The New Rules of Lifting dissected

Recently, I reviewed The New Rules of Lifting. In all, there are 20 “new rules” laid out in the book, as well as descriptions on how to do many different exercises and some sample weight programs that can be put together using those exercises. I am going to dissect the new rules and tell you what I think of each one.

The New Rules of Lifting

1. Use your muscles as they were designed
2. Use more than one muscle at a time
3. Strength before Size
4. Take Time to Rest
5. Set a new record
6. The weight you lift is not a goal
7. Don’t “do the machines”
8. Workouts produce adaptations
9. There is no magic system
10. Don’t judge a system by it’s promoter
11. The work is more important than the program
12. Fast Lifting is not more dangerous than slow lifting
13. A good warm-up may not make you warm
14. Stretching is not a warm-up
15. You don’t need to warm up to stretch
16. Lifting can make you flexible
17. Aerobic fitness is not a matter of life and death
18. You don’t need endurance exercise to burn fat
19. Strength + Endurance = Endurance
20. If it’s not fun, you’re doing something wrong