New Rules of Lifting for Women?

japruzze

Who's tried it? Did you get results? Anyone do it at home? Accomodations for lack of barbell possible? Any info is appreciated! Thanks!

siddlesmom

Interested as well!

AnarchoGen

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/102-new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-nrol4w

This group might be able to answer your questions! I haven't tried it but it's on the to-do list. I'm going to try the free stuff first (stronglifts 5x5) before I purchase the book. I've heard so many great things about it though, I just spend enough money on my supplements (for general wellness, not for fitness goals) don't want to buy ONE more thing, but I know it's something I need to do... ASAP

drewbransmama

Who's tried it? Did you get results? Anyone do it at home? Accomodations for lack of barbell possible? Any info is appreciated! Thanks!

HI,
I just searched this because I am about to start it! Just wondering if you started it yet.
I will be doing it at home. I have a "gym" set up in my garage. I would say you would need a barbell.....

supergirl6

I'm doing it now, just finished my first week. I was sore and also felt awesome at the same time. One interesting side effect is that I'm retaining water like whoa. I put on 5 lbs over night after my first workout. Then half of them disappeared in another day, then I added another pound after the second day. Now I'm only up 1.8lbs since sunday. I'm pretty sure it's still only water weight (I can FEEL the water and swelling.) I ran on wednesday and had the best time I've ever had running. I'm 297lbs and usually running is one of the hardest parts of my work out, but my muscles felt so awesome after recovering from the first 2 days of this program that it felt so much easier running than I can ever remember it feeling.

Although to be honest, I found a huge part of the book to be unnecessary. Some of it was interesting, but it feels a little padded for word count. I like the section describing how to do all the workouts. I have modified a couple of them for my needs. For example, the Step-Ups have you using dumbbells, but the step-ups are very very hard for me as it is so I'm not ready to use weights with it yet. I can't yet deadlift with the barbell - too heavy, so I am using dumbbells instead until I can build up to the weight of the barbell (which I think is 35 lbs.) I also do the goblet squats instead because the barbell is too heavy for me. I've been doing squats for several months now already and have built up to squatting with 20lbs. The barbell is 35, so I'm hoping I can move on soon.

drewbransmama

I'm doing it now, just finished my first week. I was sore and also felt awesome at the same time. One interesting side effect is that I'm retaining water like whoa. I put on 5 lbs over night after my first workout. Then half of them disappeared in another day, then I added another pound after the second day. Now I'm only up 1.8lbs since sunday. I'm pretty sure it's still only water weight (I can FEEL the water and swelling.) I ran on wednesday and had the best time I've ever had running. I'm 297lbs and usually running is one of the hardest parts of my work out, but my muscles felt so awesome after recovering from the first 2 days of this program that it felt so much easier running than I can ever remember it feeling.

Although to be honest, I found a huge part of the book to be unnecessary. Some of it was interesting, but it feels a little padded for word count. I like the section describing how to do all the workouts. I have modified a couple of them for my needs. For example, the Step-Ups have you using dumbbells, but the step-ups are very very hard for me as it is so I'm not ready to use weights with it yet. I can't yet deadlift with the barbell - too heavy, so I am using dumbbells instead until I can build up to the weight of the barbell (which I think is 35 lbs.) I also do the goblet squats instead because the barbell is too heavy for me. I've been doing squats for several months now already and have built up to squatting with 20lbs. The barbell is 35, so I'm hoping I can move on soon.

You'll get there! Just go up little by little! Are you sure your barbell is 35 pounds? Im just asking cause I have 2 here that are 45 pounds.
I see what you mean about some of the book being unnecessary. heee heee! But, overall I really liked it too. Although, I am a little frustrated now because I want to start on Tuesday and I don't understand how the workouts go. :huh: I posted a topic to ask about it....but Im not sure where it says "workout 1" and "workout 2" if that means "week 1" and "week 2". Ugh, I don't even know how to explain what I am asking here. I know you alternate beteween A and B But, I don't know if it's like this: M- A, W-B, F-A and then the next week it would go M-B, W-A, F-B....is that "workouts 1 and 2"? Or is it when you do A the first time it's workout A and the second time you hit it, it's workout 2 so then the next time you hit it, you decrease the reps/increase weights because now it's workout 3...alternating still of course...
I don't know....I hope that made sense!:laugh:

meshashesha2012

this is my second time doing it. obviously i like it.

the first time i did it solely for strength gains so i wasnt paying attention to my diet. this time i'm actively wanting to lose weight, so my goals are to gain strength and reshape my body as it loses fat.

drewbransmama

I'm doing it now, just finished my first week. I was sore and also felt awesome at the same time. One interesting side effect is that I'm retaining water like whoa. I put on 5 lbs over night after my first workout. Then half of them disappeared in another day, then I added another pound after the second day. Now I'm only up 1.8lbs since sunday. I'm pretty sure it's still only water weight (I can FEEL the water and swelling.) I ran on wednesday and had the best time I've ever had running. I'm 297lbs and usually running is one of the hardest parts of my work out, but my muscles felt so awesome after recovering from the first 2 days of this program that it felt so much easier running than I can ever remember it feeling.

