Book excerpt: A groundbreaking strength and conditioning plan for women, from the authors of The New Rules of Lifting for Women. Forget the elliptical machine and the candy-colored Barbie weights. Female athletes are hungry for real fitness. They want to be Strong. By now, it’s common knowledge that women can and should train the way men do. Today’s women want to be strong, with lean and athletic physiques. Fitness author Lou Schuler and renowned strength coach Alwyn Cosgrove present a comprehensive strength and conditioning plan to help women burn fat and build muscle by getting them off the machines and revolutionizing how they work out. Offering direct guidance and proven tools to help readers enhance their strength and get truly fit, Strong provides: • A three-phase training program, including nine unique total-body workouts • More than 100 exercises, with detailed instructions and step-by-step photographs • Simple nutrition guidelines to cut through the barrage of trendy diets in magazines • Inspiring success stories from women who have used this training program Schuler and Cosgrove’s The New Rules of Lifting for Women has empowered tens of thousands of women inside and outside the weight room. Filled with the latest research distilled in Lou and Alwyn’s signature direct style, Strong will help women remake their physiques and reimagine their lives.