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The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess by Lou Schuler and Cassandra Forsythe and Alwyn Cosgrove cover

The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess

by Lou Schuler and Cassandra Forsythe and Alwyn Cosgrove

$11.41 on AmazonRead our full review

At a glance

First published2009
AudienceAdult
ISBN1583333398

About the Author

Lou Schuler and Cassandra Forsythe and Alwyn Cosgrove

1 book reviewed

The New Rules of Lifting for Women

Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess

by Lou Schuler and Cassandra Forsythe and Alwyn Cosgrove

LuvemBooks Verdict

Best for: Women who are ready to commit to strength training as their primary modality and want a single, research-backed resource covering programming, conditioning, and nutrition — with a direct, no-nonsense voice rather than aspirational lifestyle framing.

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The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess by Lou Schuler, Cassandra Forsythe, and Alwyn Cosgrove makes a direct, research-backed case that strength training — not aerobics — is the real foundation for fat loss and a fit, strong body, packaging that argument into a comprehensive six-month program covering lifting, conditioning, and nutrition. The authors' credentials (Forsythe's exercise science research, Cosgrove's professional coaching background) give the book genuine academic and practical weight, while Schuler's voice delivers the material with a no-nonsense rigor that never tips into severity. It is best suited to women ready to commit to barbell-centered training as their primary modality; readers seeking a modular, drop-in-anytime plan will find the structured progression a friction point.
Is it worth reading?
For women who want to center strength training and are looking for a single resource that covers lifting, conditioning, and nutrition with a research-backed rationale, The New Rules of Lifting for Women remains a standout title. The combination of Forsythe's exercise science credentials, Cosgrove's program design, and Schuler's direct prose gives it a rigor that distinguishes it from general-audience fitness titles. More than a decade after its Avery publication, it continues to be a frequently referenced entry point in the strength-training-for-women conversation — its core argument has only grown more mainstream. The main caveat is commitment: the six-month structured progression is not designed for casual or modular use, so readers seeking flexibility may find the format a poor fit.
Similar books
Readers drawn to this book will find natural companions in several titles. The New Rules of Lifting by Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove is the direct predecessor — the original program that attracted the female readership this volume was built to serve. Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training covers much of the same foundational barbell territory from a pure technique and programming standpoint, though without the nutrition integration or gender-specific framing. For readers interested in the mobility and injury-prevention side of heavy training, Kelly Starrett and Glen Cordoza's Becoming a Supple Leopard is a widely referenced companion. On the nutrition and fat-loss science side, Jason Fung's The Obesity Code and Peter Attia MD's Outlive both engage the research-informed, evidence-first approach that distinguishes this book from lifestyle fitness titles.
Who should read this?
The guide is best suited to women who are ready to make strength training their primary modality and want a single, structured resource that addresses training, nutrition, and the reasoning behind both. Readers who enjoy evidence-informed fitness writing with a direct voice — rather than aspirational lifestyle framing — will find the authors' approach well-matched to their preferences. It is particularly well-suited to readers who have already done some gym work and are prepared to commit to barbell-centered, compound-lift programming for six months. Complete beginners are not excluded, but the framing assumes a reader who won't be put off by a steeper entry point than a true beginner title would offer.
How structured is the program?
The program is built around Alwyn Cosgrove's structured six-month progression, and the text makes the commitment expectation explicit — this is not a plan designed to be dipped in and out of casually. The authors address the science behind the progression directly, explaining why the structure is built the way it is rather than simply issuing instructions. Beyond the lifting component, the book integrates a conditioning phase and a nutrition plan, so readers are working with a full-system approach from day one. Readers seeking a modular or highly flexible plan they can customize on the fly will encounter a structure that resists that approach.
How credible are the authors?
The authorship team brings complementary credentials that set this book apart from general fitness titles. Cassandra Forsythe was an exercise science and nutrition doctoral candidate at the University of Connecticut at the time of writing, grounding the programming decisions in contemporary research rather than gym folklore. Alwyn Cosgrove is a professional member of both the National Academy of Sports Medicine and the American College of Sports Medicine, a frequent contributor to Men's Health and Men's Fitness, and co-owner of Results Fitness in Newhall, California. Lou Schuler, the team's writer, is responsible for the voice that ties the research and programming together into an accessible, direct narrative.
What's the book's central argument?
The book's central claim, stated without equivocation, is that women have been steered wrong about exercise — that the conventional fitness industry emphasis on cardio and light weights is not a neutral baseline but a specific mistake, and that the barbell is the correction. Strength training, not aerobics, is positioned as the key to losing fat and building a fit, strong body, and the entire structure of the program, nutritional framework, and explanatory prose exists to support and execute that argument. Rather than treating this as a minor preference difference, the authors frame it with research backing and a sense of urgency that purely instructional titles often lack. That posture — confident, direct, and adversarial toward conventional wisdom — is as much a defining feature of the reading experience as the program itself.
Summarize this book

Summarize this book

The New Rules of Lifting for Women is a comprehensive strength, conditioning, and nutrition guide co-authored by Lou Schuler, Cassandra Forsythe, and Alwyn Cosgrove, published by Avery in December 2009. Its central argument is unambiguous: strength training, not aerobics, is the key to losing fat and building a fit, strong body, and the conventional fitness industry has steered women wrong by emphasizing cardio and light weights. The book grew directly out of Schuler and Cosgrove's earlier New Rules of Lifting, which had already attracted a significant female readership — making this volume the explicit, ground-up answer to that demonstrated demand. Readers get a full-system program: Cosgrove's structured six-month lifting progression, a conditioning component, and a nutritional framework, all tied together by Schuler's direct, evidence-informed voice.

