Whoever Recommended New Rules of Lifting for Women....Thanks!

I can't remember whose recommendation it was -- perhaps Melkor or Spirochette...anyway, I bought the book because I have been a dedicated lifter for years, but was really stuck in a rut where my weight training was concerned.  Over the years, I'd gravitated from hard core cardio and weights to yoga due to serious issues with osteoarthritis in my knees.  I have always been seriously interested in health and fitness and am certified to teach yoga and spinning, and have taken some exercise science classes in order to understand the mechanics a little better, so I do have some knowledge and  I do know how important strength training is (definitely no pink dumbells here).  However, I was becoming more and more limited by the pain in my knees, which was affecting the quality (and quantity) of my workouts.

Well, I'm  in the middle of Stage II of the New Rules program and it is kicking my butt (in a good way), and I am seeing results that I haven't seen in a long time.  I'm working very hard, but the amazing thing is, my knees actually feel a lot better.  Of course, I have to give most of the credit for that to the Synvisc injections I finished in April, but I can honestly say that this program has been great for both my physical and mental health.  I've cut way back on the cardio, and do the New Rules program 3x per week, with yoga daily (between teaching and my own practice).  I do the intervals that are part of the New Rules program, take a spinning class once a week if I can squeeze it in and walk a lot.  I am seeing a lot more muscle definition already -- I'm very happy with the results.

I love the way that Schuyler addresses training for women -- no bones about having to word hard -- no miracle promises -- but honest information and no coddling -- the workouts are HARD -- I pour sweat, but incredibly rewarding.

So ---- thanks to whoever recommended the book, and if any other women are looking for a jump start to their own strength programs, this book is a must read.

A few of us have been recommending that book as of late. I started a thread but got too lazy to keep updating it. I'm glad you're having good results!

paularuck, thank you so much for this post!

I also bought this book based on the recomendation from Spirochete, and I would really appreciate it if you would help me through a question I have. You seem like the exact right person to ask.

I have been trying to work the stage 1 routines into my existing week, and I've been having trouble with getting too worn out. The second week I ended up with a cold bug and had to drop all my exercise plans for a week. I tried to start up again and after another week had to force an extra rest day. Right now I'm on my third try, but I only added one 1/2 hour session.

Right now I have two regular yoga classes, and I feel that my effort level in those classes is fairly regular. Hard, but not exhausting. I also have irregular rock climbing and road cycling days mixed in, but I try to keep those to only one a week.

So, my trouble is: adding in 1/2 hour twice a week of lifting seems to leave me just wiped! I consider myself an active person in pretty good shape. I tried upping my calories, but just put on a few pounds and didn't feel any better. I've tried adjusting the timing of meals and rest days, but can't seem to find my flow.

Do you have any advice about adding in a weight routine to existing exercise schedules? Should I just give up on the routine in the book and settle for a routine whenever I can fit it in?

Maybe this is just too much tapas.

-V

Vanessa: 

I will tell you that I gave up a lot of other things I was doing in order to dedicate my time more to strength training.  To make an incredibly long story short, I made the decision to focus more on strength training and substantially decreased the amount of cardio I had been doing.  I stopped going to the group ex classes I had been attending altogether; I made the strength workouts my top priority and I dedicated three days a week to the program.  On the days when I didn't lift, I did my yoga practice and sometimes added in a walk, but that was all.  As I got a bit more accustomed to the program and could gauge how my body was responding, I added in a spinning class on an off day, but that was it.  Previously, I had been doing a lot more cardio.  Now that I'm working on Stage II, interval training is incorporated into that.  The take I got from the book is that while you CAN do extra endurance(read cardio here) activities in between your lifiting sessions, you don't HAVE to, and you need to gauge your body's response -- if you feel "wiped out" as you describe, you may be doing too much.  Overtraining will only sabotage your goals.

I was a little skeptical of reducing my cardio, but I have to tell you, I'm getting great results and I FEEL wonderful.  I will never give up my yoga, it's just become too important a part of my life, and I enjoy teaching and sharing it with others, but I think the advice Schuler gives to women in this book is sensible and it works. 

My advice would be to make the strength program your priority at least for Stage 1 until you build a baseline of strength and can gauge your training a bit better.  You should not be exhausted all the time.  Then when you start to feel a little stronger (i.e., not exhausted after every workout), you can try adding in some additional activities on your off days that don't involve lifting.  Also, if you are lifting on the same days that you are say, rock climbing, and not eating enough to support all that energy expenditure, that may be another explanation for why you feel wiped out.  I would definitely continue with the yoga, but do it on alternate days from your strength training.

I hope this makes sense -- and if anyone else out there has anything else to add, feel free.

I agree with paularuck, and that's exactly what I wanted to say. I didn't post it because people tend to flip the f'ck out when you try to take away all their cardio

Keep us up to date, vanessa! It's a very challenging program even for those who are experienced lifters!

Thank you both!

I guess I just have a case of wanting it all. I definitely will have to sit down and prioritize. I hope that like you I can eventually add things back here and there. In the end I have to decide what I'm training for.

Spioro, I appreciate you both when you are tempered and when you loose your temper. Cheers.

I've got serious knee problems myself and you'll find that working the muscles that stabilize your knees puts more of the load of your body weight into the muscles and less of it into the joints directly.  My physical therapist recommended that I do weight training to help my knees and it's been very beneficial.