NROLFW - the one-star review

I want to add some serious lifting to my excercise repertoire, and after reading the praise from all the NROLFW fans here I thought this book was a sure thing for my best option.

Nearly all the Amazon reviewers love it, too, but I started doubting when I saw the one single-star review: "I was very dissapointed [sic] when I purchased the book. The workout routine formula is troublesome. Basically you have to create your own workout routine and there are timeconsuming bookfilling explanations that are tedious and worthless."

Since all the rest of you swear by this book, did this reader miss the point, or what? I'm wondering if NROLFW is really the book for me.

I'm not looking to wade through a lot of bookfiller trying to convince me that I should put down the Barbie weights and that I won't bulk up; I've already been there for a long time.

I'm also not looking for diet and nutrition advice, I'm already there, too.

I want a guide to good form in the classic exercises and a balanced set of workout routines that I can use long-term to gain strength, and maintain it lifelong—as long as I can still pick up a barbell.

I also saw praise for Body Sculpting Bible for Women http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/1578260868) from most but not all who've tried it. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who's read both NROLFW and Body Sculpting about which one you think I'd find more useful... or any other book suggestions.

Whah??? Yeah, I think that reader completely missed the point. You definitely don't create your own workout routine - it sets it out in 7 stages. The most labor intensive thing you'll have to do (besides the lifts), is create your own workout log - and you can print out blanks from a website, i think. But it tells you which lifts, and what set/rep/rest scheme to do.

However, you are probably not the target audience. Schuler et al. spend a lot of time convincing you that you won't bulk up, that the barbie weights won't help, and that eating too little won't help you.

If you want a guide to good form, Starting Strength is going to be THE best resource for you.

I haven't read Body Sculpting, so I can't give a comparison. The workouts in NROLFW are definitely challenging, although i didn't love stages 2-5, but if you are searching for a new routine, it's a good one to try - the best routine is one that you haven't done yet. You could also get the original New Rules - different routines, more focus in the book on what makes a good routine.

But if you are going for form - start with Starting Strength, and then find others.

I haven't read either of those books, but NROLFW is very popular on this forum as well as many others. 

If you're looking for something that's basic and effective then I'd go with what Amethstgirl said, read Starting Strength by Mark Rippotoe.   It concentrates on basic barbell training for strength and goes into great detail regarding correct form.

I don't know what book that person was reading but NROL4W has the workouts and pages the exercises can be found so you do them right are all set up for you.  All you have to decide is what weight to lift. 

I  liked the set up of the routines so much and the explanation of exercises that I am now doing New Rules of Lifting.

I've heard Starting Strength is very good too.

Oh and the NROL and one for women do have logs available for downloading online.

The NROL has nutrition "touched" on but not really delved into deeply - just the stuff we all know eat clean etc...

I liked the NROLFW and I like NROL because the routines are spelled out for me in black and white.  EAch day I know what I need to do and how to do it.  Also the NROL is a whole years worth or workouts if done 3 times a week

Original Post by dbackerfan:

I don't know what book that person was reading but NROL4W has the workouts and pages the exercises can be found so you do them right are all set up for you.  All you have to decide is what weight to lift. 

I'm wondering if that was the reviewer's issue with the workouts?  They wanted to be told what weight to lift too?  Not realising that saying "deadlift 100 pounds" is not going to work because it'll be too heavy for some and too light for others.

Original Post by susiecue:

Original Post by dbackerfan:

I don't know what book that person was reading but NROL4W has the workouts and pages the exercises can be found so you do them right are all set up for you.  All you have to decide is what weight to lift. 

I'm wondering if that was the reviewer's issue with the workouts?  They wanted to be told what weight to lift too?  Not realising that saying "deadlift 100 pounds" is not going to work because it'll be too heavy for some and too light for others.

 I guess some people really do like to be spoon fed every little detail.  Does the NROL start people off from an empty bar?

Original Post by littlesimongeorge:

 I guess some people really do like to be spoon fed every little detail.  Does the NROL start people off from an empty bar?

The NROL has the bars with a lot bigger weights than I can do!!  

You know thinking about it in the NROL4W they do sometimes say "start with light weights" like the YWTL and some others.  Also both books say lift as heavy as you can to complete the sets.  I have real problems with this cause even though I've done NROL4W I still can't lift as heavy as others and doing the static lunge with the barbell on shoulder @ 45 lbs I can only do about 4 with good form then I'm done in.

Yeah, the olympic bar can still be too heavy for some people at 45lbs/20kg.

Some weightlifting coaches start their students off with just a broomstick and move them onto a 20lb bar.

Original Post by dbackerfan:

Original Post by littlesimongeorge:

 I guess some people really do like to be spoon fed every little detail.  Does the NROL start people off from an empty bar?

The NROL has the bars with a lot bigger weights than I can do!!  

You know thinking about it in the NROL4W they do sometimes say "start with light weights" like the YWTL and some others.  Also both books say lift as heavy as you can to complete the sets.  I have real problems with this cause even though I've done NROL4W I still can't lift as heavy as others and doing the static lunge with the barbell on shoulder @ 45 lbs I can only do about 4 with good form then I'm done in.

Well, NROL does say to use barbell for some things, but I don't think there are any exercises that can't be done with dumbbells if the 45 lb. bar is too heavy.  Also there are lighter bars.  My standard bar at home is 15 pounds and I use it quite a lot still -- I have more diverse weight plates, so it's easier to load up to the weight I want. 

But I'll go along with all the others here and say NROLFW is great, but it does have a lot of info about losing the high rep/low weight philosophy, and about eating enough to support a good workout. 

NROL is also good, it's not as straight-forward as NROLFW on the workouts.  It gives you a bunch to choose from, but the order for doing them is vague... it gives you a lot of choices. 

Starting Strength is great for form though.  Where else are you going to read 60 pages and pictures about proper form for squats? 

Thanks everybody for your answers. It looks like it’s still worthwhile for me to get NROL4W for the guide to workouts, even though I don’t need to be indoctrinated. It seems that I might also want to consider NROL.

I looked for information on the books by Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore, and they would be very good investments when I am ready to study the subject more thoroughly. Starting Strength gives extremely detailed information about correct form. The 2007 second edition is more suitable, since it’s aimed at lifters themselves. The previous first edition was directed more at coaches.

Their book Practical Programming for Strength Training is all about constructing workout programs for all levels, and the theory behind it. It seems that these two books together would be an excellent investment. There is also a Starting Strength wiki.

This book, Starting Strength, might be more of what you are looking for as far as developing good form goes. It is still a good read even if you aren't technically new lifting.

Also, NROLFW is only like 10 bucks on Amazon, worth the read even if it's not everything your looking for. I'm sure you will take something away from it.