--sounds like you're getting things right with your eating and workout plan.

There are 2 NROLFW facebook groups. In the "New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess" there's an FAQ with a lot of updates from the authors. None of the authors currently recommend the nutrition plan in the book. Lou says that he took the point that women need to eat enough a little too far. He was trying to say: don't try to do the program on 1200 calories....not that every woman necessarily needs to eat more for the program.

kshama2001

lemurcat12 wrote: »

I liked the NR Supercharged better, thought it worked better with how I like to work out, although I am probably in the same camp as arditarose at the moment -- prefer other approaches that push more the basic lifts and getting stronger faster. I've heard the author interviewed a few times and he talks about how "for Women" is still the most popular even though he prefers some of the changes made for later New Rules books and doesn't think there's a reason for a woman-specific workout -- he'd say men can do the women's workout and women can do any of them.

Anyway, of course recently he's been high on his new book Strong, which I keep meaning to read.

I got "Supercharged" from the library yesterday to loan to my fiance if he is interested. He's not, lol.

I was complaining about my default program, inability to do Strong, and my butt being kicked by something a coworker suggested, and should have told him I was venting and not looking to be fixed, as it turned into a heated discussion and he gave the book back.