Anyone NOT like the New Rules of Lifting for Women?

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lizlkbg
lizlkbg Posts: 566
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi,
I am planning to embark on a lifting program in the next couple of months. I have heard so many wonderful things about this program - and NO negative things.

I am wondering if anyone out there has concerns/reservations/critques of this approach?

I would just like to get a balance of viewpoints.

Thanks!
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Replies

  • michelleLynette
    michelleLynette Posts: 289 Member
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    I am interested in this program too. Looking fwd to hearing what others have to say. I just found out about it on MFP!
  • EmmaReed84
    EmmaReed84 Posts: 263 Member
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    I have just started lifting, so am very interested in this thread.
  • lizlkbg
    lizlkbg Posts: 566
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    I guess nobody doesn't like it!!
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    i dunno. it made me bulky.



    join this group and ask for opinions and you should get more input.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/102-new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-nrol4w
  • lizlkbg
    lizlkbg Posts: 566
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    i dunno. it made me bulky.



    join this group and ask for opinions and you should get more input.

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

    Yeah but, nice rack.
    Thanks! I will try it.
  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
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    I didn't like it after phase two, I thought it started incorporating too many ancillary exercises that seemed random... like the exercise ball pikes... maybe it was just that I couldn't do it. :wink:

    Plus I had a knee injury and couldn't do some of the lifts -- like the split squats.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    It's a very good program, so there is nothing wrong with it.

    Different people have different preferences in terms of "liking" it or not. But, the only way to know is to try it. It's a great book and a great introduction to weight lifting. They have other books with other programs as well. I do The New Rules of Lifting for Life. I just like it better for me because it helps me understand form and progression and to build my own program that fits into my dance lifestyle and past injuries. But, doing the Women's book first helped me to learn what I needed to learn to benefit from the Life book, figure out what I liked and build my own program that works for me personally. I'm glad I started with the women's book and glad I have the life book to move on to.
  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
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    It's a very good program, so there is nothing wrong with it.

    Different people have different preferences in terms of "liking" it or not. But, the only way to know is to try it. It's a great book and a great introduction to weight lifting. They have other books with other programs as well. I do The New Rules of Lifting for Life. I just like it better for me because it helps me understand form and progression and to build my own program that fits into my dance lifestyle and past injuries. But, doing the Women's book first helped me to learn what I needed to learn to benefit from the Life book, figure out what I liked and build my own program that works for me personally. I'm glad I started with the women's book and glad I have the life book to move on to.

    I agree, the book has lots of great information, that you will benefit from, even if you don't complete the program.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    I didn't like it after phase two, I thought it started incorporating too many ancillary exercises that seemed random... like the exercise ball pikes... maybe it was just that I couldn't do it. :wink:

    Plus I had a knee injury and couldn't do some of the lifts -- like the split squats.

    Yeah, I love the pikes! But, I agree that I switched away from the women's book and started the Life book because of my knees as well. They say very clearly that the program is not intended for people that have pre-existing conditions. I agreed with that and started the Life book, and am much happier with it.
  • kmakar
    kmakar Posts: 103
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    I liked the book and completed stage I, but didn't continue with it since I didn't have the right equipment. I got a couple of critical comments on a thread a few months ago, mostly saying that the subsequent stages seemed overly complicated. FWIW, I liked the results I got from Stage I last fall (I am doing dumbell-version of stronglifts 5x5 at the moment).


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819720-dumbell-lifting-for-women?hl=dumbell+lifting+for+women#posts-12293027
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
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    I bought the book and read it. Then I decided to do Stronglifts 5x5. Stronglifts is MUCH simpler, and the reason they choose the exercises they do is common sense and the movements are natural. Now, I'm not saying there is anything wrong, exactly, with NRL4W, but I wanted something simpler and easier to get into. I love it so far, and its FREE. If you do check it out, join the group:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women
    They have a summary all written up so that you can skip all the over-the-top manliness in the book.
  • ruststar
    ruststar Posts: 489 Member
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    I did the NROLFW and the For Life plans for quite some time and while I like them on one level, I lost interest. What I didn't like about the plans is all the extra ancillary moves (the YTWLs in particular annoyed me) and I found I was missing doing plain old barbell squats. I wanted to do them every time, and the plans for NROLFW seemed too fussy and were taking far too long. I moved on to StrongLifts and liked the program much better, but I credit NROLFW with teaching me what I needed t know in order to brave StrongLifts. I'm taking a break from lifting at the moment, but when I get back to it I may incorporate some ideas from the new rules and couple that with StrongLifts.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    Yeah, I actually don't follow the workout program in the Life book. I only use it as a guideline to build a balanced program for myself. I also use the stronglifts, and Girls gone strong, as well as other sources for guidance. I stick to the basic compound moves. The Life book was helpful to me, as a beginner, to learn form, progression, basic moves and the benefits. Also, I am still at the novice stage, so not claiming to be an expert.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    I didn't like it after phase two, I thought it started incorporating too many ancillary exercises that seemed random... like the exercise ball pikes... maybe it was just that I couldn't do it. :wink:

    This is a common (and fair) comment so I'm just going swing back and address it. Caveat, I haven't fully read NROLFW but I have read NROLFL and the complaint is the same so I'm making some leaps.

