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| New Rules of Lifting: Six Basic Moves for Maximum Muscle | 
 enlarge | Authors: Lou Schuler, Alwyn Cosgrove
Publisher: Avery
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $14.35
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Avg. Customer Rating:  65 reviews
Sales Rank: 4374
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 7.6 x 1.3
ISBN: 1583332383
Dewey Decimal Number: 613.713
EAN: 9781583332382
ASIN: 1583332383
Publication Date: December 29, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Absolutely Brand New & In Stock. 100% 30-Day Money Back. Direct from our warehouse. Ships by USPS. 1+ million customers served-In business since 1986. Happy Customers is Our #1 Goal. Toll Free Support
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Product Description
A revolutionary method of weight lifting using today's science for maximum results.
In The New Rules of Lifting, fitness guru Lou Schuler and strength-training expert Alwyn Cosgrove boil down the most recent findings on weight lifting and fitness to create a program of workouts that focuses on the movements at which the body naturally excels. These six "real-life" movements-squat, bend, lunge, push, pull, and twist-compose three complete programs for three distinct goals: fat loss, muscle gain, and strength improvement.
At home or at the gym, these routines can be mixed and matched for a year's worth of workouts that will keep boredom at bay and lifters challenged long after most plans have called it quits. And while coordinated, useful muscles will always turn heads at the beach, they'll also help you live better and longer. Besides providing comprehensive workout programs, The New Rules of Lifting covers much-needed background on aspects of lifting that are often overlooked, like warming up, nutrition, and meal planning. Throughout, Schuler and Cosgrove debunk strength-training myths, troubleshoot dangerous pitfalls, and clearly illustrate moves with black-and-white photographs.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 60 more reviews...
 LIFT WEIGHTS!!! July 19, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I recently bought their other book "New Rules of Lifting for Women" and decided that I needed this one as well since I am a Personal Trainer. I like how they bring it back down to the basic classics that have worked for centuries. Power lifting is the original functional training. And with all these crazy fads its nice to see some good common sense advice. These moves maybe classics but they are combined with modern knowledge to show why they are effective and how this kind of lifting is best.
 nothing more than a set of workouts June 12, 2008
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
I may be biased because I bought it expecting it to be something other than what it turned out to be, but this is the first strength training book I have ever actually purchased, and I will definitely be more hesitant before buying another one. I thought this book was going to be a textbook introduction to basics-first training. that it definitely is not. if you like chatty writing, you might like his writing style. personally, I find it annoying when I have to wade through ten pages of witty asides to get a paragraphs worth of information. if you are a complete beginner you might get something out of the first couple chapters, but you could read all that stuff[...].
about halfway into the book, schuler says "really I could just stop now and give you the workouts that my co-author came up with, but then you would be disappointed because you thought you were buying a book." the truth is, that's basically what he did. aside from the several dozen workouts, the book is worthless.
schuler is a magazine writer and it shows. the book has all the showboating, flare and lack of substance of a men's journal article. he also shows a blindness to the niceties of scientific research that is so typical of magazine writers.
the chapters on "diet" and "technique" (which contain only two things that actually resemble techniques) are nothing more than whimsical justifications of schuler's biases on certain subjects, backed up with references to studies whose flaws are evident just from schuler's explanations. one study, which forms the basis for shculer's entire argument about cardio, exclusively used men from a rural welsh village as subjects. nevermind the hundreds of other studies about cardio, done with proper controls, that contradict schuler's pet peeve. in the section on diet, we are told that diet soda must be okay for you because the author drinks so much of it, and that ice cream is okay because it has milk in it.
despite schuler's assurance that his book will teach us proper lifting form, that subject, which should form the basis of the book, is consigned to a few pages in the exercise section. and they are far from perfect. the guy in the squat photos is holding the bar wrong, doesn't have his feet turned out enough, and has his neck hyperextended. the deadlift sections doesn't explain that you are supposed to keep the bar within an inch of your shins once you start the lift. the section on lunges doesn't tell you how widely spaced your feet should be, or what the angle of your torso should be in the lower position.
