The New Rules of Lifting for Women

This review was written by Angela R. Cubos, DC

The New Rules of Lifting for Women
Lou Schuler with Cassandra Forsythe
New York, NY
Penguin Group (USA)
258 pages

Tired of doing the same old routine in the weight-room?  Not getting the most out of your workouts?  Still stepping on the scale and seeing the same number as before?  As the old saying goes: “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll continue to get the results you’ve always got.”  Ready for a change?  Then this book is for you.

The New Rules of Lifting for Women, by Lou Schuler, is a book designed for the woman looking to gain a deeper understanding of effective training methods in order to transform her body composition to meet her training goals.
Author Lou Schuler highlights many common myths prevalent within the female weight-lifting community, which are contributing to a lack of results despite hours of training. Using humorous examples of the various training deficiencies he has observed over the years ("unless you're an extreme genetic outlier, you can't get too bulky!"), he educates the reader on the most effective way she should be training if she aspires to “look like a goddess”.

The book is comprised of three parts. Part 1, Behind the Cover Lines, builds a foundation for the rest of the chapters by educating the reader on the benefits of effective strength training.  Part 2, You Aren’t What You Don’t Eat, contains invaluable information on proper nutrition for strength-training women, to aid in the weight-loss process, complete with detailed recipes and meal plans.  Finally, part 3, Resistance is Vital, contains a detailed, progressive training program complete with pictures and exercise descriptions, based upon the information presented in the preceding chapters.

I found this book motivational and encouraging, as it makes the reader feel empowered to take command of her own workouts.  The workout programs are laid out step-by-step for six months, and contain a balance of both challenging, yet familiar exercises, while the nutritional section contains tasty, healthy recipes that go beyond grilled chicken with steamed vegetables.  Overall, a must read – before your next workout!

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