Amazon.com: The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess: Lou Schuler, Cassandra Forsythe, Alwyn Cosgrove: Books

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Editorial Reviews

Review
“Lou Schuler has finally written a training book for me, and for all women. His expert advice, no-nonsense plans, and sense of humor are reassuring, motivating, and entertaining. I’m starting the program tomorrow!”
– Susan Kleiner, Ph.D., author of Power Eating and The Good Mood Diet

“The workouts in this book are unique, challenging, and extremely effective…be prepared to get into the best shape of your life!”
—Valerie Waters, celebrity trainer

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
If you believe what most women's magazines tell you, muscles can be "shaped," "toned," and "sculpted" with nothing more than a little dumbbell that weighs less than a can of peas. But muscles aren't modeling clay, and the only way to transform them is to strengthen them. The New Rules of Lifting for Women is for the woman who's ready to throw down the "Barbie" weights and start a strength and conditioning program that will give her the body of her dreams.

The book puts to rest the shop-worn notion that women who train with heavy weights will bulk up. Nonsense! Women simply don't have enough testosterone to pack on muscle like a bodybuilder. Here's the truth: lifting weights not only makes you stronger, it also makes you leaner. In fact, most women would have to run twice as long to receive the same fat-burning benefits as weight lifters.

A better workout in less time may sound too good to be true, but champion trainer Alwyn Cosgrove creates six months' worth of workouts that will build strength, burn fat, and rev up the metabolism. His total body workouts target all the major muscle groups, and each exercise is accompanied by clear black- and-white photographs that illustrate proper technique and form.

A nutrition plan is another key feature of the book. To gain strength you have to feed muscle, and nutritionist CassandraForsythe has designed a regimen to achieve this goal. She strongly recommends small, frequent meals and offers meal plans, along with fifty recipes, to satisfy women's special needs through breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. The New Rules of Lifting for Women will become the standard for smart women who take their fitness goals seriously.

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
IF YOU'VE EVER watched a man working out in a gym, you can be forgiven for not immediately recognizing the bountiful lessons he has to offer. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
spot training, prone cobra, midbody muscles, grams carbs, alternating sets, push your hips, nondominant leg, workout calls, macronutrient ratios, workout chart, grams fiber, side flexion, split squat, gram saturated, barbell squat, grams protein, lat pulldown

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Exercise Sets Reps Rest, Barbell Romanian, Health Study, The Zone, Extra Stuff, Dumbbell Shoulder Press

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Customer Reviews

80 Reviews

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4.5 out of 5 stars (80 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

284 of 286 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "New Rules" Rules, January 3, 2008

By	swimmer45 - See all my reviews

"Lift like a man, look like a Goddess" says the book. But is it true? I believe it is, and this book is right on the money. It is cleanly divided into three parts.

The first part discusses the similarities between men's and women's bodies as it pertains to weight lifting- and why they should train the same. I agree with the book on this point entirely. While women's muscles won't get as big as a man's from lifting weights, the stimulus to make a woman's muscle bigger and stronger is identical to that of a man's- overload the muscle with progressively heavier weights.

Part two, "You aren't what you don't eat", is the eating/diet section of the book. A lot of wisdom is also packed in here as the book gives the reader a lot of basic nutrition info, such as calorie needs, protein intake, etc. The reader is also introduced to the four "Ironclad Rules" which include: you must eat breakfast, you must eat a total of 5 meals and snacks a day, you must have a post-workout recovery shake on the days you lift, and you must have more calories on workout days than the other days. Meal plans are nicely laid out for the reader in this section as well.

Lastly comes part three, "Resistance is vital." Of course this is the section that discusses the workout routines and the exercises. Without going into details, you work out 2-3 times a week, and the workouts are divided in 7 stages (each with a certain goal) which roughly give you 6 months worth of workouts- which I might add, are all highly detailed in the book. Pictures of warm-up exercises and the resistance exercises are included and very easy to follow. Weight lifting exercises are nothing crazy, with a lot of them being sensible, basic exercises such as squats, deadlifts, and various presses.

As a trainer, I found this to be a very sensible weight lifting book for women. Yes it does invovlve some work, but then again that is the only way to make a muscle stronger, whether you're a man or a woman- which is the whole point of the book. Based on a lot of sound science, I give it two thumbs up for a very helpful, effective, and "doable" book. Also recommend Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff for readers who have a shoulder problem that interferes with their training.

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99 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most successful book for me, August 1, 2008

By	CMCM (Nevada City, CA USA) - See all my reviews

New Rules of Lifting for Men was quite interesting, but I didn't do anything with it as it was so targeted at men. But I eagerly bought this new women's version, which is similar in some ways but overall is quite different and definitely targeted for women. I enjoyed Lou Schuler's witty writing style and offbeat humor, which made the information easier to digest and less dry. I read this entire book carefully front to back (important to do!!) and decided to implement co-writer Alwyn Cosgrove's workouts exactly as written and stick with it. One caveat: I think this book and its workouts is NOT for total beginners. In a way, you have to "arrive" at this book and the ideas it presents. I think if you were a newcomer to weight training you'd need some help with the exercises and proper form (particularly the squats and deadlifts, which must be done correctly to avoid injury). As a newcomer you would not have the frame of reference to appreciate the total brilliance of the workouts.

