Lou's Books
The New Rules of Lifting for Women
In The New Rules of Lifting for Women, authors Lou Schuler, Cassandra Forsythe, and Alwyn Cosgrove present a comprehensive strength, conditioning, and nutrition plan destined to...
The New Rules of Lifting
Ten unique programs for fat loss, muscle gain, and strength improvement for beginners and elite lifters. Want to get more out of your workout and spend less...
The Book of Muscle
The World's Most AUTHORITATIVE Guide to Building Your Body You probably know a lot about building muscle. You know which curl is the best for your biceps,...
The Testosterone Advantage Plan
Wide shoulders, narrow waist, thick chest, muscular arms and legs: today's male ideal physique is the same as that of ancient Greece. Aerobics and the Food...
The Home Workout Bible
Get bigger biceps, broad shoulders, a bigger bench press, powerful legs, cut abs . . . without ever leaving your home! The body you want, in the space...
Built For Show
No-nonsense workouts to build a lean, strong, eye-catching physique. Every young, single guy is looking for an edge, some way to get single women his age to...
Huge In A Hurry
Men's Health Huge in a Hurry will add inches to your muscles and increase your strength, with noticeable results quickly, no matter how long you've been...
Biopix
For no particular reason, my wife and I have watched a string of biopics the past couple of weeks -- Capote, Walk the Line, Ray, and Frida.
A few things I learned:
* If your brother dies when you're young, you will become addicted to drugs. Weirdly, this was a major part of both Ray and Walk the Line.
* If you feel bad about yourself because you know that, deep down inside, you're a lying sack of shit, you will become an alcoholic. Befriending and ultimately selling out the murderers of In Cold Blood is what ultimately turns Truman Capote's career into a long exercise in drunken self-parody, according to Capote.
* If your husband sleeps with your sister, you will become an alcoholic and a drug addict, and eventually get your leg amputated. All this and more happens to Frida Kahlo in Frida, although she does get a smidgen of revenge when she sleeps with exiled commie Leon Trotsky.
* If you kick drugs, the rest of your life will work out fine. Ray and Walk the Line both end in the 1960s, with the heroes finally drug-free. The final three decades of their lives don't matter, because they've kicked drugs.
* Conversely, if you don't kick drugs, your entire life is noteworthy, and the biopic will show you up until your final days. Kahlo is the only one of the four movie subjects who gets a death scene.
* But if you're an alcoholic, like Capote, it's enough to just mention that you'll spend the rest of your life as a drunk, and leave it at that.
* People on drugs have great sex lives.
* If you're gay, you don't get to have a sex life, unless you're a bisexual woman, like Kahlo. Then you have more sex than all the other biodepicted characters combined. Seriously: I can't remember the last time I saw a movie with as much sex as Frida. Youthful sex, passionate sex, lesbian sex, revenge-with-a-commie sex ...
* If Truman Capote wanted to have sex, he should've been on drugs instead of alcohol. It would've helped to be straight, too, or at least bisexual.
* Unless you're addicted to drugs or alcohol, no one will ever make a movie about your life. Sorry, but rules are rules.
The Rundown
Lou Schuler is an award-winning fitness journalist and author. He began this weblog on menshealth.com in September 2003. If, for any reason, you need to know more about this middle-aged, bald-headed man, click here.
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Comments For This Entry
Posted by The New Rules of Lifting for Women at 03:06AM on March 04, 2009
I have bought the abovementioned book and I am totally confused on how to work out, the work-outs. I'm still not sure how to record on the blog page for a workout, do one choose certain execrcises or do you only use workouts set on pages 154 to 156.
My problem is do you only start with workout 1 and all the exercises below for a few weeks and then move on to Workout 2 - 6 or do I have to choose randomly, from each workout 1-6? Now you can see why I am so confused.
Please Help me to do it correctly?
Thank you
Jacky
Posted by Grant Miller at 11:58PM on March 31, 2009
Lou,
I bought and read your book and loved it. However, I, like many others, have been taught similar squatting techniques as outlined in your book. However, I was given an article recently by a personal trainer who has CHEK qualifications like Alywn. It advocates going through the full range of motion ( i.e. letting you hamstrings touch your calf musles) when squatting. The article, called how to perform a squat, can be found at http://www.tonyboutagy.com/articles.html. I would be very interested in your views on the article.
Regards,
Grant
from Australia
Posted by Kristie at 09:54AM on April 13, 2009
Hey Lou,
I have begun the workouts that are outlined in the book, "The New Rules of Lifting for Women". I was wondering in stage one do you only recommend doing 2 sets of 15 or would you do more?
Also I was needing to know, on the stages 2 through 7, you say to do each workout four times a piece. Does this mean 4 reps of 15 or does that mean something else?
Thanks,
Kristie
Posted by amber at 03:14PM on April 16, 2009
I was just wondering if this plan will work for someone with no gym access but a home gym and what equipment I would need to have...I have a weider gym set up and an elliptical as well as some dumbells already. I just need to know if I can do this before I buy, as I con't go to a gym. Thanks!
