Questions for the authors?

[Lou Schuler]

We need your help!

Alwyn, Cassandra and I are going to record a question and answer session Monday evening, with the goal of having a free, downloadable podcast for readers that'll be available sometime in the next couple of weeks.

What questions would you like us to answer on the podcast?

It's okay if you know the answer already; we're looking for material that would be interesting to a wide spectrum of readers.

Please put your questions on this thread, and please don't answer other readers' questions as they appear.

(If you're a reader who has a question you need answered right away, I'd really appreciate it if you'd put it on this thread, and also start a separate thread so your fellow forumites can help you find the answer.)

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Natalia]

Lou (and the gang), thank you for your labor of love (that's the way your writings come across to me anyway). My question is:

"Will there be a DVD demonstrating exercises used in Alwyn's programs available in future?"

Thanks.

[fengshway]

If a woman has fat loss (10-20 pounds) as a primary goal, and improving marathon racing as a secondary goal, is it better to focus first on weights and interval running, and then add long runs back when optimal body composition is reached or can both goals be achieved simultaneously?

once optimal body composition is reached, is it possible to maintain muscle mass, or does the marathon training always contradict efforts at maintaining muscle?

[LisaS]

Would you give adjusted or different advice to women who have a larger amount of weight to lose - say 50 or 100 lbs?

[LisaS]

Would you comment on a woman's monthly hormone cycles and fluctuations and how strength training abiliities might fluctuate over the month?

I'm thinking commenting on charts like this:

[LisaS]

In the book, you use the Owen's calculation for RMR - but in the text, you allude to other formulas that may give a better result for heavier women. What other formula would you recommend, if any?

[LisaS]

Some of us train in the evening, after dinner (say 8 or 9PM). Even with a PWO shake, it will be a long fast after working out until breakfast. Much different than working out in the after noon with dinner to follow later.
Would you advise any different nutrition pattern to enhance recovery in this situation - or just the same ... the overnight fast has little or no effects.

[DanceDiva]

Why do you talk about warm-ups but not cool down?

[DanceDiva]

How long is the rest period between the last exercise and the Interval Training/Body-weight Matrix?

[Dolly Dagger]

Would you have any different advice for a woman who is menopausal or post-menopausal and doesn't care about losing her periods?

[Lisa~]

I'm curious to know the answer to the question Paula asked last week:

I was looking ahead and doing some planning last night and got to stage 4 where I started seeing 2-3 for the set numbers??

How is this supposed to be handled (I didn't see it in the book)? Start out with 2 sets and work my way up to 3 full sets? That's what I was assuming but you know what happens when you assume about anything.

Chapter 9 is devoted to an excellent discussion of anatomy trains (I admire you for including this topic!) and quad dominance, clarifying the importance of core stability. We are convinced by the end of this chapter that crunches are not an ideal exercise choice for the typical woman. Yet in Stage 1 Workout B there is a Swiss ball crunch, and planks are not introduced until Stage 2. Why not begin with a plank, or plank variation, in Stage 1?

[LisaS]

In Stage 1 - which seems like a break-in period - why was the prone jackknife chosen for workout A? This seems like a pretty advanced exercise so early in the program and something like a reverse crunch might have been a more conventional choice for stage 1.

[campingmom]

Here is a nutrition question no one has ever been able to answer for me. In several books, including yours, I see recipes that call for skim milk and others that call for 1% milk. What's the difference?

I personally have been using skim milk for years, and my family goes through about 3 gallons a week. So I'm hesitant to buy 1% as well just to make a few recipes.

So is there a nutritional reason for sometimes using 1%, or is it just a matter or taste, texture, flavor, etc.?

BTW, I LOVE this book!!!! Thank you all so much!!

[SpacecityPaula]

This is something that's been bugging me since I read through stage 1, but why did you include the Special workouts at the end of Stage 1 where we do AMRAP for each workout? Shouldn't we be able to see our progression in our lifts?? I've never seen this kind of special workout in a guy's program so it kinds seems counter-intuitive to me.

[Tree]

Wondering if Alwyn could comment on a template for an alternative to treadmill interval training. I hear him mention on the fitcast that bodyweight intervals are extremely effective. I've seen on his blog how he constructs them using timed intervals (a workout he puts the perform better summit attendees through). Would that be the optimal way?. My wife trains at home, we don't have a treadmill and its quite cold outside.

Thanks,

Tree

[Pinchy]

I've gone through a couple of the programs in the original New Rules of Lifting. Interval training is not formally incorporated into the workouts in this book. Are they essential to the workouts in New Rules of Lifting for Women?

[Tara2008]

Two questions here.

1. In the book it says a blank workout log would be available for download on newrulesoflifting.com I have browsed all over that site and cannot find it for the life of me. Where can one be located for download?

2. Diet question...What are your feelings regarding "cheat" meals, snacks, or even days??

[DDRdiva]

Originally Posted by LisaS

Would you comment on a woman's monthly hormone cycles and fluctuations and how strength training abiliities might fluctuate over the month?

I second this - how to keep the bloating, lightheadedness, fatigue and cramping of TTOM from interfering with workouts? And what about warnings, like the one I saw on a Men's Health DVD, that women should not do back bends or "vigorous standing poses" during their periods?

[UConnJulie]

I'd like to know more about the essentials of PRE-workout nutrition. Is it detrimental in any way (physically or homonally) to workout on an empty stomach upon rising in the early morning? I don't mean that maybe I won't be as strong or have as much energy, but is it better for my body to eat something first? (and I understand the myth about cardio on an empty stomach ... that is not this question)