The New Rules of Lifting for Women: A Beginner’s Guide to Strength Training for Women Over 50
The New Rules of Lifting for Women is simply the best book out there for beginning a strength training routine, no matter your age. But if you’re over 50, you can’t go wrong!
Back when I was younger, I mostly ran for my fitness. I wore what I believe was the very first Nike running shoe made just for women, the Nike Senorita Cortez. I was 19 or so at the time, so this was quite a while ago!
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Strength training, or what I think I would have called “body building” never entered my mind.
That was something Joe Weider or the up and coming Arnold Schwarzenegger did. It was for dudes, right?
But let’s fast forward 30+ years. My life had dramatically changed for a number of reasons, and I found myself reading lots of books and magazines about strength training.
I bought a few dumbbells and began doing bicep curls and a few other exercises.
Then lo and behold, some muscles started showing up and I was hooked!
I fully believe in strength training, as it is beneficial in so many ways. Strength training can:
- Build sexy muscle
- Turn back the clock on osteoporosis
- Burn fat
- Make you stronger
- Give you a lean, tight body
- Reduce the effects of aging
This book, The New Rules of Lifting for Women will not steer you wrong. Especially if you are a relative beginner.
It is no-nonsense, with plans for six months of progressive workouts.
The layout can be a bit confusing, but I found a resource online with charts that makes it easier.
I have those little flag post-it things to mark the relevant pages for each move to do.
Why Should You Lift Like a Man?
This chapter delves into the facts and myths we have all read or heard about–that lifting like a man will lead to bulk and hideous-looking bodies. It also tells us that:
- We lift weights to build muscle
- Muscle is hard to build (hence the no bulky bodies)
- It takes hard work!
- We must lift successively heavier weight
- Sometimes you have to break rules
- You can’t necessarily have a body like (insert hot person’s name here)
This is really a very important chapter, and one of the reasons I think this book is fabulous. There is no “secret formula,” no promise that you can look like whatever famous person you want to look like.
But you certainly can be the best you IF you put in the work. Yes, you still have to put in the work.
We also learn in this chapter that women’s and men’s muscles are essentially the same.
Several studies have shown that, “…There is no evidence that women should train differently [from how men do].”
In other words, lose the Barbie dumbbells!
What’s The Best Tool For Fat Loss?
Good question, and if you’ve been anywhere near a fitness magazine in the past few years, you have learned that what is commonly called “endurance exercise” is not the best way to lose fat.
Examples of this sort of exercise are long-distance running, hanging out on a treadmill or elliptical machine for an hour, or taking an aerobics class that keeps you in your “fat burning zone.”
Those workouts are not necessarily bad, and if you love your hour (or more) long runs on the weekend, go ahead and keep doing them.
But if you’re looking for the fastest and most efficient way to lose fat and gain muscle definition, weights are your best bet, along with high intensity, but shorter cardio workouts.
This Means Intervals, Also Known As HIIT.
That stands for High Intensity Interval Training, and it’s tough for sure, but it doesn’t last forever. Plus, the intensity is what is intense for you.
You may be just beginning, and a brisk walk for one minute makes you almost keel over with breathlessness. That’s okay. You begin where you begin, and you just get better from there.
Oh, and for those of you who have not exercised ever, or in zillions of years, there is a section in chapter 12 that gives alternatives to intervals.
What About Diet?
You didn’t think there would be no mention of diet, right? After all, as they say, “you can’t out-exercise a bad diet.”
Dieting in the traditional sense isn’t fun. Most people don’t like to feel hungry, and like a variety of foods.
Related Post: The Diets Don’t Work Myth Exposed
Vegetables may not be your jam. They aren’t mine either, and I either have to force myself to eat them, or find some crafty way to get them into my food.
When I was much younger, I could eat tuna melts dripping with cheese and Haagen Dasz ice full-fat ice cream, and then run a bunch and be okay.
That ship sailed long ago.
The New Rules Of Lifting For Women was written in 2007 (paperback 2009) and at that time protein was the king (about 30% of calories), and fat and carbs are no longer the bad guys (yay!).
Of course, I (and the book) are talking about people with no special medical issues.
The protein issue is hotly contested, but this book does promote the 30% number. I read a lot about nutrition, and I’ve been through a lot of different trends in food composition over the years.
I gravitate more toward a plant-based ideal myself, which would generally mean a lot less protein than this (people like John McDougall recommend far lower percentages than this).
However, there are several schools of thought that aren’t fringe and I believe this is one of them.
I personally think 30% protein is high, but I’m not a doctor or registered nutritionist, just a well-read and interested person, so you need to make your own informed decision about this.
I do have a lot of reading suggestions on the subject, however, if you so choose to indulge.
In any case, the diet advice in the book is basic but thorough.
It includes specific nutritional advice, along with meal plans, and ways to figure out how many calories per day you need based on your current weight and body mass and your activity level.
One more thing I believe is contested as well is the “eat 6 meals a day” advice.
As long as you don’t eat 6 full-on meals in one day, if you feel better spreading out your intake over several meals, by all means go ahead.
But it’s a myth that you’ll lose more, or keep your metabolism “revved” by eating more frequently.
A study published by the Obesity Journal concluded, “that eating less frequently may be more helpful than eating more frequently for weight loss.”
What About The Weightlifting?
The next section finally gets to the meat of the book. Don’t let that term “lifting” scare you.
You do not have to do any of this in a gym if you don’t want to. I don’t use a gym and I don’t plan to.
You can do all these things (with a little bit of adaptation here and there) at home.
Yes, you will need some dumbbells, or bands, and perhaps a barbell (recommended, but not absolutely necessary).
A sturdy “plyo” box (we make them!), and a Swiss ball are great additions.
This New Rules Of Lifting For Women focuses on free weights, as opposed to machines, which is one of the reasons it’s perfect for doing at home.
This section goes into great detail on how many workout sessions you should do each week, how each exercise helps you, how to warm up, and so much more.
You learn exactly how to do each and every exercise, and if you cannot figure it out from the picture, you can always google the specific exercise and see a video on how to do it properly.
See below for a Youtube example of a dumbbell front squat.
Alternatively, you can go to Jefit and get a complete Phase 1 program and download to your phone!
In addition, the book gives advice on how to select the right weight, and how to keep a training log (very important).
The next section on the actual workouts and how to combine them, gets a bit complicated, which is why I was glad to have found the online workout forms mentioned above.
I’m not saying someone else couldn’t have figured it out more easily, but everyone is klutzy in some way…
Suffice it to say that the exercise section is super-detailed.
Bottom Line
I don’t think I could recommend The New Rules of Lifting for Women more highly. It is that good. If you are serious about getting into shape, this is an excellent place to start.
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