House construction

Just read the core of this book and I am now sketching out plans on how I am going to take it into the gym. As a fan of the original New Rules of Lifting, I think this is a very nice face lift. The main changes that I’ve noticed from the original is that many of the “why” questions that weren’t addressed have been tackled now. Lou Schuler goes into the specifics about why things work and tries to convince you why it would be beneficial to follow these programs.

In the the original NROL, the reader was given lots of workouts that addressed your goals. In this refresh, the reader now has the ability to customize workouts to a much greater degree. Instead of being told “do a Bulgarian Split-Squat” for example, you can now choose to select from a group of exercises that you feel would be best suited for you, and incorporate that into your workout. Different exercises are ranked by varying difficulties, so you know what you’re getting into.

Another change I like is that there is now a very detailed section about warm-up and cool-down. In the previous version, I was always at a loss about how to begin and end my workouts. This gives me a nice structure for developing my training regiment.

While I haven’t yet tried out the new workouts presented here (but will do so in the next couple trips to the gym), I have great hopes for them. I will post an update after putting them to use. I loved the original NROL because it got me moving and working in a way that made a lot of sense. Instead of simply using the machines and doing bicep curls, the original book got me doing more work that really targeted my body as a whole and were much more effective and efficient than anything else I’ve tried. I’m looking forward to continuing to be the guy doing deadlifts and squats while everyone else in the weight room are doing curls, and having much better results.

As a guy who lost 15% of my body fat using the original NROL, I’m really happy with this book. I was a little skeptical at first, since I didn’t know what they could address that wasn’t in the first book, but I really did find a lot of value in this version.

This book is great for those who want to do strength training, but get utterly confused or intimidated when they walk into the free weights section of their gym.

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UPDATE: February 2013
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So I’ve just completed the first program in this book “Basic Training I” and this evening I’m going to do my first workout in the “Basic Training II” series. My experience so far has been very good. I find that following the program gives me a decent total body fitness routine that leaves my heart pumping and the sweat dripping. My one criticism so far is that using this book is very time-consuming. Designing my first program, with selecting my own exercises, took about 45 minutes. Then after the first week, I had to make some adjustments to which exercises I was using. It probably wasn’t until the third or fourth session that I felt like I had a routine that fit me well. Each workout also takes me a little over a hour in the gym to complete, so if you’re short on time, I could definitely see that you won’t get through everything you planned. Finally, two last minor criticisms are that I feel that the part of the programs dedicated to pure core training is a little sparse, but I adjusted by adding one or two extra exercises during my routine to that section. I also tried one of the variations recommended in the book, an exercise I’ve never done before, and ending up tweaking my knee a little bit performing “Cross Over Step Ups”. Knee tendons were sore for about a week, and I haven’t done the cross-over variation since. Live and Learn.

Overall, I remain happy with this book, and maintain the 4* rating. I feel like I can definitely get solid workouts with these programs that are more geared towards my goals (higher-intensity exercise to lose fat, get leaner, and maintain muscle). They are fun, and the fact that you select your own exercises makes you feel like you have more control in your gym time. As a final note about the time-commitment, When I was planning my “Basic Training II” workouts, it took only about 15 min to map out everything since I was more experienced using the book.

I still recommend this book if you are looking to get started in a new effective strength training regiment.

I really liked the original book in this series. In that book, he gives priceless knowledge that no other book gives and had some good workout routines. In this book, he does add a few more bits of knowledge, but not very much more. In this book, he tries to do something which is very nice in concept; instead of just giving a workout routine, he has a formula for custom designing it yourself, depending on your goals. Its a real pain to keep flipping through the book and searching for the routine you had to put together yourself. I find the stretching and warmup to be inadequate, though he does have a couple of great ones. It drives me insane that almost every other sentence he refers to “Alwyn says this, says that .. ” … Nothing is from him for the workout, its all third party workout knowledge. The good thing though and what this and his other book is good for is the general “rules” or “knowledge” or “myths” of how to work out and say motivated. Thats priceless and worth the book. The other good thing is he does emphasis the best and most optimal exercises like the squat. But one of the big problems is that this can be very dangerous. After reading his book, and trying to follow it perfectly, I went to a personal trainer who showed many things wrong with my form. This book, in my opinion and experience, is inadequate and dangerous for the beginner. Read “starting strength” by Mark Rippetoe. It is night and day about how to do a squat. And you feel you get trained by a personal trainer. This book is more of a muscle head giving you third hand training from his own personal trainer. I would definitely recommend reading his first book, and even some of the workout routines. But then seeing a personal trainer so you can do it safely and correctly, and to tell the trainer your preferences that you will learn. This book adds only a little to the first book, is a real pain to keep flipping through in the gym to remember the routines and pre-workout (which is too limited), and the amount of info here to teach you correct form while being absolutely correct and has the most vital pieces of information, its not enough and dangerous. Again see “starting strength”