I've worked out and tried many different programs in the last 10 years. I admit to having a tendency to "over-do" my workouts, my approach was always "more must be better", and consequently I always burned out on the programs and the 2-hour workouts I'd end up doing. Despite my hard work, I never got the results I wanted. Coming into this book, I knew a lot of weight routines and was familiar with proper weightlifting form. At first glance I thought the routines didn't look hard or detailed enough, that there were too few exercises! But I was WRONG! Despite the apparent simplicity of the workouts, they are not easy or fluffy. Rather, they are quite substantial because they are not isolation exercises. Every exercise works multiple muscles at one time. Fewer exercises but more muscles worked in a natural way. (Think of tripceps kickbacks with dumbbells: This is not a movement you'd ever do in real life. Plus, it's not great for your elbows!!).

This book argues that to build muscle, gain strength and lose fat, you need to concentrate on multi-joint type exercises (i.e. squats, deadlifts, pushups, step-ups etc.) and not waste time with a multitude of individual isolation type exercises (i.e. bicep curls, tricep kickbacks and pushdowns, etc.), Alwyn Cosgrove's exercises are designed for practicality in real life utility. Having the strength to lift heavy things is a reality....hence the value of squats. On the other hand, laying back at an angle on a leg press machine and pressing weights outwards and upwards is not something we would do in real life. He stresses fewer reps with increasingly heavier weights. Strength over endurance. The reasoning behind each exercise is explained, and you need to be willing to do the background reading in this book so you can absorb the logic of the workouts and their design and sequencing. Coming into this book with my previous weightlifting experience, faulty though it was, this program immediately made a whole lot of sense as a truly different approach. I knew all my previous efforts hadn't paid off to my satisfaction, so I was finally ready to try this new approach: Stick mostly to big muscle exercises, no isolation exercises at all, fewer reps, lifting progressively heavier (no "Barbie weights!!"), and LIMITED exercises per workout (usually just 5 exercises), and short but high intensity interval cardio if any at all. (Cardio is not emphasized here). Each workout takes about 30 minutes, ideally done 3 days a week (although two workouts can suffice, but 3 is ideal) requiring at least a day between weight workouts (I generally did Mon-Wed-Fri). I have resisted my previous tendency to "do more", so I've done the workouts strictly as written and haven't added anything additional. I wanted to see what results I would get with the program "as written." And surprise....I've got better, more defined biceps doing pushups, squats and deadlifts (but not a single bicep curl), my quads, glutes and hamstrings are rock hard and strong without any of the hamstring curls, leg extensions, etc. The squats, deadlifts, step-ups, pushups and a few other things have worked wonders in just 4 weeks. In this short time I'm stronger and more defined than I've ever been. I'm really quite amazed.

The program is divided into a number of levels (varying weeks of length per level), with each level having 2 alternating workouts (so you never do the same workout twice in a row--important to prevent plateaus). If you do all the levels and workouts, the whole thing would take about 6 months to finish. --> This is NOT a quick fix, it's steady strength development done realistically over a reasonable time. It requires commitment and a solid determination to follow the program as presented (if you "tweak" it, you're not doing the program). After finishing the program you could then repeat it to hold on to your progress level.

I decided to wait until I was adequately into the program to review it. Now after about 4 weeks, here's my initial opinion: I can already tell this is the BEST program I've ever embarked upon and I'm seeing results already on a level which I never reached previously.....not even after 12 weeks of Body for Life! I've got stronger, more defined biceps than ever before without doing a single bicep curl! Back of the arm flab is gone! Quads are firm without a single leg extension! Squats and Deadlifts are amazing, and those two alone target an incredible number of muscles all at once. My mid section fat is rapidly diminishing, despite a pretty modest amount of ab work (so far in Level 1, only modest reps (2 sets of 15 reps on two stability ball exercises divided between two different workouts: jackknives in one workout, and ball crunches in the other workout, that's it for Level 1). No endless ab work here! After all, most of the OTHER exercises are also working your abs!

I'm incredibly impressed with this program. I can say it is working better for me than the multitiude of other programs I've previously tried in the last 10 years. And I work out far less, usually 3 weight workouts a week (occasionally only 2), with 20 to 30 minute interval cardio (elliptical) usually done after weight workouts or sometimes an interval aerobic workout on days I don't do weights. The max I go to the gym in any week is 4 times. The structure of the program has allowed me to stay very positive and enthusiastic about the program. I really like the full body nature of the workouts (I previously had done upper vs. lower body days), It's nice to have alternating workouts.....not so boring. I like the challenge of gradually increasing the weight on the various exercises. (Note: on this program it's important to keep a record of all workouts). This a program you can sustain forever because it doesn't burn you out mentally or physically--importantly, you are not overexercising to get results. The program can actually be fit into your life quite nicely. I look forward to the workouts! I feel great afterwards!

