The New Rules of Lifting: Six Basic Moves for Maximum Muscle
by Lou Schuler, Alwyn Cosgrove
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Book Summary Information
Author: Alwyn Cosgrove, Lou SchulerEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-12-29
ISBN: 1583332383
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Avery
Book Reviews of The New Rules of Lifting: Six Basic Moves for Maximum Muscle
Book Review: "New Rules" revolutionized my workout - but took some time to sink in.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been lifting weights in my local gym for about 2 years - doing circuits of the nautilus and cybex weight stack machines. I had been plateaued for a while and wanted a better understanding of which moves work which muscles, how to use the machines to best advantage, proper form etc... I bought "The New Rules of Lifting" looking for a basic guide and what I got was different from what I was expecting. The New Rules is an attempt to shake things up and it attacks a host of standard wisdoms - such as the importance of cardio exercise (your body will choose to adapt slow twitch muscles for cardio over fast twich for power - reducing your power gains) and stretching (stretching is necessary - but it's not about increasing flexibility beyond your usual range). The 'New Rules' also include an eye opening "no machines" rule. Lou Schuler writes the copy and Alwyn Cosgrove cooks up the exercises and the routines. In place of muscle isolating machine exercises, "New Rules" emphasizes free weight exercises that work whole groups of muscles while replicating commonly used movements in the six major movement categories: push, pull, bend, lunge, twist, and walk/run. There are relatively few major exercises listed - but a bunch of variations and supersets and combinations. The routines are mixed to form a whole year of constantly changing routines. I was looking for a guide to how to do standard gym sitting down machine based exercises Schuler/Cosgrove gave me an iconoclastic attack on that whole culture. I read it (and read a few other workout books - such as Schuler's other major book "Men's Health: The Book of Muscle" (with Ian King)) and let it sink in. I wasn't ready to abandon my routine. I also felt a bit leery of doing major free weight work without a lot of practice. I started trying out the moves at home, with minimal weight on the bar. Once I gained a little confidence I started doing it at the gym. Wow.
Starting any new routine gives you results, but this was something more. The classic exercises emphasized in "New Rules" (the squat, lunges, dead lift, good morning, lat row, Russian twist, bench press, military push, pullup (or lat pulldown) really do get whole groups of muscles worked at one time. Cosgrove has sweated the details with the routines - with some wonderful instructions on varying the timing, doing supersets, combo movements, and moving through periods of lower weight/higher reps; higher weight/lower reps; less weight and explosive movements. The rationale for each stage is well argued in the text.
Despite having a lot of old fashioned exercises, this isn't a traditional routine. There are no biceps isolating exercises (or almost none). You'll end up doing moves that few others in the gym are doing. I'm only a month into the first program so I can't say definitively that this is brilliance - but I there's no debating that my whole approach to weights has been transformed. For me the biggest revelations were:
1) balance work on each side of a joint (maybe obvious to some - but awareness of this was huge for me). For example - if you do work on the "push" side (like a bench press) you must do equal work on the "pull" side of the same joint (shoulder) (i.e. rows/lat pulls). I really notice this whole issue now and I feel much better for it.
2) emphasize the largest muscles groups. That means that squats, dead lifts, lunges, and good mornings are the bread and butter. I used to work the upper body more than the lower - now I achieve a much better balance. I really feel it - especially with climbing stairs and biking. It feels good.
3) put the twist motion on equal footing with the other major motions. In the past abdominal work meant crunches. Now I'm putting much more emphasis on twisting motions and my waist has tightened up and my back feels better (even with the low-back scary dead lifts).
I had been looking for a book on how to optimize the weight lifting regimen I already know and this book demanded I scrap almost everything I did. I didn't want to hear it at first. Now that I've given it a try it has revolutionized my understanding of how to work my body and how to use free weights. I feel I'm working out whole areas of my body more efficiently in a shorter time. I've also been able to grab a few ad-hoc workouts outside the gym (like the time early morning I had a half hour alone at the train platform and used my heavy knapsack to do squats, lunges, militaries, explosive pushups, and rows to get a near full body workout. This might not have occurred to me in my "machine" lifting phase. Highly recommended for weight lifting folks looking to take it to the next level and shake things up.
Two significant observations: 1) Lou Schuler writing is engaging - but he doesn't vary the story much among his various books. His chapters on basic wisdom and physiology are essentially identical in the 3 books of his that I've read (Men's Health: Home Workout Bible and Men's Health: The Book of Muscle). What's different in each of these books is that he's paired with a different trainer who emphasizes different exercises (or specifies that a given exercise be done in a slightly different way) and there's different plans. I like "Men's Health: Book of Muscle" a lot and wouldn't say that I'd necessarily recommend New Rules over it - but I've chosen to work "New Rules" first and I can vouch for it. "Book of Muscle" has a lot more exercises and a more conventional muscle isolating point of view (although it's mostly free weights too).
2) I got the Kindle version and this is one of those books you should buy on paper. The workout regimens are tables of data that are presented as small and difficult to read pictures on Kindle. You'll want to make photocopies of the workouts to take to the gym. With the Kindle version you can't do that - you must transpose the workouts yourself. You still get all the info - but you give yourself more work with the Kindle version if you're really going to work the plans.
More The New Rules of Lifting: Six Basic Moves for Maximum Muscle reviews:
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