New Rules of Lifting For Women (NROL4W)

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  • KatLifter
    KatLifter Posts: 1,314 Member
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    Do most people start out squatting the bar? 45lbs sounds like a lot to me.. that's over a third of my bodyweight haha. I'll give it a go I guess.. or maybe I should start out with hand weights or something?

    I started body weight and a few weeks in still only on 8kg dumbells. I wasn't very strong obviously but building up slowly. I've also been reading some interesting things about the squat in Rippetoe's Starting Strength.
    Starting with the lighter weights lets me concentrate and practice good form and I don't think I could do much higher without killing myself anyway.
    [/quote]

    This. It's much more important to get your form down than worry about the weight at first. My gym has curl bars that start at 10 lbs. that you can use when you want to move up from bodyweight, until you get to the 45 lb. bar.

    Using hand weights instead of a barbell does change the exercise since you aren't using your core as much to balance the barbell, but you should do what works best for you.
  • tems78
    tems78 Posts: 23 Member
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    Hello, sorry to be a pain. New to forum and starting NROLFW and would really love to have the spreadsheet if you can send it to me at [edit]. Much appreciated. Thanks
  • lcuconley
    lcuconley Posts: 734 Member
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    Hello, sorry to be a pain. New to forum and starting NROLFW and would really love to have the spreadsheet if you can send it to me at [edit]. Much appreciated. Thanks

    Go to werkit.com
  • mimiyo1980
    mimiyo1980 Posts: 37 Member
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    Thanks for all the great tips...the book is on the way! Did anyone start this with 40/50lbs to lose? Or 2/3 dress sizes if you aren't a scale slave?
  • suelegal
    suelegal Posts: 1,282 Member
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    Thanks for all the great tips...the book is on the way! Did anyone start this with 40/50lbs to lose? Or 2/3 dress sizes if you aren't a scale slave?

    Well, when I started the program I had set MFP to lose 25 more lbs. Honestly, I am not watching the scale at all these days except occassionally and only as a guide, ie after vacation etc. My goal is to get strong first. I am not cutting intentionally right now, I am eating at the calories suggested by the book and I have put on a pound or two but that's all. After I finish Stage 5 I may start cutting but I'm working with a trainer and will discuss it with him too. I tend to obsess about "weight" so I really am trying to focus on losing body fat (when I start cutting). I think that my weight will get wherever it's supposed to when I do cut. In the meantime, I've gained a whole lot of strength and I see better definition everywhere.
  • mimiyo1980
    mimiyo1980 Posts: 37 Member
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    Thanks for all the great tips...the book is on the way! Did anyone start this with 40/50lbs to lose? Or 2/3 dress sizes if you aren't a scale slave?

    Well, when I started the program I had set MFP to lose 25 more lbs. Honestly, I am not watching the scale at all these days except occassionally and only as a guide, ie after vacation etc. My goal is to get strong first. I am not cutting intentionally right now, I am eating at the calories suggested by the book and I have put on a pound or two but that's all. After I finish Stage 5 I may start cutting but I'm working with a trainer and will discuss it with him too. I tend to obsess about "weight" so I really am trying to focus on losing body fat (when I start cutting). I think that my weight will get wherever it's supposed to when I do cut. In the meantime, I've gained a whole lot of strength and I see better definition everywhere.

    Thanks! I'll take more definition over less lbs lost...generally want to be smaller, harder and stronger.
  • suelegal
    suelegal Posts: 1,282 Member
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    Hello, sorry to be a pain. New to forum and starting NROLFW and would really love to have the spreadsheet if you can send it to me at [edit]. Much appreciated. Thanks

    I just sent you the excel spreadsheet that I have in addition to the workout logs from werkit.com. Both are good, I like the spreadsheet because I can keep all stages in one workbook
  • casi_ann
    casi_ann Posts: 423 Member
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    I got a call from the library today to come pick up my New Rules of Lifting for Women. I picked it up and already read it. I normally take forever to read things but this time i couldn't put it down. I am a little disappointed that most of the exercises are with free weights since i joined a gym to use the weight machines. I really really don't want to do the free weights since that is where all the guys are and i just feel so fat to be back there. I'm going to talk with a trainer and see if i can use the weight machines for NROL4W instead of free weights. Maybe one of you can tell me if some people use the machines instead of the free weights.
  • lcuconley
    lcuconley Posts: 734 Member
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    I got a call from the library today to come pick up my New Rules of Lifting for Women. I picked it up and already read it. I normally take forever to read things but this time i couldn't put it down. I am a little disappointed that most of the exercises are with free weights since i joined a gym to use the weight machines. I really really don't want to do the free weights since that is where all the guys are and i just feel so fat to be back there. I'm going to talk with a trainer and see if i can use the weight machines for NROL4W instead of free weights. Maybe one of you can tell me if some people use the machines instead of the free weights.