The book has what appears to be a good nutrition section, although I don't follow it because I have certain dietary restrictions (no gluten grains, for example) that don't fit with the recipes and recommendations. But it looks very solid for most people. I don't consider the nutrition section to be the most important part of the book since at this point in time I've got a very careful nutrition plan that works for me. The nutrition part would be good for someone who has a relatively controlled diet already. It would probably be hard for someone who is a junk food junkie to transition to what is presented here.

Final thoughts about fat loss: This is probably not the book for someone looking to lose 50-100 or more pounds. It's for someone who is probably 30 lbs. or less from goal and who has worked out before, who has a certain level of current fitness, and who is comfortable in the weight room. You need a certain level of independence and self motivation. Having these prerequisites, this book is a wonderful blueprint for getting to your goal, and you will lose that last fat in the process.

The only negative was a tiny bit of vagueness in figuring out the exercise routines. A blank workout sheet is in the book, or you can go to a website and print off a workout sheet, but I didn't like the setup of either of them so I used a spreadsheet program to create my own workout sheets. It took me a bit of time to figure out the Levels/workouts and precisely how they worked (a fully filled out sample would have been nice and would have cleared up this confusion). It's important to record every workout, the weights used, etc. as this is your record of progress. Since you are alternating between two workouts I think it would be difficult to remember what you did/what weights you used previously if you weren't writing it all down. The idea is to consistently challenge yourself with more and more weight (slowly, of course). At the end, it will be nice to see a record of how you got there!

If you are a relative newbie to exercise and are someone who needs to get your diet under control, doing Body for Life would be a very good way to get your diet under control and learn weightlifting basics. After that you might be ready for this program.

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62 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For serious weight training, December 28, 2007

By	TheCafeWriter (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This is truly a book for women who aren't afraid of gyms or barbells, who want to get serious about their efforts, and who want to see real results.

It's a mix of straight sets and superset total-body workouts with emphasis on functional fitness and periodization, so it's built around 6 basic multi-muscles moves (such as squats and deadlifts). There's also a progession with a mix of variations to prevent workout boredom. It's a little hard to figure out the charts at first glance, but what they've done is spell out every workout for you.

The workout incorporates use of a barbell, dumbbells, a step, and a stability ball (but you don't need all of them). You can do a home workout with this book, but having a gym membership is helpful.

I like the eating plan, too. There's not a lot of elaborate recipes, and most of it is pretty simple. It builds on plans like the Zone and other similar 30/30/40 types of diets.

The only con I have with this book is that there aren't variations within a given exercise to make it easier or harder. Some of these will be very easy for a beginner but others will be quite challenging.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great current info...
Love this book. The information is current and makes sense for woman to start lifting like they mean it and look the way they always say they want to look!

Published 7 days ago by CAROLINA

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
I have not finished the book as of yet, but so far it is a great book. It confirms everything I thought about weight training and I can't wait to get into the workouts and diet... Read more

Published 10 days ago by Joi Mairet

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm Seeing Results
I was looking to get back into lifting again and I purchased "The New Rules of Lifting for Women" because I wanted a plan that was specifically targeted for women and this had... Read more

Published 25 days ago by Parker Posey

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of good info
I havent lifted for quite some time and this book was full of good info. A beginner could learn a lot from this book so if you are new to lifting dont listen to people who say... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Precious Honey

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good!
I have to admit, I thought this would be just like ALL the other lifting books for women out there. It wasn't. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Jessica Cunningham

5.0 out of 5 stars great for females looking to transform their body
This is an excellent book for females who want to transform their body and strengthen their muscles. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Jessica K. Koenig

5.0 out of 5 stars simple to follow and effective
I started this program and am on my 8th workout and have already noticed a difference in my muscle tone. The workouts are very easy to follow but challenging. Read more

Published 2 months ago by momof3boys

4.0 out of 5 stars A good solid resource for women
As an age 50+ woman, this book has provided me with exactly the information I need to get started on a weight training program designed not for body builders but rather for people... Read more

Published 2 months ago by C. Davis

5.0 out of 5 stars Lifting Is Essential
THE PREMISE: While contemplating whether or not this was a program that I wanted to embark on, or a book that I wanted to add to my collection, I came across a few reviews that... Read more

Published 2 months ago by WHIMSICAL 0NE

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written book for weight lifting for women
this book is for people who can read. A LOT of great important information, with some good basic illustrations. if your starting out and want to do it right.. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Take Time to Heal

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	84% buy the item featured on this page: The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess 4.5 out of 5 stars (80) $16.35
	6% buy 101 Workouts for Women: Everything You Need to Get a Lean, Strong and Fit Physique 4.7 out of 5 stars (23) $10.17
	5% buy 101 Ways to Work Out with Weights: Effective Exercises to Sculpt Your Body and Burn Fat! 4.8 out of 5 stars (13) $13.57
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The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess (Hardcover)

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