Customer Reviews

Rock, Iron, Steel: The Book of Strength

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For some time I have been one of those who, for some reason, believed that strength could only be built with barbells and dumbells in a nice, clean gym. This peculiar way of thinking was due to being under the spell of body-bulding and the fashionable scene that goes along with it nowadays.

Sure barbells and dumbells need to be a big part of a strength trainers "arsenal" but, thanks to writers like Brooks Kubik ("Dinosaur Training"), Matt Furey, and the author of this book, Steve Justa I have come to see that odd-objects (sanbags, barrels, even the human body) can be used to build super strength. These awkward shaped objects build muscles that remain unaffected by "normal" barbell training and, like some barbell exercises (squats, deadlifts, bench press), these types of lifts are compound exercises which emphasize that a great many muscles work together. This breaks with the body-building paradigm which emphasizes isolation.

Justa underscores saftey and gives methods he uses to train safely.
He also emphasizes the importance of building up the tendons and ligaments, a point entirely missing in most recent literature (thugh it was important among old-time strength builders).

Furthermore, you will get caught up in Justa's enthusiam for the iron game and the resultant greater motivation you enjoy from reading this book will lead to bigger gains. Good luck!

Very impressive stuff! There are enough ideas in here to give you a lifetime of workout ideas.

As a personal trainer, I read many books on training - good, scholarly material that often has many footnotes citing recent scientific research. I've enjoyed a fair number of them, and have picked up useful information. But they generally sit on my shelf, and I read Steve's over and over again. It's jam-packed with ideas (no holding back for the next $25 book), and is full of anecdotes that are truly fun to read and sometimes hilarious.

It probably is true that someone who is looking to get cute little muscles that will impress the Sex and the City hotties in bars may find this to be the wrong book. Any decent book of bodybuilding routines will achieve that. This book is about sheer strength, which has nothing to do with spending hour after hour doing the same benchpress routine in the same gym ad infinitum (oh, and annoying other gym patrons).

And you've got to like a guy who has such a complete disregard for a photo-shoot wardrobe.

Another thing that distinguishes this book is material concerning muscular endurance, or being able to do heavy work for a very long time (extremely long times, in his case). Again, something that is often glossed over or ignored in other strength books.

Finally, there is great motivational material. His passion for what he does shines through at all times, and it's easy to get fired up reading this. It's very conversational, and somewhat rough in writing style, but again, this is a refreshing change from stuffy academic style.

This is a unique book. It is not for bodybuilders but rather for those interested in building tremendous strength. What makes it unique is the honesty and freshness of the author. The book is truly written from the heart and has much unique information in it. There are many unusual lifts and training methods in it since the author shares his personal experiences (and experiments). One cannot help but learn from the book. Even those with no interest in building great strength will enjoy the book.

This book is one of the best I've ever read on the subject of strength training. If you're looking to isolate the long head of your biceps don't buy it; if you want to learn how to build slabs of functional muscle all over your whole body, if you want to be inspired to go in new directions and push your body to the limit, not just in the bench press, but the shovel lift, the back lift, the hand and thigh lift, running with weights, pulling weights, isometrics, and on and on, then this book is for you. Not a big book, but every word adds genuine value in your quest to be strong. I really can't rate this book high enough. Along with Brooks Kubik's Dinsosaur Training, it is one of the genuine modern bibles of real strength training. The author explains what strength really is, what his philosphy of strength is, and how to go about achieving your strength goals (hey--it's the Book of Strength!). And he's one strong dude, as the list of lifts at the back will attest, particularly when it comes to lower back/hip/leg strength. A guy who genuinely knows what he's talking about, with loads of original ideas to inspire you. If you want to get really strong---BUY THIS BOOK!!!

This book, it must be understood, is geared toward those who train at home and can have a few odd objects in the backyard or basement as well. However, you can train in a commercial gym and still benefit from this man's knowledge. If looking pretty is all you care about (men or women!), this might not be for you (or, you may need it most!). Justa is bad attitude to the bone, tempered with loads of knowledge from books and life. Some of his recommendations have been criticized (I think the jumping stuff is a tad out there, myself, although others like it), but he is the real deal. Just a thought, how is someone paid to train or do research supposed to come up with strength-training strategies for people with hectic lives, jobs which are mentally and/or physically draining, or those who face wildly erratic schedules? Sure, the white-coats in sterile labs with 6-week studies of college freshmen get it right from time to time, but why not learn from someone who has faced such challenges all his life and became super strong in the process? This is great stuff.

Steve Justa has it figured out. Not only does he give readers his own philosophy of strength training, but he really inspires the reader to think for him or herself. Imagine that from a strength training book! The man is a gold mine of useful information and has a way of communicating with the reader that few other authors can beat. I will say, though, that this book doesn't go into depth of performance of mainstream lifts (Powerlifting and Olympic Lifting), but does a good job explaining some strange lifts (i.e. the shovel lift, back lift, Hand and thigh lift. Steve also is what too many strength training authors are not; he is STRONG! What's more, at 44 he is stronger than when he wrote this book! His lifts at a recent competition are much imporved, vastly improved for such an advanced lifter (the contest was USAWA, I think you can contact Joe Garcia or Kevin Fulton to see how strong Steve Justa really is. I believe they can be reached at USAWA.com) How's that for proving his methods?

Steve Justa is not only a great lifter, but his aptly named book shows he can teach you exactly what he has done to become so strong. This book surprised me in it's realistic style, which makes you feel as if Steve is sitting with you at his kitchen table, telling you his secrets. Not only does this book show what he has done to become strong, but it outlines many different excercises and lifting routines to explore news areas of strength in your own lifting. If you are looking for a book that can give you new, creative ways to effectively increase you overall strength levels, you need to add this book to your collection.

This is a GREAT book if you are even slightly interested in old world real strongman techniques then get this book it has many many good ideas and covers many different kinds of strength, for example the "pushing against an immovable object" strength that a Sumo wrestler has, or mighty hand strength, pulling strength etc.. etc.. there are many techniques in this book, AND it is a good read as well.

Justa puts strength training in a brand new light with this book. It's refreshing to see someone shatter all of the "proper procedures" most trainers/fitness people preach on a regular basis. Manual labor is one of the most practical ways of aquiring FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH....and Justa helps put it all in perspective so that you can experience it for yourself...

Who says you need a barbell? You can gain super strength by just using a Shovel and a Barrel.

This book is way better than 99.9% of the others out there. If you were to get four books I would get this, Olympic Weightlifting Encyclopedia, Russian Kettlebell Challenge and Mastery of Hand Strength. That is all you need. Ever.