    Although some of the moves are 'fussy' I find that the later stages of the book make the program resemble a real program. The beginner stage stuff is very basic, as it should be, but after lifting for a while I got great benefits from mixing some things up. Maybe wouldn't do glute bridges or bulgarian split squats or something but if 7 of the 9 exercises in a stage worked, that's cool. I swap out the other two for whatever the hell I want and then it's MY program.

    The SS/SL stuff is great and it's where 95% of the beginning lifters on this particular site should probably be. But stage 1 of NROL is about the same as SS/SL and then it actually gives you someplace to go once you've got the basics down.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
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    I bought the book, read it and decided not to do it. My concern was all the moves required and that it was a lot of work. Conversely, I can get the same results from a much simpler program - Strong Lifts - which requires only 3 compound lifts per workout, laid out in an easy to follow fashion. My time in the gym is much shorter and I have an app on my phone that tracks my progress.

    New Rules is a good program and I credit it with getting women into weights. That's awesome! It just wasn't for me.
  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
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    I didn't like it after phase two, I thought it started incorporating too many ancillary exercises that seemed random... like the exercise ball pikes... maybe it was just that I couldn't do it. :wink:

    This is a common (and fair) comment so I'm just going swing back and address it. Caveat, I haven't fully read NROLFW but I have read NROLFL and the complaint is the same so I'm making some leaps.

    Although some of the moves are 'fussy' I find that the later stages of the book make the program resemble a real program. The beginner stage stuff is very basic, as it should be, but after lifting for a while I got great benefits from mixing some things up. Maybe wouldn't do glute bridges or bulgarian split squats or something but if 7 of the 9 exercises in a stage worked, that's cool. I swap out the other two for whatever the hell I want and then it's MY program.

    The SS/SL stuff is great and it's where 95% of the beginning lifters on this particular site should probably be. But stage 1 of NROL is about the same as SS/SL and then it actually gives you someplace to go once you've got the basics down.

    I agree.

    I started out with NROLFW and moved on to StrongLifts, and now I do my own program, that I know my knees can cope with.

    Also the other thing I preferred about StrongLifts was that each session I knew what I had to do, and I could go into the gym with confidence and knock it out. Whereas with NROLFW I had to refer back to my paper sheets all the time, and it made me feel less confident.
  • lizlkbg
    lizlkbg Posts: 566
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    Thank you all! This is very helpful. I will check out Stronglifts as well.

    I really do need simplicity - anything overly complex cannot be made to fit into my life right now.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    I didn't like it after phase two, I thought it started incorporating too many ancillary exercises that seemed random... like the exercise ball pikes... maybe it was just that I couldn't do it. :wink:

    This is a common (and fair) comment so I'm just going swing back and address it. Caveat, I haven't fully read NROLFW but I have read NROLFL and the complaint is the same so I'm making some leaps.

    Although some of the moves are 'fussy' I find that the later stages of the book make the program resemble a real program. The beginner stage stuff is very basic, as it should be, but after lifting for a while I got great benefits from mixing some things up. Maybe wouldn't do glute bridges or bulgarian split squats or something but if 7 of the 9 exercises in a stage worked, that's cool. I swap out the other two for whatever the hell I want and then it's MY program.

    The SS/SL stuff is great and it's where 95% of the beginning lifters on this particular site should probably be. But stage 1 of NROL is about the same as SS/SL and then it actually gives you someplace to go once you've got the basics down.

    I agree.

    I started out with NROLFW and moved on to StrongLifts, and now I do my own program, that I know my knees can cope with.

    Also the other thing I preferred about StrongLifts was that each session I knew what I had to do, and I could go into the gym with confidence and knock it out. Whereas with NROLFW I had to refer back to my paper sheets all the time, and it made me feel less confident.

    Yeah, I can relate to that. It does cycle back to earlier stages and I got familiar with the moves. So, I would write it down on my workout log (so I didn't need to carry the book and be flipping through it). But, it's all part of the learning process.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    i dont like it after stage 2. i think it's GREAT as an introduction for women who are new to the weight room and new to the idea of strength training.

    what i dont like about it is that the moves gets entirely too busy that it no longer becomes a strength training program. I find it very frustrating and a bit ridiculous that something like my balance or ankle stability can make me stall on increasing weights on DB rows :laugh:

    i also found that the time you needed to complete the stages greatly increased because there would be lots of equipment/space you'd need. that's fine if you're working out at home but it can get annoying in a gym since you're essentially alternating equipment and might have to wait while someone finishes their sets after you lost the space because you had to jump to a different area.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    The Newest NROL book that is out right now is The New Rules of Lifting Supercharged. So, if you are new to the NROL series, this seems like a good one to start with. I haven't read it, but it seems to be a reprint of the very first NROL book, but now geared towards men and women (like maybe they have photos of men and women instead of just one or the other), and they can incorporate the new things they learned and changed their mind about. It seems like each NROL book has new things in it, in which they say that in their last book they recommended something they no longer recommend now, or they learned something that they didn't know then. Perhaps they just say that to sell new books, though. The Life book that I am using was their most recent new book, before they did this reprint of the first book and called it Supercharged.

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