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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74614 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

About the Author
Lou Schuler is a fitness expert and Alwyn Cosgrove specialises in strength-training expert, they both have years of expericence in the fitness industry.

Customer Reviews

Excellent
The problem with most health and fitness information is that everybody has a different opinion, and far too often none of the ones you look at seem to match up. The advantage of this new book is that it goes back to basics. It has a focus on six basic moves that will help to optimize for maximum muscle. The focus is for both beginners and for elite lifters.

Schuler and Cosgrove write with a very fluid and engaging style. Their writing not only makes you want to keep reading but to try to implement their ideas. They go through a series of techniques, exercises, programs, nutrition and life. In the end they remind us that lifting is not life, and that we need to have a balanced life.

The six core exercises they focus on are: Squat, Deadlift, Lunge, Push, Pull, Twist and Combo moves. They use these core exercises to build the core of your strength and of your routines. For each of the exercises they have a range of variations.

Lou and Alwyn have written a great fitness book. The writing is excellent, the research impeccable. The book also contains an extensive section of notes, and a great index to go back and search for something you read months ago when it comes time to make a change. This book is easy to read, easy to understand and if you're motivated, trouble-free to implement.

So if you are looking to start working out, or have been for years and need to change things up, check out this book. It has tools to help you here while at university and for the rest of your life.

The good, the bad, and the ugly.
I would use this book to add variety to my workouts, not to "re-define" basic strength training principles. Muscles get bigger and stronger by overloading them- it doesn't make a lick of difference whether its a single joint exercise (like bicep curls) or a compound one (like chins)- and there's nothing "new" in the scientific literature that contradicts this.

The only other beef I have is the recommendation to skip the back extension machine because it will blow a disc. I have never seen that happen clinically, and in fact, it has never been reported to do such a thing in ANY published clinical trial evaluating the use of the back machine with back patients. In fact, people get much BETTER after using it according to many studies (non-believers need to check out the MedX site). What I would avoid, however, are the exercises in the book that have you bend over while twisting (like the "woodchopper" ex.). It is well known that bending plus twisting cranks on your lower lumbar discs and actually it is this type of "shearing" motion that has been demonstrated to herniate the lumbar discs in many studies.

All in all, I can recommend it for a change of pace, expect nothing magical, and just be safe. Can also suggest "Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff" if you've have shoulder pain or a rotator cuff problem that's keeping you from working out.

Interesting and refreshing
This book is refreshing and interesting. The authors writting style is honest and funny. He has done plenty of research in the area and has some very experienced coleagues whom helped him write the book. He introduces the book by asking the reader to read his book with skepticism, his idea being that we will pay more attention to what he says if we read it closely to find errors or BS (bull S**t) as he calls it... It is good as he doesn't say "im going to give you the ultimate workout book, you are going to feel better about yourself, etc etc", he asks you to study closely and come to your own conclusions about what he says, and i like that.

By the way, you will feel better about yourself and have a lot more knowledge on the subject of lifting once you've read the book, and the porgramme he gives you in the book is a year long programme, which targets strength, power, fat burning and muscle growth, the programe changes every 3/4 weeks to make sure you don't get bored of doing the same routine over and over, great! It also includes nutritional information and detailed technique information on all exercises Alwyn puts in the training programme.

If you take nothing else from this book, you'll take a better knowledge about the benefits of weight training, nutrition, and how to build a training programme in general