The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like A Man, Look Like A Goddess, Lou Schuler, Cassandra Forsythe, and Alwyn Cosgrove (2007).

I’d seen this book mentioned on one of my SparkPeople groups, so I picked it up. The author, a former editor at Men’s Health magazine, quickly admits that he is a non-woman. The book is simply laugh-out-loud funny in some places.

The basic principle of the book is simple: women need to lift heavier weights to get the results they want. *insert much applause* If you’re a female who’s scared of the big weights or if you want validation that lifting heavy is good, then you’ll probably enjoy most of this book. This book is meant to push you off the treadmill and in to the land of iron and steel.

The other strong points in the book are:

• Ditch the “Barbie” weights. (I am so stealing that phrase.)
• Eat more calories. Most women eat too few.
• Eat more protein (at least 1 g/lb of body weight).
• Eat 5-6 smaller meals/day.
• Focus on losing fat, not just “weight”.
• Traditional cardio isn’t the only way to lose fat.
• Training “abs” (or, in modern gym-speak, “the core”) is usually goofy and counter-productive.

While this book is written by an author who also wrote the same book targeted to men, this is not simply the men’s book with feminine pronouns. The first part, especially, goes after all the excuses and myths women have heard. This book really is about women and lifting.

The first part of the book is rather long but goes in to detail to explain why women can and should lift like a man (one reason: because our muscles work the same way); it strikes down the “sculpt and tone” idiocy and other “facts” that are incorrect. This part also emphasizes that you must eat enough calories and why. Instead of losing “weight,” the focus is on losing body fat, so the discussion of measuring your progress is presented in terms of how do your clothes fit, how do you feel, how do you look, etc., instead of what the scale says.

The second part of the book shows sample meals for the 5-6 meals. A lot of the recipes added whey protein powder for extra protein. I admit that I skimmed through this second part rather quickly, but I did notice that they list an iced coffee protein shake, which is my current post-workout shake. Whoot! Also, there are small lists of decent frozen and fast food and most of the recipes look fairly easy & non-time-consuming to prepare.

The third part of the book gives the exercise plan: Workout A and Workout B, which you alternate over 3 days/week. (Just like my current lifting plan.) Squats & squat variations figure in prominently (good), and the emphasis is on whole-body movements rather than isolating muscles (also good) and on using free weights over machines. Also, the plan actually changes every few weeks to prevent your body from becoming too efficient at the exercises (also good–and reminds me, my program needs a shake-up). There are pictures to illustrate most exercises, too (I did laugh at one as I seriously see myself doing a face plant if I tried the Plank with Swiss Ball and Bench exercise:P). And, according to the author, this workout plan is harder than the one is the men’s book. Take that!

All in all, I’d recommend this book to any female who wants to look like the fitness & figure competitors–proportioned and strong.

My one complaint is that they do advocate partial squats (“curtsies,” Krista at Stumptuous calls them) but give no reason why these are supposedly better than full squats. I find that full squats put far less pressure on my knees than trying to hang halfway down, and most information I’ve read elsewhere also recommends using a full range of motion on squats.

The partial vs. full squats was also brought up in the forum. Yes, there is a forum for the book, and at least two of the authors do actually comment on the questions. Very nice addition to the book.

Especially recommended as motivation to go hit the weights =P

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Update 1/29/08: I’ve been doing NROLFW for a week now, and I love it. You can see my daily notes through my NROLFW tag.