(READ THIS BOOK) The New Rules of Lifting for Women: my journey

I have been lifting for a couple of years now and got pretty comfortable in my routine. RED FLAG! I read about this book The New Rules of Lifting for Women both here and on another site and decided to pick it up.

IF YOU ARE NOT READING THIS YOU SHOULD BE. It explains everything in painful detail that many on this site try to bang into your heads, such as:

• Pick up those heavy weights, ladies. Pick them up NOW
• Why you can't crunch your way into a flat stomach
• Why "what are some good lower ab exercises" is NOT a good question, as is "tell me about core exercises" (hint: everything is a core exercise!)
• You need to eat more despite what you think (talking to you, 900-1200 calorie a day eater)
• CARDIO IS NOT WHAT MAKES YOU LOSE WEIGHT
• YOGA AND PILATES ARE NOT WEIGHT ROUTINES. There are definitely places for them but they are not substitutes

Ok what you came to read, more about ME. Like I said I have been a heavy lifter for a bit. I looked at the first set of workouts and scoffed. 15 reps of squats? Something on a Swiss ball? Disgusting.

Well boys and girls, I have been crawling out of the gym this week. My ass cheeks hurt, my stomach muscles are sore and there is some evil thing called "step ups" I did on the weight bench that made me cry. Yes, I got very good at lifting heavy things but I guess I have more to learn about my body.

WEEK ONE: agony

WEEK 4:

Well I'm not praying for death in the gym anymore, mainly because the reps are decreased and I can up my weight like I'm used to. Lunges are still making me sad

man, lunges just suck.  period.  sooooooo good for us but they suck soooooo bad.  embracing my hatred for lunges gets me through doing them though so I say roll around in the angst and use it against the nasty ol' things.

I have this book on reserve right now and now I'm reading The Weight Lifting Bible for Women. I too am doing lunges now and boy do they hurt. I haven't done the step ups yet and I don't want to right now. I'm trying to master the lunge. I hate that sometimes I'm not balanced. I thought I was excellently coordinated, but with lunges and 15 lbs weights it's harder.

I have been doing lunges with dumbbells and tomorrow I am determined to do them with a barbell. A very light, preweight barbell but one none the less.

Wish me luck

Maybe I'll try that today too spirochete, with the barbell instead. Maybe that will help with the balancing.

I just ordered this book and am super excited to try it, I think it is just what my workouts may need..

I cant do lunges though cause they really hurt my knee :( :(  Squats are fine and I can walk up the stair master all day but lunges and running kill me.

Hopefully I can do everything minus the lunges part

No doubt- I'm starting week 3 and it's kickin my ass in a good way too!!    Spiro, I'm with you on the evil step ups- always done tons of squats and lunges but the step ups are a whole new kind of OW!    

cool, going to look into it. Can it be done with home weights only?

Yes- there are suggested modifications, for example, if you don't have the equip to do lat pull downs, etc.   Only prob I'm having now is that getting the weights on and off the shoulders for  squats, without a squat rack,  can be dangerous!!     Going to have to come up with something there or the kids may get up in the morning to find me trapped under my weights and bent up in a baaaaaad way!   

I finally bought this book yesterday and I'm already half-way through! Thanks to Spirochet - and others - who've posted about and suggested this program. I'm excited to get started. I have to add that the book "reads" really well - it's enjoyable, I'm learning a lot, and I am eager to "dominate the weight room", or at least prove to myself that i belong there.

How's the program going for those of you who've started it?

I'm going to look into this book, I started radomly weight lifting I need a program though, and a partner :-(

I love this workout & plan!  I have been doing it for 3 weeks   There is another string on here too with people who are newer to this too!

I am in a "rest" week (active recovery), preparing to begin Stage 6 on Monday.  However, I have SERIOUS doubts about my ability to do even a negative chin-up.  I can do 95 pounds on the lat pulldown, but today, when I tried to do ONE negative chin-up just to see if I could, I couldn't even haul my body up to where it needs to be.  I'm not THAT big (135 pounds, 5'4" tall), but my lower body is where I carry most of my weight.  I have made so much progress on this program -- I've gone from a 4 to a 2 in clothing size, and I have lost several inches in the right places.  No real weight loss to speak of -- I have been floating between 133-135 pounds since starting the program, no real change there.  But my body has definitely changed for the better.  I don't want to get too discouraged about the chin-ups -- I think I'm going to follow the steps outlined on Stumtuous and see if I can eventually get there. 

As an aside, I have definitely noticed that my yoga practice has improved as a result of the newfound strength I have.  I can hold my arm balances much longer, and I feel less discomfort afterward in my shoulders.  I also have really bad arthritis in both knees that a few months ago required Synvisc shots so I could walk and climb steps.  While not easy, the lunges, squats, deadlifts and step-ups in this program have really helped to strengthen the muscles that support my knees and I notice a LOT less discomfort.  Strength rocks, and so does this program!

