Trying a new workout routine, from The New Rules of Lifting For Women. Now, I’ve been lifting weights for some time now, and working with a trainer, E, who’s fun as hell to train with. She and I have a ball when I train, and we’re still not sure of which of us tells filthier jokes. She loves that I love to lift big heavy things, and I love that she encourages me while keeping my knees and hips from blowing out and protecting my hinky rotator cuff. If I have one problem, it’s trying to do too much too soon.
But because I’m going back to school, my training sessions with E will soon come to an end. So she and I have been working out what I should be doing on my own, and I picked up the New Rules after reading very good reviews on Amazon. And so far, I haven’t been disappointed. E also approves, though she really doesn’t like anything like barbell squats where the bar goes anywhere near your neck.
However, since I told her I was going to go ahead and do them anyway, she agreed to spend the last few sessions with me showing me how to do them, and some of the other exercises in the program which I haven’t done, or which I’ve been doing in a different way (such as deadlifts, which I’ve been doing with straight legs while the book starts with a variation on the deadlift that has you squatting, before moving on to the straight-leg deadlift in a later phase). That way, I can try them out safely and under professional supervision.
Today was the first day I tried out a full workout from the book. Yikes! I was breathing very hard by the time I finished my step-ups, and I walked away feeling wiped out. It’s not like E doesn’t work me hard, it’s just that I’ve never done those exercises in that combination before, and because I tried things I haven’t done, or haven’t done recently, I worked all kinds of new muscles in new ways.
The goal of the program is to add muscle mass, build strength and burn fat, if necessary, due to the increased muscle mass. A lot of the advice is contrary to all the messages women get about getting in shape — for example, eat more! Stop doing so much cardio! Get more rest! Lift big heavy things!
Sadly, the book does contain reassurances that, no, you won’t get “bulky” if you lift weights over 10 pounds, because it’s hard enough for a man to put on muscle mass even with testosterone, and contains reassurances that you will *look* good. I say “sadly,” because it’s necessary to make those reassurances to women because of our cultural conditioning. Being strong isn’t enough of a goal in itself, not if you might take up space and not look good in your clothes. The author goes to some lengths to assure readers that the end result will not be mannish.
Which is kind of a shame, because the book has a hell of a lot of solid information, and includes explanations for why you should do certain things, like recover for the prescribed length of time, or eat five to six times a day, or not waste time with bicep curls.
Why should I not waste time with bicep curls? I loathe doing them, so if there’s a good reason to skip, please tell me.
Oh, that’s easy — if you are doing large-muscle exercises, such as presses, pushups, rows, etc., you’re already engaging your biceps (and your triceps) in every movement. Bodybuilders do bicep curls for extra definition, but if your goal is strength, you can work them out very well doing big moves. Same with calves, etc.: you get more than enough of a workout of your calves by doing squats and lunges, so calf raises aren’t really necessary.
About the only little muscles you should be worrying about are rotator cuffs, because they can gum up the whole works if they blow.
And the best thing about this workout is that you don’t spend forever and a day in the gym. I was in and out in less than an hour, and that included a good deal of stretching, waiting for some equipment and not knowing my way around this particular club.
Thanks! I may have to add this book to my Amazon wish list…
I’m going to have to check that book out, if I can get it from the library to test-drive it. I’ve been lifting weights off and on for years now and like it a lot.
It is really, really a shame that a modern guide would include stuff about how lifting weights won’t make you bulky and whatever. I thought that was (excuse me) fucking weird when I saw it in the XBX manuals from the 1960s (”This conditioning program won’t give you visible muscles!” et cetera), but now?! Bizarre.
Also, halfway full of shit for some people, at least. When I went back to lifting after quite a long hiatus, I went from being a flabby size 11 to a lean-and-mean 14. I’ve even got abdominal muscle definition showing up, and that’s never happened before, even when I was 19 and wore a size 9. Yes, weight lifting just might bulk you up. You may even find that you look slimmer and weigh more. Oh noes! My clothes also do look better, but they are, let’s face it, bigger clothes.
Also, am I the only woman in the world who’s really not freaked out by the idea of taking up space? I like being basically the same size as a lot of men are, and what I like even better about that is that on them, it reads as “slight” and on me, it reads as “burly.” I think that’s great. I like being physically intimidating. For one thing, it means that men seldom pull space-based domination routines on me (like the “you’re going to acknowledge my presence by moving for me on the sidewalk” thing). More strength, less aggro, what’s not to like about bulk?
Zuzu, late to the thread: I bought the book. It looks good but I was disappointed by all the diet-and-philosophy stuff that fills the first half. I just want to lift weights correctly. Oh well, self-help books are always padded! Any advice on how to kick off the New Rules regimen without hiring a trainer? I’m probably not alone in lacking the cash for one now.
Hi Unree,
If you know someone who’s into weightlifting, you can ask them to show you. But I thought the directions in the book were pretty clear, so if you follow them carefully — and make sure that you pay attention to stuff like keeping your abs tight and not rounding your back or shoulders.
The two exercises in the first stage you really, really have to watch your form on are the squat and the deadlift, because if you don’t control the bar and make sure you’re engaging your core/keeping your back straight and your shoulder blades pinched back, you can hurt yourself. But you can always practice those with a body bar or dumbbells to make sure you have the form right before you start with the serious stuff.
And don’t discount the diet stuff, especially the part about getting enough calories and protein. I might just be a little freaked out about finding out that when my cat was sick with pancreatitis and hadn’t been eating, her body started stealing protein from her blood, but I want to make sure I have enough protein so something like that doesn’t happen.
Thank you, Zuzu. And thanks for posting about the need to take in food–I breezed right past those pages, thinking they didn’t apply to me. Now I see they apply to every reader. At least everyone needs to take a look.