the lack of discussion of proper form combined with the variety of exercises seems tantamount to an encouraging beginning lifters to go out and try anything they read about regardless of whether they understand the physics or body mechanics involved. and for a book supposedly about "basics first' training, some of the lifts are dangerous in the extreme (e.g. standing row, quarter squat), arcane (e.g. towel biceps curl, barbell reverse-grip bent-over row), or even downright silly (e.g. "bulgarian split deadlift," mixed grip lat pull).
I'm sorry but I don't believe it's necessary for beginners, or anyone, to learn all these different movements. perfecting just the squat and the bench press could keep you busy for years.
since the workouts are the only real content in this book, they must be the bottom line in determining the books value. but I don't really know how to rate them. I am not a strength training expert and I haven't done them. what I do know is that I am not going to spend a year of my life finding out whether they are as pointless as the rest of this book.
 Recommended for the 'General Fitness' crowd June 10, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
PRO:
This book covers pretty much everything any casual gym enthusiast could want to know about training. It includes sample programs for gaining muscle, losing fat and getting stronger, as well as nutritional information to help you accomplish these goals, and exercise illustrations.
In a nutshell the authors' message is that you can train your entire body using 6 basic movements: Pushing, Pulling, Twisting, Squatting, Dead lifting and Lunging. For each of these basic movements there are several variations, but they are almost exclusively "compound exercises" (meaning multi-joint exercises) which are time efficient and allow you to use many different muscles with few exercises.
Also:
-The nutritional information is solid but relatively basic (they don't go into some of the fancier topics like calorie or carbohydrate cycling; nor do they discuss contest preparation if that stuff interests you)
-Exercise illustrations are sufficient and don't consume the majority of the book's pages like many fitness books do.
CON:
By far the biggest drawback to this book is that you probably won't be able to follow the programs specifically as written if you train at a busy commercial gym. I would say that about +90% of the sets listed in the programs have you alternating between at least two (sometimes four) exercises. For example: Squats with Bench Press, or Shoulder Press with Cable Rows. While the reasons for the pairings are sound (time management, longer rest periods compared to straight sets, improved conditioning from dense workouts) I think they fall under the category of "Fitness Porn Fantasy". One of the two authors owns a gym which I'm certain he's designed to accommodate this style of training and, I'm guessing, probably most of the folks who train there must follow similar programs which could make them more understanding of the equipment hogging this program requires; but of the 6 gyms I've trained at over the years I think it would be very difficult, or at the very least stressful, to pull off.
Also:
- The exercise descriptions that accompany the pictures are somewhat bare bones.
- If you like a lot of single joint exercises like bicep curls, triceps cable extensions, or calve raises; you'll be disappointed with the programs because they are essentially void of them.
TARGET AUDIENCE:
-Anyone looking to improve their general fitness, increase lean body mass and reduce body fat; but aren't looking to become bodybuilders.
-Anyone with 45-75 minutes to train 3-4 times per week
-And preferably anyone who trains in an empty gym.
Worth the price June 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I originally checked this out at the library. The workouts were so effective, that I bought the book, and my wife purchased New Rules of Lifting for Women.
Great ideas, sensible workouts-NOT for those seeking traditional bodybuilding books May 12, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is not for those looking for a traditional bodybuilding workouts that isolate body parts. It is for people who want to work out smarter, train like athletes, and work out like your body was intended to move. I've never had such killer workouts with such amazing results! The book contains a limited amount of actual written workouts but they give you so many ideas on how to put together quality training days that it won't be long til you're a pro at it. I also own "New Rules of Lifting for Women," and it is even better. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a change in the way they approach the gym--men or women. Lou Schuler is not only an entertaining author, but he along with Alwyn Cosgrove have put together a wealth of information that makes perfect sense and won't waste your time.
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