Steve Justa isn’t your typical weight lifter. Forget pumping iron, he'd rather hoist hulking slabs of concrete or perform presses with giant girders.
Maybe that explains why he once quipped, “If you don’t have a barbell set, just lift your tractor!”
This tells you a lot about the strongman and his unconventional — but effective — approach to strength building.
Steve grew up in the small town of Harvard, Nebraska. The farm boy worked hard as a kid and had an inbuilt drive to push everything to the maximum. First it was dirt bike riding around the farm where he’d ride motorcycles all day and all night. Then he got into sports.
Yet unlike most active kids his age, Steve was a relative late-comer to the Iron Game (he didn’t even know how to lift weights until he got out of high school). But when the strength training bug bit at 18-years-old, it bit down hard.
Looking back on his training origins, Steve has this to say:
“I’ve read enough books and magazines about lifting to make a stack clear to the ceiling, but that wasn’t good enough for me — I had to experiment and try to come up with ideas of my own as well as try everybody else’s. I’ve lived, eaten, breathed and thought about lifting now for 20 years. So when I tell you something, it is coming from experience.”
One of Steve’s many training experiments involved using singles to make speedy gains. When utilised in the right manner, the Nebraska wild man showed how singles build superhuman strength efficiently.
Singles for Strongman Strength
Writing in his book ‘Rock Iron Steel’, Steve outlines a singles workout strategy where you focus on just one lift.
Here are his rules:
#1. Lift every day.
#2. Use 70% of your maximum effort.
#3. Rest 1-2 minutes’ between each single.
#4. During Week 1:
Day 1 - Perform 3 singles
Day 2 - Perform 5 singles
Day 3 - Perform 7 singles
Day 4 - Perform 9 singles
Day 5 - Perform 11 singles
Day 6 - Perform 13 singles
Day 7 - Perform 15 singles
#5. You have now completed a full cycle and are ready to begin week 2. Now you will add 5 or 10 pounds and repeat the cycle again.
#6. Once a month, retest your max to make sure you are using 70% and adjust your weights accordingly.
Sounds simple, right? But there's more... not only is Steve's strategy super-simple, but you get to build your body with none of the usual strain and stress.
That’s why this training method is one of our all-time favourites.
Here’s Steve’s take on it:
“The great thing about this type of training is that you will build great strength without really ever making yourself tired because the body is adjusting naturally and rhythmically.”
Until next time,
Squat for Glory!
Lee
