It's free, it's simple and if you google enough, you'll find tons of women who made the switch after the nrolfw got painfully complicated. If it takes me more than about 8 seconds to figure out what I'm supposed to do that day, it's not going to happen. SL totally fits in that window.

I didn't choose one over the other. I did NROLFW first, and then did SL. I would recommend that you decide which one appeals to you most and go for it. You really cannot go wrong either way.

Why not, more knowledge is no bad thing!

Same reason as most of the others--it's simple and free. :- )

Me too. I looked over NROLFW and was interested, but SL was just so easy to remember. I keep exploring all the things though, so now I'm interested in Nia Shanks, Strong Curves, Starting Strength, Nerd Fitness and whatever pops out of the internet at me next!! I downloaded the sample of Starting Strength, but there were far too many words for me! I had no idea what he was talking about. But I like his professionalism, unlike the tosser Mehdi who is behing SL.

Anyways, my reason is all jumbley, just like my brain!

I think reading the NROLFW booked really helped me and I loved the program but it started taking 90 minutes or more and I just dont have that time. Also the limited equipment needed for stronglifts is a plus.

You are right! We are leaving for Florida in the morning and for a cruise on Saturday. I was going to pick up the Nrol4w to read on the cruise if I decided to go that way. However, I am also working on my master's degree so I really need to be reading one of the books for my research project. Looks like my poolside reading with be on differentiating instruction. :ohwell: It wouldn't be my first choice of reading material, but it needs to be done.

Actually, with your obviously highly analytical mind, my suggestion to you would be to skip NROLFW, get Starting Strength, read it cover to cover, and spend a week or two doing a 3x5 version of all the major lifts (squat, bench press, deadlift and overhead press) as well as trying on bent-over rows for size. Then try an A/B rotation of 3x5 or 5x5 (just pick one) and do that for another couple weeks. Teach yourself proper form, keep the weights low, and then pick a program and have at it.

Starting Strength (the book) is super technical and full of detailed descriptions along with graphs, pictures and mechanical analyses and I get the feeling it would be right up your alley. It's considered the end-all, be-all weightlifting manual and sort of a "bible" for barbell trainees and trainers.

You seem to be somebody who enjoys her research, so go research. But also do yourself a favor, and just start lifting. There's no "ideal" program out there, and as barbell training goes, "good enough, works for me" is going to be what you're going to have to settle on. It'll be fine, because of how highly effective these lifts are if you do them properly and continue adding weight on a regular basis.

I spent the first month loosely following Starting Strength, but as somebody who had never picked up a barbell before in her life, it was important to me to know what I'm doing before I committed myself to any program. And once I knew what was working for me and what wasn't, I just went ahead and designed my own program because that's what most appealed to me. Cause, why not?

And just to throw you a curve ball, there's also Nia Shanks who has wonderful resources and programs available geared towards us ladies that you might find very appealing.

Go play. It's fun.

ha, I skipped the stronglifts page completely and just read Tameko's summaries on here. Works for me, AND I don't get annoying 'inner circle' emails lol!

Depends on your goals, time and other individual stuff
I finished NROL4W back in 2009-2010. It was the first program I did when I started lifting hence, was sort of my intro to lifting. I LOVED it. I found a new love with working out. For me it was a new thing as I didn't have to be on my dreadmill day in and day out. So, I am always recommending it to folks.

Lou has a new book now - New Rules of Lifting Supercharged. I have that book and definitely recommend it to all. Lot of information is updated (new research) and the style of programming is slightly different - menu style. Meaning, you get to pick the exercises from the list provided based on your level/ability and create your own program. They have also provided substitutions if needed. Exercises are also listed as movement based, for example, push, pull, hinge etc.

I would recommend it if you are still looking into choosing what program to do.

Previous to Supercharged book was NROL for Life. They have several other NROL books. Each and every one is packed with lot of exercises.

In Lou's own words --

" Supercharged has more exercises, and of course it has seven more programs beyond the three that also appear in [NROL] Life. But the big difference is that it's written as a reboot of the original NROL. So the content is mostly about our philosophy of lifting, updated to 2012. (The original was written in 2004 and early 2005, but the programs reflect what Alwyn was doing in 2003.)

The nutrition information in Supercharged is crammed into two short chapters, and it's mostly about protein. Life has a bit more, with a focus on weight loss and weight-loss maintenance. But neither can touch NROL for Abs. With 52 pages on nutrition, it has more than the next two combined.

I've done my best to introduce new content into each book. Even the exercise descriptions are somewhat different across the board. "

Hope this helps

Personally, I preferred NROL type books as my first ones as it did not feel overwhelming to me when I first started out. Everyone is different.