Although to be honest, I found a huge part of the book to be unnecessary. Some of it was interesting, but it feels a little padded for word count. I like the section describing how to do all the workouts. I have modified a couple of them for my needs. For example, the Step-Ups have you using dumbbells, but the step-ups are very very hard for me as it is so I'm not ready to use weights with it yet. I can't yet deadlift with the barbell - too heavy, so I am using dumbbells instead until I can build up to the weight of the barbell (which I think is 35 lbs.) I also do the goblet squats instead because the barbell is too heavy for me. I've been doing squats for several months now already and have built up to squatting with 20lbs. The barbell is 35, so I'm hoping I can move on soon.

You'll get there! Just go up little by little! Are you sure your barbell is 35 pounds? Im just asking cause I have 2 here that are 45 pounds.
I see what you mean about some of the book being unnecessary. heee heee! But, overall I really liked it too. Although, I am a little frustrated now because I want to start on Tuesday and I don't understand how the workouts go. :huh: I posted a topic to ask about it....but Im not sure where it says "workout 1" and "workout 2" if that means "week 1" and "week 2". Ugh, I don't even know how to explain what I am asking here. I know you alternate beteween A and B But, I don't know if it's like this: M- A, W-B, F-A and then the next week it would go M-B, W-A, F-B....is that "workouts 1 and 2"? Or is it when you do A the first time it's workout A and the second time you hit it, it's workout 2 so then the next time you hit it, you decrease the reps/increase weights because now it's workout 3...alternating still of course...
I don't know....I hope that made sense!:laugh:

Okay, I got it now! whew...thank goodness a couple people answered my question on my post about this. I was going nuts! haha!

kunibob

I'm doing it at home (just about to finish Stage 2), though I bought a cheap barbell and weights. The only annoying thing is that I can't do squats at home because I don't have a squatting cage and I can't safely get the bar into the right position otherwise without a spotter, so I do dumbbell squats instead if no one's around to help me. Not the same thing, but better than nothing.

For those of you who bought the book and are confused about the workouts, there's a free spreadsheet available:

http://maggiewang.com/2008/05/20/new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-diet-calculator-and-workout-logs

(I downloaded it myself and there were no viruses or anything attached.) It lays it out much more simply than the books do and even has a nifty diet calculator. You need to own the book to be able to download the sheet. Just alternate between workout A & B until you run out of blanks, then move on to the next 2 sets of tabs...very easy! I have been using this since I started, and I just realized I should probably write to the person who created it and thank them.

As for results, I have been weightlifting on and off for years but was never doing it the way the book suggests (I was always lifting too light & doing isolation movements). So far:

-Appearance - quite a bit more "fit" in shape -- not an instant overhaul, but improvements for sure. Would probably see bigger changes if I was totally new to lifting.
-Muscle tone (how firm the muscle is when relaxed) - much, much improved, particularly in my thighs, butt and arms.
-Weight - my weight has gone up a bit and my measurements are the same, which means I am gradually building muscle -- yay! This would probably be different if I weren't shovelling any food I see into my mouth 24/7. (Trying to clean up my diet going forward...)
-Strength - HUGE INCREASES. This is by far where the program has blown me away. It is astounding how much stronger I have gotten since I started (and I'm only at the end of Stage 2!), and it's really paying off in my everyday life. I can carry around things that were way too heavy for me to even budge before.

It's also doing wonders for my muscle balance. I'm prone to knee injury, and my knees have been rock solid as of about 4 weeks ago...they were pretty awful at the start because of imbalances!

I won't claim that this is the only program that will give awesome results like that -- I'm sure any good compound-movement, heavy lifting program would (like 5x5 mentioned above) -- but I love this program's approach and I feel like it's a fantastic introduction to doing things right.


EDIT: If you want to see some numbers, I did a summary at the end of Stage 1 in my blog: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/kunibob/view/nrolfw-stage-1-complete-how-it-s-going-so-far-227461

drewbransmama

I'm doing it at home (just about to finish Stage 2), though I bought a cheap barbell and weights. The only annoying thing is that I can't do squats at home because I don't have a squatting cage and I can't safely get the bar into the right position otherwise without a spotter, so I do dumbbell squats instead if no one's around to help me. Not the same thing, but better than nothing.