Original Post by paularuck:

I am in a "rest" week (active recovery), preparing to begin Stage 6 on Monday.  However, I have SERIOUS doubts about my ability to do even a negative chin-up.  I can do 95 pounds on the lat pulldown, but today, when I tried to do ONE negative chin-up just to see if I could, I couldn't even haul my body up to where it needs to be.  I'm not THAT big (135 pounds, 5'4" tall), but my lower body is where I carry most of my weight.  I have made so much progress on this program -- I've gone from a 4 to a 2 in clothing size, and I have lost several inches in the right places.  No real weight loss to speak of -- I have been floating between 133-135 pounds since starting the program, no real change there.  But my body has definitely changed for the better.  I don't want to get too discouraged about the chin-ups -- I think I'm going to follow the steps outlined on Stumtuous and see if I can eventually get there. 

As an aside, I have definitely noticed that my yoga practice has improved as a result of the newfound strength I have.  I can hold my arm balances much longer, and I feel less discomfort afterward in my shoulders.  I also have really bad arthritis in both knees that a few months ago required Synvisc shots so I could walk and climb steps.  While not easy, the lunges, squats, deadlifts and step-ups in this program have really helped to strengthen the muscles that support my knees and I notice a LOT less discomfort.  Strength rocks, and so does this program!

 Oh - thank you for posting!  Congratulations on all the hard work you have obviously done!  Who cares about the chin-ups if you got results on your body?  Anyway - see what melkor wrote in my post regarding machine weights on this forum.  He linked an article about doing assisted chin-ups!  That may help you if you still want to continue!  I am opposite of you.  My lower body is very small and my upper body is larger....... Must be from all the monkey bars I did when I was young!  I can't wait to see results like yours as far as inches!

Original Post by paularuck:

...I think I'm going to follow the steps outlined on Stumtuous and see if I can eventually get there. 

 I don't know what they recommend at Stumptuous, but you can rig up some resistance band to make a standard pullup an assisted pullup.

I've been thinking about buying the book myself. However, I don't have a barbell or the necessary racks needed in order to get the barbell onto the shoulders. All I have are dumbbells and even if I did want to invest a ton of money into a rack, I simply don't have the room for one. In saying all that, are there variations for dumbbells only?

That's a great idea and I will give it a try -- the bands that is!  Thanks sully.

Original Post by mewapiti:

Original Post by paularuck:

I am in a "rest" week (active recovery), preparing to begin Stage 6 on Monday.  However, I have SERIOUS doubts about my ability to do even a negative chin-up.  I can do 95 pounds on the lat pulldown, but today, when I tried to do ONE negative chin-up just to see if I could, I couldn't even haul my body up to where it needs to be.  I'm not THAT big (135 pounds, 5'4" tall), but my lower body is where I carry most of my weight.  I have made so much progress on this program -- I've gone from a 4 to a 2 in clothing size, and I have lost several inches in the right places.  No real weight loss to speak of -- I have been floating between 133-135 pounds since starting the program, no real change there.  But my body has definitely changed for the better.  I don't want to get too discouraged about the chin-ups -- I think I'm going to follow the steps outlined on Stumtuous and see if I can eventually get there. 

As an aside, I have definitely noticed that my yoga practice has improved as a result of the newfound strength I have.  I can hold my arm balances much longer, and I feel less discomfort afterward in my shoulders.  I also have really bad arthritis in both knees that a few months ago required Synvisc shots so I could walk and climb steps.  While not easy, the lunges, squats, deadlifts and step-ups in this program have really helped to strengthen the muscles that support my knees and I notice a LOT less discomfort.  Strength rocks, and so does this program!

 Oh - thank you for posting!  Congratulations on all the hard work you have obviously done!  Who cares about the chin-ups if you got results on your body?  Anyway - see what melkor wrote in my post regarding machine weights on this forum.  He linked an article about doing assisted chin-ups!  That may help you if you still want to continue!  I am opposite of you.  My lower body is very small and my upper body is larger....... Must be from all the monkey bars I did when I was young!  I can't wait to see results like yours as far as inches!

 Well thanks for the encouragement!  I must admit I was really surprised by the results I got from this program, because I am no stranger to strength training -- I guess it was just the "kick in the pants" I needed.  When I look back, I can see that my previous routines were not as balanced as this one is, and I realize from doing this program that I can lift a lot more than I thought I could -- even with knee issues and some shoulder issues.  I'm happy with the results.

I just started this program about a week and a half ago. I'm really enjoying it so far! 

I love the workouts and  I am so much happier now that I can eat more!!

Can't wait to finish stage 1 and see what progress my body has made!