When it comes to underground of the Physical Culture world,
no one has held that title better than the man himself Steve Justa. For those
that know little of him know about his book Rock, Iron, Steel that brought a
whole new meaning to the term “Backyard Warrior.” This man was one of the top
strongest men in the world with unofficial world records in lifting odd objects
and other unusual styles of lifting. What some don’t know is his hand on how he
uses Isometrics.
A while back,
he lost a large portion of his strength due to Type 2 Diabetes and his recovery
is nothing short of a miracle. For a man once weighing near 400 lbs. lost a
ridiculous amount of weight and had to completely turn his diet and training
around, he began to work almost exclusively on Isometrics and changing his diet
from drinking sodas and bad food to eating seaweed, high potent supplements and
good whole foods. He has literally studied more on Isometrics than just about
anyone in the Physical Culture World.
Isometrics
are a key ingredient to developing super strength because for one, you have
nearly unlimited amount of exercises to use and can do them just about
anywhere. Another look at them is that it builds the nerves in the body that
help generate power in the tendons, ligaments and those little muscles most
people neglect, most work on the major muscles. When you look at the DVDs onhow he uses Isometrics, its quite a sight despite being in a garage with a
“little” rack he built but the principles still applies.
There are
some who believe isometrics is the cream of the crop for fitness and there are
others that just seem to believe that its just as much bullshit as building
superhuman strength through isolated movements. Justa’s intake on them is very
unique and more philosophical than you would just train them. Just working so
many muscles and tendons all in a period of time can be used anyway you want,
work for holds, time what he calls jerk reps and how to apply them to anything
you want to achieve. I like his style and he gives a pretty weird insight but
hey it’s normal for him and I admire the man for that.
Now granted
he’s not your typical fitness dude and he even makes old school guys look weary
but in the end he’s a man who lives in his own universe. The man dresses up as
if he were Mel Gibson in Mad Max, you know, post-apocalyptic warrior type
thing, end of the world fighting to survive type of guy. For him it’s another
day at the office but for others he’s as weird and a little messed in the head
but he doesn't give a damn. He’s not rich and live in a nice house; he lives
practically out in the middle of no where in Harvard , Nebraska
and doesn't many luxuries but yet, he’s got what he needs and mostly made
himself. You see most guys in the old days trained in backyards, back woods and
lifted or practiced different feats of strength but this is where Steve just
takes it to a whole new level which at times I can’t even fathom but I love his
idea of mastering your own style and making it your own.
The reason
why anyone in this wacky world of ours called Physical Culture should learn
from Steve Justa is because he’s develop a way of training that can turn you
into an athlete or just want to get crazy strong. Learning from him can give
you a different perspective on how one should be training, yeah we all can lift
a weight, lift a few barrels and do some basic bodyweight training but no one
is at a level he’s been at and most likely never will be at. On these 2 DVDs
alone, he shows practically over 1000 different Isometrics and a plethora of
ways to do them that no one has seen.
One of my
favorite scenes on the videos is how he shows a unique way to train for Arm
Wrestling. I modified my own method from his philosophy and my arms and whole
body felt like they were on fire, worked different directions, held for certain
periods of time and once did a total of 200 jerk reps and I felt incredible. He
even talks about how he went from being one of the strongest men on the planet
to literally falling over from the Diabetes to coming back far stronger and
healthier than ever. It’s one of the most remarkable stories I ever heard.
Watching
the DVDs at first you might think “who the hell is this guy.” I know how you
feel, I felt the same way but I kept an open mind and just paid attention to
how he trains and what I can do to learn. I respect him for what he wants to do
and I do love his style of training; no bullshit, just go out and do it, pace
yourself and master your own way of training. Sure he’s a bit rough around the
edges but that’s ok, I admire guys that are unique and would be a hell of a
trip to train with him.
If you’re
serious about building strength in ways most people can’t, then get your ass in
gear and get these DVDs, the investment is worth 100 times more than you’ll
ever imagine. Imagine having strength from multiple angles, infusing rich blood
into the muscles to stimulate growth and power, having tendons that are as
strong as an ox and working many exercises as often as you want, however you
want and in any amount of time you want. Also, Isometrics have been known to help burn
fat faster than almost every other method and you’ll learn how to lose weight.
Get strong and toughen up your body like never before.