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Age & Reading Level

Recommended age

Adult

Reading level

Adult

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Skip if you want a flexible, modular workout plan you can customize on the fly rather than a structured six-month commitment.

Editorial Review

This fitness guide by Lou Schuler, Cassandra Forsythe, and Alwyn Cosgrove makes a direct, research-backed case that strength training — not aerobics — is the foundation women need for fat loss and a fit, strong body, packaging that argument into a comprehensive program that covers lifting, conditioning, and nutrition.

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More by Lou Schuler and Cassandra Forsythe and Alwyn Cosgrove

In our catalogue

The New Rules of Lifting: Six Basic Moves for Maximum Muscle

Lou Schuler, Alwyn Cosgrove

Same Schuler–Cosgrove coaching duo; delivers the foundational barbell programming and metabolic-lifting philosophy that underpins the women's edition.

If you loved The New Rules of Lifting for Women and want to dig deeper into the philosophy behind it, this is the natural next step. Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove wrote this earlier volume as the blueprint — it lays out the same core argument that compound barbell movements beat isolation work and steady-state cardio for body composition. You'll see the same evidence-based program design and the same no-nonsense coaching voice, but the programming is calibrated toward building raw strength and muscle mass for a general audience. Readers who want to understand why the women's program is structured the way it is — or who train alongside a male partner and want a shared system — consistently search for 'books like The New Rules of Lifting for Women' and land here. A seamless companion read.

If you liked The New Rules of Lifting for Women

In our catalogue

Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training

Mark Rippetoe

The definitive barbell technique manual — goes deeper on squat, deadlift, and press mechanics than any other book, perfect for readers who want to own their form.

Readers who finished The New Rules of Lifting for Women and caught the strength-training bug almost always ask 'what to read after The New Rules of Lifting for Women to level up my technique?' — and Starting Strength is the answer. Mark Rippetoe breaks down the squat, deadlift, bench press, and overhead press with biomechanical precision that no general fitness book matches. Where Schuler and Cosgrove give you a full program with nutrition and conditioning, Rippetoe goes micro: foot angle, bar path, hip drive, breathing. The tone is equally direct and unapologetic. If you've started lifting heavy and want to make sure every rep is safe and maximally effective, this is the book that strength coaches worldwide hand to new lifters first.

In our catalogue

Becoming a Supple Leopard: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance

Kelly Starrett and Glen Cordoza

The mobility and injury-prevention counterpart to heavy lifting — teaches the movement prep and recovery work that makes a six-month strength program sustainable.

One of the biggest questions women new to barbell training face is how to keep joints and connective tissue healthy as the weights climb. That's exactly the gap Becoming a Supple Leopard fills. Physical therapist and strength coach Kelly Starrett presents a systematic, position-based approach to mobility, soft-tissue work, and movement screening that slots directly alongside the programming in The New Rules of Lifting for Women. The book is densely illustrated and research-informed — the same qualities that give Schuler, Forsythe, and Cosgrove their credibility — and Starrett's tone is just as no-nonsense. If you're searching for 'books like The New Rules of Lifting for Women that cover recovery and injury prevention,' this is the single strongest companion volume for any serious lifter.

In our catalogue

The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss

Jason Fung

Challenges conventional calorie-counting dogma with clinical research — pairs perfectly with NROLFW's nutrition chapters for readers wanting the 'why' behind fat loss.

The New Rules of Lifting for Women spends significant time dismantling the myth that cardio and caloric restriction alone drive fat loss, and The Obesity Code does the same from a clinical medicine angle. Dr. Jason Fung, a nephrologist who treats metabolic disease, argues that insulin regulation — not calorie math — is the master switch for body-fat storage. His writing is accessible, evidence-heavy, and deliberately contrarian, much like the Schuler–Forsythe–Cosgrove approach. For readers who finished NROLFW and want a deeper dive into the hormonal science behind why strength training and smart nutrition work the way they do, this is the logical next book. Consistently appears in 'if you liked The New Rules of Lifting for Women' reading lists focused on the science of fat loss.

In our catalogue

Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity

Peter Attia MD

A physician-scientist makes the research case that muscle mass and strength are the strongest predictors of long-term health — the big-picture 'why lift' argument.

Readers who responded to the evidence-based, no-nonsense register of The New Rules of Lifting for Women — and want to understand why building and preserving muscle matters beyond aesthetics — will find Outlive deeply satisfying. Dr. Peter Attia draws on decades of research and his clinical practice to argue that strength, cardiovascular fitness, and metabolic health are the four pillars of longevity, and he gives resistance training a central role. The book covers training, nutrition, sleep, and emotional health with the same rigor that Cassandra Forsythe brings to the nutrition sections of NROLFW. Where Schuler and Cosgrove hand you a six-month program, Attia hands you a decades-long framework. A natural read for anyone searching for 'what to read after The New Rules of Lifting for Women' who is ready to think about performance across a lifetime.