Heavy lifters, I need your opinion...

smkcrawford

I'd like to start lifting heavy (I lift now, but more for endurance with lower weights, higher reps). I will be doing cardio as well, as I like to pretend I'm a triathlete, and do the occasional Sprint triathlon. I'm a 5'11" female, currently at 200lbs (have already lost 70lbs), would like to get down to 170. I'm waffling back and forth between the Stronglifts program and NROL4W. If you have any advice or a preference on either one of these programs, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks in advance!

dinosnopro

I would start with NROL4W then move to strong lifts, just my opinion.

coquette87

I looked at both, and settled on NROL4W. Stronglifts looked a little, I dunno, advanced, for me. NROL4W seemed more beginner friendly.

meshashesha2012

i like them both and have done them both. NR is a really good primer into the world of strength training. A lot of the movements are compound movements that you will come across in other strength and power programs.

congrats on the weight loss! and you aren't a pretend triathlete! sprint tris are nothing to sneeze at

nutandbutter

I would start with NROL4W then move to strong lifts, just my opinion.

I would do sl because I found the NROLFW program to be overly complicated. I think sticking with just compounds is great for a beginner (and what I'm doing since I've only been lifting for 8 months now). But honestly, you won't go wrong either way.

ATLMel

I peeled myself away from my cardio junkie status to try out NROL. So far, I love it. I feel as if I'm really getting the hang of the lifting. Prior to this I had never gone beyond 15# dumbbells and machine exercises. Now I get to look like a badass and play with barbells and plates and squat racks. (okay, not too much of a badass with only 10# plates on the bar, but whatevs....)

I think either way the NROL book might be a good buy. It give a lot of information and, IMO, was a great intro to heavy lifting.

MrsCon40

I would start with NROL4W then move to strong lifts, just my opinion.

I would do sl because I found the NROLFW program to be overly complicated. I think sticking with just compounds is great for a beginner (and what I'm doing since I've only been lifting for 8 months now). But honestly, you won't go wrong either way.

I agree. NROL4W is a great reference for form but I found it to be too complicated. I am interested in gaining strength and SL will get me lifting more weight faster, I believe.

a_stronger_steph

I would start with NROL4W then move to strong lifts, just my opinion.

I would do sl because I found the NROLFW program to be overly complicated. I think sticking with just compounds is great for a beginner (and what I'm doing since I've only been lifting for 8 months now). But honestly, you won't go wrong either way.

I agree. NROL4W is a great reference for form but I found it to be too complicated. I am interested in gaining strength and SL will get me lifting more weight faster, I believe.

I'm going to mostly agree with this as well!

I bought NROLFW a few years ago, got through Stage 1, got sidetracked... came back to it just this past year, did Stages 1 and most of 2 and just got a bit frustrated with how long and complicated the workout routines were getting. BUT - I still credit the book to opening my eyes to the realm of weight lifting, really. I'd say it's worth a buy just for that.

I'm now doing SL and loving the fact that I can work on my form for just five moves, instead of trying to remember the form for dozens of them. I'm also finding that I like the structure for increasing weights more than I did in NROLFW.

Have fun!

ilovedeadlifts

give the nrol4w a shot for a while. then move to something like stronglifts or starting stregnth.

pinkita

Great topic, I think I'm going to check out Stronglifts too, as I've had NROL4W for a couple weeks now but haven't started it because I feel overwhelmed by it for some reason.