For those of you who bought the book and are confused about the workouts, there's a free spreadsheet available:

http://maggiewang.com/2008/05/20/new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-diet-calculator-and-workout-logs

(I downloaded it myself and there were no viruses or anything attached.)

It lays it out much more simply than the books do and even has a nifty diet calculator. (You need to own the book to be able to download the sheet.) Just alternate between workout A & B until you run out of blanks, then move on to the next 2 sets of tabs...very easy!

As for results, I have been weightlifting on and off for years but was never doing it the way the book suggests (I was always lifting too light & doing isolation movements). So far:

-Appearance - a little bit more "fit" in shape, but not enormous changes (I was pretty fit before starting). Would probably see bigger changes if I was totally new to lifting.
-Muscle tone (how firm the muscle is when relaxed) - much, much improved, particularly in my thighs, butt and arms.
-Weight - my weight has gone up a bit and my measurements are the same, which means I am gradually building muscle -- yay!
-Strength - HUGE INCREASES. This is by far where the program has blown me away. It is astounding how much stronger I have gotten since I started (and I'm only at the end of Stage 2!), and it's really paying off in my everyday life. (I can carry around things that were way too heavy for me to even budge before.)

It's also doing wonders for my muscle balance (I'm prone to knee injury, and my knees have been rock solid as of about 4 weeks ago...they were pretty awful at the start because of imbalances!)

I won't claim that this is the only program that will give awesome results like that -- I'm sure any good compound-movement, heavy lifting program would (like 5x5 mentioned above) -- but I love this program's approach and I feel like it's a fantastic introduction to doing things right.

Thank you SO much! I will for sure be downloading the spreadsheet!
Yeah, I am excited to start this....and even more excited hearing your improvements. I am pretty fit too...and am not totally new to lifting (I have been for about a year..maybe a little longer) and I agree with you that there are other programs that would give the same results. I have not tried the 5x5 yet, but I may do that one after this one. I have done starting strengh and that one is awesome too! I do love that this one (NRLFW) is for women who aren't shy to eat lots of calories and lift heavy!
Thanks again for the info on the spreadsheets and for sharing your progress on this program!

Lozze

I'm about to finish Stage 1. (last workout Tuesday) and I love it. Best way to show I think is pictures so here are mine. These are taken about six weeks apart and the weight difference is 4kg (I'm still very heavy so I'll continue to lose weight on this program. If you're closer to your goal weight you might not see big numbers but you'll get the body shape change)





Notice the waist? Can't wait to see the difference once I'm finished!

kunibob

I do love that this one (NRLFW) is for women who aren't shy to eat lots of calories and lift heavy!
Thanks again for the info on the spreadsheets and for sharing your progress on this program!

Anytime! Glad to help!

The eating thing is a huuuuge plus. I'm currently doing NROLFW and training for a half marathon at the same time (exactly what the book says NOT to do, heh...I'd probably see much better results if I didn't do both at the same time), and I've been eating on average about 2000-2500 calories per day! Some days (like today), I just can't eat enough because I'm too full. After two months of eating this way, my weight fluctuates at about 1-5 lb higher than when I started, but my measurements are the same and lean muscle mass has gone up, so it seems to be working. Hooray for food!



EDIT: Omg Lozze, your training has sculpted an hourglass shape! That's really inspiring!

drewbransmama

I'm about to finish Stage 1. (last workout Tuesday) and I love it. Best way to show I think is pictures so here are mine. These are taken about six weeks apart and the weight difference is 4kg (I'm still very heavy so I'll continue to lose weight on this program. If you're closer to your goal weight you might not see big numbers but you'll get the body shape change)





Notice the waist? Can't wait to see the difference once I'm finished!

Great job!!!! I'm so happy to hear other women on here doing the same program! Keep at it!

meshashesha2012

I'm about to finish Stage 1. (last workout Tuesday) and I love it. Best way to show I think is pictures so here are mine. These are taken about six weeks apart and the weight difference is 4kg (I'm still very heavy so I'll continue to lose weight on this program. If you're closer to your goal weight you might not see big numbers but you'll get the body shape change)





Notice the waist? Can't wait to see the difference once I'm finished!

nice progress.

Ohbutiloveicecream

Bumpppp!

Lozze

EDIT: Omg Lozze, your training has sculpted an hourglass shape! That's really inspiring!

I know! I hadn't realised it myself until I saw my boyfriend after three weeks apart and his reaction was amazing. Can't wait to get smaller and see my real body

N4monsters

I just got the book! Where did you ladies purchase your dumbells and barbells? I need to get some asap!

drewbransmama

I just got the book! Where did you ladies purchase your dumbells and barbells? I need to get some asap!

I got my barbells and weights on craigslist