Posted by megan rokos at 10:02AM on April 22, 2009
Just got done readying the New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women. Started Stage 1 on Monday. I have been weight training for two years. Have been doing 5 day splits, working a different body part each day (4 sets of 6 different exercises per day) and 5-6 days of 35-45 minutes of cardio. I did many of the exercises outlined in the book. Would love to cut down my time in the gym and maitain results but am worried that cutting down to 3 days of weight training per week and limiting cardio will have negative effects. thoughts?
also, should i continue to do 4 sets of each of your exercises or just 2 sets as it states?
Posted by steve at 09:32AM on May 04, 2009
Lou,
Just finished your book New Rules of Lifting and have a question. (sorry of this is not the right blog). I especially liked the way you explain clean eating and proper diets. I see that you also meantion protein supplements. Yet, you did not meantion Creatine. Is Creatine necessary to build mass and muscles? What is your take?
Thanks,
Steve
Posted by stephanie at 09:48AM on May 11, 2009
Hello -I am a new Kindle user and bought your book. I wish I had found you sooner. I am excited to get started however, in Kindle format I am hoping there is somehwere I can go to get the workout in downloadable format. I also was looking for a training log. Great technology but this may be one of its limitations. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by Jeff Bissonnette at 12:14PM on May 11, 2009
Lou,
Both New rules books are the best things I've ever read in my 23 years in the fitness industry. If you get a second, take a look at the website I created. It's all free. I put it out there for other club owners. I would love to hear your thoughts on what I have to say in there and how the program works. We can "quibble" about my exercise selection later!!
Posted by Stacey Ostrowski at 01:49PM on June 18, 2009
I would like to get started on the workouts but I'm confused on how it goes. On page 140 of New Rules.....Women, it says workouts 1, 2, next line is workouts 3, 4, etc. What does the 1,2,3,4 etc stand for? Week 1, Week 2? It's probably right in front of me but I can't seem to get it. I would really like to get started doing this. Especially after reading all the reviews on Amazon. I started Weight Watchers in November 2008 and I have lost 72.2#. I have been working out and I thought your book would really help. I look forward to hearing from you ~ Stacey
Posted by Shelly Davis at 07:32AM on June 22, 2009
I would like to get started on the workouts but I'm confused on how it goes. On page 140 of New Rules.....Women, it says workouts 1, 2, next line is workouts 3, 4, etc. What does the 1,2,3,4 etc stand for? Week 1, Week 2? It's probably right in front of me but I can't seem to get it. I would really like to get started doing this. Especially after reading all the reviews on Amazon. I started Weight Watchers in November 2008 and I have lost 72.2#. I have been working out and I thought your book would really help. I look forward to hearing from you
I just cut and pasted Stacey's question because I am confused like her. I am not getting what is meant by 1,2...3,4...5,6...etc. Look forward to getting started once I know how.
Posted by Lou Schuler at 07:51AM on June 22, 2009
Hi everyone,
Sorry it took so long to get to this thread. I've been insanely busy for the past few months, so I haven't been answering emails or responding to threads.
A few notes:
1. I'm utterly astounded that this is how people find me. Does Googling some combination of "Lou Schuler" and "New Rules of Lifting for Women" bring you to this thread? I wrote this three years ago on a completely different version of louschuler.com, but it seems to be the landing place for a lot of people interested in information about my books.
2. There's an entire forum at jpfitness.com dedicated to NROL for Women:
http://forums.jpfitness.com/forumdisplay.php?f=86
3. Within that forum, there's a thread for frequently asked questions:
http://forums.jpfitness.com/showthread.php?t=35760
4. And within that thread, this exact question is answered:
http://forums.jpfitness.com/new-rules-lifting-women/29198-i-must-having-huge-brainfart.html
Thanks for your patience, and I hope you find everything you need there.
Posted by Shelly Davis at 08:10AM on June 22, 2009
Thanks Lou!! I think I finally get it!! Looking forward to getting started.
Posted by Bev at 10:56AM on June 26, 2009
My turn...I am very excited to get started, but I am very confused and do not know where to start.
on page 138 stage 1 workout A
Do we do all 4 squat versions for workout 1,2,3,and 4 and then alternate sets for all the push-up variations for B1 workout 1,2,3, and 4 with the seated row B2 workouts 1,2,3.
I'm sorry, but I do not know where to start. Please reply.
Posted by Bev at 08:07AM on June 27, 2009
Hi Lou,
You can disregard my question I reviewed your note posted on 6/22/09 and with the help of the previous bloggers I now understand.
Posted by Bev at 08:07AM on June 27, 2009
Hi Lou,
You can disregard my question I reviewed your note posted on 6/22/09 and with the help of the previous bloggers I now understand.
Posted by Bev at 08:07AM on June 27, 2009
Hi Lou,
You can disregard my question I reviewed your note posted on 6/22/09 and with the help of the previous bloggers I now understand.
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