Not Less., Lift Like a Girl: Be More

Nia provides no nonsense, empowering advice for women. Especially in this day and age, the atmosphere of health and fitness for women is a constant barrage of contradictory advice and demands of what you should be doing. Nia cuts through the BS to provide simple, achievable guidelines and instructions for getting healthy and leading a more active lifestyle. Perfect for any woman, especially anyone who is sick of the diet fads and complicated workout routines.

I've been following Nia's blog for years now and she is a desperately needed breath of fresh air in the insanity of the 'health' and fitness industry. Nia's advice is actually helpful, doable, and importantly, starts to address the psychological aspects of health and fitness that everyone else ignores in favor of "get fit quick" plans. This book is a beautiful culmination and summary of the healthy and realistic mindset Nia has been promoting for years.

I was looking for some lifting help...I Bike, Run and Swim but my lack of strength, particularly in my core, is holding me back. At the same time I was looking to accomplish some strength building in less time than a lot of programs offer, because I’m looking to improve sports I already do rather than tackle body building as a sport in and of itself. A woman I know had suggest LLAG, so I got the kindle edition and read. I did not expect to get a philosophy with it, but I LOVE it. Many women could really benefit from the shift in mindset represented...rather than focusing on losing (fat, weight, inches) it’s about gaining more (strength, confidence, pride) and sometimes the losing happens anyway secondary to those other goals. Nia emphasizes quality over quantity and the lifting she describes here really doesn’t take much time to accomplish even rigorously doing everything as suggested - I, um, don’t skip warmups, well hardly ever, okay all the time...but I did do it this time! I’m one day in and felt great during the three exercises and warm ups and didn’t feel like I did much walking away which she warns you will happen. This morning I’ve got slight muscle soreness but nothing crippling which is nice since I’m swimming for an hour. I pledged to myself I would stick with Nia for three months, tracking my progress and focusing on more since thinking less sure hasn’t done jack for me as a woman. It’s well written too, and feels like a conversation between girlfriends in spots, and a training relationship other places. If you’re looking for a hardcore “let’s get SWOLE” program with tons of restrictions, this isn’t it. If you’re looking to feel better without having to feel awful first with a heavy dose of positivity, this is a fantastic book.

This book is worthwhile because of its refreshingly minimalist approach. Her weight program gives you the minimum you need to be strong and healthy. Her eating plan also is amazingly sensible and non-punitive. While I personally find counting calories works better for me, her approach seems like it might work really well for those recovering from an eating disorder.

Sprinkled throughout is a lot of encouragement and positive messages about not being afraid to be strong and about dumping the mindset that women need to shrink their bodies to be attractive or worthwhile.

And a nice reason to support Nia is that she offers a ton of very helpful info on her website for free. I've learned a lot from her weightlifting form videos.

Nia's got the right idea about changing your mindset. I wish every woman would think about their bodies in terms of how it feels, and what it can do. The "how it looks" portion is just a side-effect of health and strength, and I would recommend all women read this and consider lifting heavy.

Loved it! I have a background in lifting but have made it too complicated by adding in endless cardio, running and HIIT. I’ve also made a mess of my eating by trying carb cycling, keto, low carb and other crazy restrictive eating.
I’m a teacher and a mom of 4. I’m tired and stressed and my diet/exercise was adding to the exhaustion.
I downloaded this book and read it in two days. Back to the basics for me. Simple lifting that I love and easy nutrition! Thank you for your book, it’s a lifesaver. It’s taken the stress out and made life enjoyable again!

This book does an incredible job of two things: empowering you to think about fitness/exercise/weight lifting in a different way AND giving you a different perspective on your body than you hear in the media. I've read the book is already selling in other countries as well, so that must be a good sign! If Ms. Shanks is creating a "movement", she's off to a great start!

Nia's got the right idea about changing your mindset. I wish every woman would think about their bodies in terms of how it feels, and what it can do. The "how it looks" portion is just a side-effect of health and strength, and I would recommend all women read this and consider lifting heavy.

Nicely written and easy to follow! Some messages were repetitive throughout the book but did not deter you from reading, it enhanced the overall theme. The direct, no nonsense approach was refreshing and allows you to truly embrace the alternative of "more" not "less". The concepts laid out will not only help with fitness but other aspects of your life. The workouts are explained clearly and providing common mistakes to help you maintain form is a plus! This is my kind of book with real, raw, in-your-face, information that really hits home...I'm looking forward to my "Lift Like A Girl" journey...

Common sense. Doable. Straightforward. Simple. I've been following Nia for a while and can testify that her approach saved me from the diet Rollercoaster I'd been on for years. I've made changes, and am loving my shape again.

Nia is a down-to-earth writer, providing good, no-BS information about what you need to do to cut through all of the crazy fitness traps out there and actually achieve fitness. This isn’t about becoming some kind of huge bodybuilder, but rather learning the basics of nutrition and weight training, as well as understanding your own journey. I appreciated her easy-to-understand style and humor.

I started following Nia’s “Lift like a girl” strength training programs as far back as 2015. My views and values have changed a great deal since then. My life now feels far more organic and effortless thanks to Nia’s guidance, advise and no BS approach. I highly recommend this book, so much so that I have gifted this book to my 19 year old.

I love that Nia started her first chapter with mindset! To my mind it's the biggest hurdle most women have to overcome when looking at fitness. The rest of the book is as easy to follow as her programs. Worth reading, worth following.