Your experience with The New Rules of Lifting

Of course I haven't actually followed The New Rules of Lifting for Women myself on account of not being a woman, but the basic exercise parametres are the same as in The New Rules of Lifting and that's a very good book indeed.

So - what's your experience with this program?

I love it. I am in stage 1 - at the tail end and it has given me more strength in my upper body. My lower body already has alot of strength but still I push myself with step ups on the second step and holding 25lb weights in either hand. 

I understand their ideas about calorie restriction but I don't follow them. 

I like the program alot.

I literally just started it today.  I'm kind of excited, and I definitely felt it was a good workout.  The only thing I'm going to do different though, is start working on my pull ups, that's just a little side goal that I have.

I'm about halfway through stage 1.  I've been doing it at home, and I'm still recovering (9 months out) from rotator cuff surgery, so I had to make a few modifications, but I'm getting all the main moves done. 

That said... I love it.  I have purchased a free weight set, and started with 100 lbs, and I went out and bought 50 more lbs last week.  Okay, I'm not lifting that much, but I got tired of having to take the weights off the dumbbells to add to the barbell, and then swap back.  I also purchased a chin-up bar, but my husband hasn't had time to mount it for me yet. 

I don't follow the exact diet, but I do follow the principles of it.  Small meals and increasing protein, etc. 

Since I am feeling a bit lazy today, I'm cutting and pasting my experience which was posted on the fitness thread :).

Carolann:

From one yogini to another, I can vouch for the New Rules of Lifting for Women -- it has really helped me take my body to the next level.  Like you, I'm very flexible from all the yoga, fairly cardiovascularly fit from years of spinning, running (no more due to knee issues), biking, etc., but I definitely needed a push in the strength training area.  I did have a fairly good knowledge base to start with, but I was "stuck" in a rut with my strength training.  I am now in Stage V of the NROL program.  I have not lost much weight in terms of pounds  (in all honesty, I wasn't really trying to), but I have definitely lost body fat (inches) and my clothing fits better.  I also have a much better defined upper body than I ever had before (something that always eluded me, as I tend to store fat in my upper body), and a sleeker lower body.

I also notice that my yoga practice has benefited from the extra muscle as well.  I'm able to hold more challenging poses for longer periods of time, and I find myself moving forward in my practice in ways I just didn't think I ever would.

I don't follow their nutrition plan to a T, but I do incorporate the principles:  frequent small meals; extra protein and a protein shake after every lifting workout.   I'm eating more food than ever, and my weight has remained stable. 

Definitely give the program a try.

I just bought the book. I'm pretty excited to try it out. I've been following a program i put together myself thats pretty basic to get back into the swing of things for about a month now. By the time the book gets here, i'll be ready to switch it up.

I noticed some nice definition pretty quickly in my upper body from the basic program i've been doing - so i can't wait to try this program out with all the great things I've been hearing about it!

After reading so many forum posts about The New Rules of Lifting for Women, I decided to buy it, read it, and decide if this was for me. That was six weeks ago, and since then I've been following the workout as precisely as I can - varying only rest times due to sharing equipment at my gym. I also follow the nutrition guidelines of increasing calories and specifically increased lean protein. For me, the program has been liberating in so many ways.

The book really helped me understand how my body works and why lifting would help me reach my goals. I love the sense of accomplishment I get when I add weight, feel confident in my form, and feel exhausted when I leave the gym. These kinds of daily goals, where I can notice the benefits of my efforts fairly quickly, keep motivated and excited for the next work out.

I'm currently starting stage two, I've lost an inch or more around my "meatier" areas, and half an inch in most leaner places.  My scale weight has stayed  in the same range as before I started lifting, and my clothes are looser!

Starting stage 2, I've reduced my calories by about 100 each day, still eating more on lifting days than non-lifting days and I'll see what happens with that change.  If my energy and mood  levels stay  high, I'll continue with this amount of calories to see if fat loss spikes a little. If not, I'll add the calories back in to my diet.

I've been posting my experience in my on-line journal. Feel free to check it out, there's not anything too personal there :)

My copy of this book is supposed to arrive today. I'm very excited! 

Does the book include a meal plan or just guidelines for how many calories and nutrition info (i.e. how much protein etc)?

I got this book yesterday and was so excited - so i started reading it.

Today at lunch when i was reading through the workouts i flipped to see what a "Prone Jacknife" is and my book is missing pages 195-226!

I am so frustrated!

Can anyone tell me what a prone jacknife and swiss ball crunch is?

I don't want to wait another week to start the workouts....