    Cheryl - you will be better off if you work up your gumption and get over to the free weight side of the gym. A free weight workout is simply better overall. There is a thread called "intimidated of [sic] the gym" that you should check out. There are plenty of "fat" people in the free weight section of my gym. Glad you devoured the book and are ready to get started!
  • casi_ann
    casi_ann Posts: 423 Member
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    Thanks ICUConnley. I'll give it a try :)
  • judithmurray
    judithmurray Posts: 25 Member
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    Hi everyone! I am so excited to start this new adventure!! I bought the book on my Nook. I am unable to copy the work log sheet and workouts. Is there a website where I can copy the forms? I will need all the advice you are willing to give me.
    Thanks
  • laccy40
    laccy40 Posts: 136
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    Hi, another newbie here. I downloaded the book last week and read it through. I didn't like how it was written (sorry) and I didn't like the diet section either. I actually choose to eat 5 times a day because it suits me but I think him saying I MUST eat 5 or 6 times a day is wrong. I also didn't like that he uses BMI to calculate your calories because I thought it was recognised that BMI isn't a great indicator. To be fair I was probably annoyed that it told me to eat 200 cals less than I am now BEFORE my cut so would have me right back at 1500 cals. I sound negative, but I'm just trying to be balanced and critical. Because I did like the exercise plans and felt that I was achieving something even after 3 workouts. So my question is...how important to this program is the calories he recommends and the diet plan in the book. Can I use the tdee less 15% method and still burn fat?
  • lcuconley
    lcuconley Posts: 734 Member
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    Hi laccy - welcome to the group! The tone of the book can get annoying...kind of magazine-speak. I think that you will find that the members of this group are all over the map on calorie consumption and that you need to do what works for you. The most important thing in the book is the workout plan, and even that is not carved in stone! I do not follow the diet part of the book.
  • laccy40
    laccy40 Posts: 136
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    Hi laccy - welcome to the group! The tone of the book can get annoying...kind of magazine-speak. I think that you will find that the members of this group are all over the map on calorie consumption and that you need to do what works for you. The most important thing in the book is the workout plan, and even that is not carved in stone! I do not follow the diet part of the book.

    Magazine speak - that says it perfectly, thank you. I'm glad about the calories as I am trying to undo years of damage and am not about to let any go without a fight ha ha! I like the exercises in stage 1 - I haven't looked any further than that - as they are nice and simple and I can choose to do routine A at home with bar bells at the moment. I broached the free weights area on Thursday to do my first ever set of dead lifts. Why is that so scary and why do all the men have to stare as if a 6 legged alien just walked in?
  • chocolatecroissant
    chocolatecroissant Posts: 155 Member
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    I didn't find it too confusing but I was well prepared. While you're waiting for the book, go back and find some old posts where members set it out step by step and provide links to workout sheets. I cut and pasted this info into a document and collected excel files so I was all organised when it was time to start.
    Before I go to the gym I read through the whole program so I know exactly what I will doing when I get there. I'm very new and I've only done a couple of weeks. All good so far.

    Thanks so much for this advice - and for the werkit.com link - really helpful.

    I've been reading and trying out a few of the exercises over the past few weeks while my life was a bit chaotic and am starting this in earnest tomorrow ... gulp! Look forward to sharing my progress with this friendly group.
  • blacknivory
    blacknivory Posts: 30 Member
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    good luck. i've got about 4 workouts of Stage 1 to go. I repeated a round as I get exhausted easily if I push the weight increments up too quickly. I love it more each time and it's completely different all the time as I learn more about form.
  • cphaneuf16
    cphaneuf16 Posts: 85 Member
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    I've been reading and trying out a few of the exercises over the past few weeks while my life was a bit chaotic and am starting this in earnest tomorrow ... gulp! Look forward to sharing my progress with this friendly group.

    I'm starting today, too. I hope I'm prepared enough. I feel like I've been cramming for a quiz!
  • Davina_JH
    Davina_JH Posts: 473 Member
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    Hi everyone! I am so excited to start this new adventure!! I bought the book on my Nook. I am unable to copy the work log sheet and workouts. Is there a website where I can copy the forms? I will need all the advice you are willing to give me.
    Thanks
  • KatLifter
    KatLifter Posts: 1,314 Member
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    Hi everyone! I am so excited to start this new adventure!! I bought the book on my Nook. I am unable to copy the work log sheet and workouts. Is there a website where I can copy the forms? I will need all the advice you are willing to give me.
    Thanks

    Welcome! I've been using the logs from this site, http://maggiewang.com/2008/05/20/new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-diet-calculator-and-workout-logs. I put them into a Google Doc so I can track my progression on weights too (yup, I'm a little OCD :smile:)
  • lcuconley
    lcuconley Posts: 734 Member
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    welcome davin, cph and chocolate - the link kat gave for the logs is where I them from years ago. Last time I checked, it did not work for me. werkit is another place to go.

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