Tuesday, November 17, 2009

  • Power Rack Training


  • Regardless of what you might be training for, one piece of equipment which your weight room needs is a sturdy power rack. You'll need one to do the 20-rep squat program, or to do heavy lockouts and supports like Steve Justa. You can build your deadlift like Bob Peoples or you can work on your overhead pressing, like Bosco here.

    These are only a few of the many reasons to have one... In case you are interested in learning more information on some of the best ways to utilize the power rack, there are several chapters which cover this topic in detail in Dinosaur Training.

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    Tuesday, November 17, 2009

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    Thursday, June 25, 2009

  • Archie Vanderpool


  • If you want to practice heavy partial deadlifts or hand-and-thigh lifts, you'll want a setup like Archie Vanderpool here. The strongman (and proud member of the York Barbell Club) from Woodbine, Iowa, specialized on a number of unusual -- and very heavy -- lifts. For example, his record in the lift shown was 1840 pounds. He also liked to do things like shouldering a 1100 pound railroad rail and then going for a walk.

    He also reported carrying a barbell loaded to 400 pounds for a distance of 80 feet. If this looks and sounds familiar, it's because Archie was good friends with Steve Justa's father.

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    Thursday, June 25, 2009

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    Wednesday, March 25, 2009

  • Isometrics


  • Isometrics were all the rage back in the 50's and 60's. Here weightlifting and bodybuilding champion Steve Stanko gets in a quick bicep workout using the Isometric Power Rack -- looks like it's working pretty well.

    Isometrics are not one of my favorite training techniques but plenty of modern day strongmen (such as Steve Justa and Dennis Rogers) use them with great success.

    (Note: We do NOT have Isometric Power Racks for sale or know where you can find one.)

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    Wednesday, March 25, 2009

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    Thursday, June 26, 2008

  • Barrel Lifting


  • Barbells and dumbbells can be nice, but sometimes it pays to lift something big, awkward and heavy to build unusual strength. For many strongmen of the past, a barrel often fit the bill perfectly, and even more-so when partially filled with water.

    Read Dinosaur Training or ROCK IRON STEEL by Steve Justa for more information on Barrel Lifting.

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    Thursday, June 26, 2008

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    Friday, April 25, 2008

  • Barrel Lifting for Forearm Development

  • Barrel Lifting for Forearm DevelopmentBarrel Lifting for Forearm Development

    I can't always say for sure how the oldtime strongmen built their strength but I can say that in the year 2008, many of the training methods they wrote about works just fine. One of those methods is Barrel Lifting which is a good way to build the gnarly, knotted foreams that the oldtimes often had. The unbalanced, unweildy load provides a shock to the system that can build incredible strength. Check out ROCK IRON STEEL by Steve Justa and Dinosaur Training by Brooks Kubik for more information on barrel lifting.

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    Friday, April 25, 2008

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    Tuesday, December 18, 2007

  • Go For A Walk With Steve Justa

  • Go For A Walk With Steve JustaSteve Justa

    Steve Justa has some pretty unique ideas about training... Lifting,Barrels, sandbags, rocks, chunks of concrete... all in a day's work for Steve Justa.

    One of his theories is that walking with heavy weights will build incredible ligament strength, especially in the ankles.

    Walking with a heavy barbell on the shoulders is cumbersome, not to mention dangerous should it fall. Instead, Steve built this piece of equipment which allows him to load up as heavy as needed and be in perfect position to walk every time.

    He worked up to walking with well over a ton on his back.

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    Tuesday, December 18, 2007

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    Monday, November 05, 2007

  • Steve Justa: The High Plains Heavy Metal Master

  • Steve JustaSteve Justa: The High Plains Heavy Metal Master

    Out in the Nebraska cornfields you'll find a man who lifts anything he can get his hands on -- barrels,rocks, scrap iron, even trucks. He will push, pull, carry and drag the heaviest weights he can, and regularly moves half a ton, if only a few inches, its still impressive.

    Steve Justa is his name and his training philosophy is anything but conventional...

    "Don't Have a Weight Set? - Get a Tractor!"

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    Monday, November 05, 2007

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    Sunday, November 04, 2007

  • The Mysterious Mr. Vanderpool

  • Steve Justa (Top), Archie Vanderpool (Below)If you have had a chance to read Steve Justa's book ROCK IRON STEEL you've had a chance to see many unusual training techniques and pieces of equipment that Steve Justa uses in his workouts...

    You probably wonder where he got some of these training ideas -- well it just so happens that Justa's father was a friend of a guy named Archie Vanderpool who was featured in several of the lifting mags during the 1950s with some very interesting equipment and ideas on super-heavy partial movement training.

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    Sunday, November 04, 2007

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    Friday, August 24, 2007

  • Barrel Lifting Strength Feats

  • Barrel Lifting for unusual strengthBarrel Lifting for Unusual Strength

    It has been well written that many so-called "feats of strength" had their roots in manual labor. Back in the beer halls of Bavaria and old, Old, OLD Vienna I'm sure a couple of robust beirmeisters once sat around shooting the breeze when one bet another that he could lift the biggest barrel -- and it's all been down hill from there.

    Many of the old timers were well-known for their barrel or keg lifting feats, including Louis Cyr (who was said to have been able to lift a 400 lb. barrel to his shoulders) and George Jowett who included a Barrel Lifting Course in his Molding a Mighty Grip training guide.

    I would imagine the "Cincinnati Strongman" Henry Holtgrewe lifted a few barrels and kegs in his time. He owned a tavern down in the neighborhood of Northside in Cincinnati just after the turn of the century.

    Several modern day strongmen have included barrel lifting in their training. Probably the two most well known are Steve Justa and Brooks Kubik who wrote extensively about barrel lifting in Dinosaur Training.

    Keep in mind that lifting a 200 pound FULL barrel is actually easier than lifting a 150 pound HALF-filled barrel.

    Brooks KubikBrooks Kubik

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    Friday, August 24, 2007

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