Ok, due to my article that appears in the book Easy Strength I get a LOT of questions regarding Steve Justa’s ‘singles program’ (I’d love to know if Steve himself gets asked as many questions about it still).
“How do you use Justa’s singles for the deadlift and still run a squatting cycle at the same time”? “How do you know when to terminate the Justa’s singles cycle”? “Can you use Justa’s singles for pull-ups”? “Does Justa’s singles work for the KB military press”? “Would you use Justa’s singles to train for the beast tamer”? “I’m training for the SSST…can I also do Justa’s singles on the DL”? “There are a lot of problems in the middle-east at the moment…would Justa’s singles help”? “If you’re getting attacked by a Tiger how would you work Justa’s singles in whilst still remaining fresh”?
Wait just a minute!!
First off, understand two things:
- Anything can be MADE to work for any goal if you make the right adjustments; but after several adjustments are made can you still claim to be using the same thing to get the job done? Or has it evolved into a new thing entirely? Also, there is a huge difference between adequate and OPTIMAL.
- Something might be the best tool in existence for one job and the worst tool there is for something else (you wouldn’t use a wrench to saw a piece of wood). Or, maybe it can be MADE to fit the task but it’s just not optimal (you CAN use a wrench to hammer a nail…but you’d be better off using a hammer).
Justa’s singles can be MADE to fit a number of purposes but in its original format they are really best suited to one…the deadlift.
Having said all that you CAN make a square peg fit a round hole. Not by forcing it through, but by filing down the edges so that you’re left with a round peg that fits the hole quite nicely thank you very much.
No Sweat… It’s Justa Powerlifting Meet
One of the things that seems to baffle people the most is how to apply Justa’s singles to ‘the big three’ (barbell back squats, barbell bench press and barbell deadlift) simultaneously in the same cycle. In truth it’s quite an easily answered question, there are many approaches you could take and they’re all fairly simple.
But before I get into all that, I first want to break down the original routine, what way that applies to each lift and how to optimally adapt (if needs be) this plan to better suit each lift.
The original Justa Singles routine called for starting the cycle at 70% 1RM using daily deadlifts that began with 3 singles on Monday. It raises by 2 singles every day until you reach 15 singles by Sunday (mon 3, tue 5, wed 7, thur 9, fri 11, sat 13, sun 15). On the following Monday you increase the weight by 10lbs and repeat. This process continues until you complete a full week’s mini cycle at 80% 1RM, at which point you re-test your 1RM and start a new cycle based on 70% of this new figure, the recommended rest periods between sets are 2-3 minutes…awesome!
Due to the nature of deadlift itself, a routine based around progressive sub maximal singles is as close to optimized as you’re likely to get. But there is a sound reason why this is not always the case for the other two (bench and squat), the reason for which is a matter of muscular time under tension during a set.
The powerlifts come in three different levels of time under tension.
- Maximum TUT (bench press)
- Medium TUT (squat)
- Minimum TUT (deadlift)
The Bench Press and the original routine
The bench press sees the involved musculature placed under the most continuous tension during any given set of repetitions. The point of ‘rest’ for the muscles during the bench comes once the elbows lock the weight out at the completion of each repetition. At this time the bones of the arms are supporting the weight as the joints of the upper limbs are stacked under each other providing a great deal of support for the ‘benching muscles’, thus providing an unofficial rest bite.
However, the bones of the upper arms are relatively thin and weak. As such, the least ‘inter-set rest’ is found on the bench press, which has two main programmatic implications.
- Lower rep maximums will represent higher percentages of the absolute 1RM
- Sets that emphasise a seamless transition between both eccentric and concentric contractions become more relevant. As does a higher volume of reps per set. It would take a whole new article to fully express why this is the case, but for now you can just trust me…its true.
A handful of sets involving extremely submaximal singles and nothing else, even on a daily basis, may actually lead to muscular atrophy and a decrease in strength when it comes to the bench press.
The Back Squat and the original routine
During the barbell back squat the weight is supported between each repetition with basically the entire skeletal structure, with all the joints that join the largest, most robust bones in the human body stacked in perfect alignment at lockout. Also the surface area supporting the barbell at first point of contact with the body is the broad and thickly padded upper back. By comparison the bench press (which utilises the relatively small surface area of the hands to support the load) looks like a precarious balancing act akin (almost) to lying on your back, legs locked out in the air, with a barbell placed across the soles of the feet ready to perform leg presses (which actually DID happen in era’s gone by).
The greater inter-set skeletal support found in the squat means you will be capable of achieving higher repetitions with any given percentage of your 1RM when compared to the bench press (which is one of the numerous reasons why the hypertrophy rate of the lower body often exceeds that of the upper body in many individuals).
A routine based solely around doing the least amount of reps per set possible, with relatively low percentages of the 1RM, could almost be accused of vastly under-utilising the back squats unique ability to ‘perform more with more’ whilst still remaining at the same proximity to failure as a lift like the bench press which sees the lifter capable of ‘less with less’. However, depending on the specific goals of the individual in question there may be other factors that supersede an ‘optimal gaining environment’. For example if an athlete competes in a weight division based sport that also requires a high level of energy for the sports practice itself (gymnastics, boxing, rock climbing, MMA) then a routine that WILL get you stronger, but is also a ‘slow cooker’ that de-emphasises muscular hypertrophy and minimises holistic systematic fatigue, IS the way to go, no matter which lift it is.
The Deadlift and the original routine
The bench press sees the muscles under the most continuous tension in any given set. With the squat there is a higher degree of structural support providing more ‘inter-set rest’ for the muscles.
The deadlift is a different animal entirely.
A properly performed deadlift (and by properly performed I mean doing so in the way that has the greatest crossover to a maximum single) sees the bar come to rest on the ground between every repetition of every set and also the negative portion of the lift is completely de-emphasised. This essentially means that with the deadlift, the only time the involved musculature is under any appreciable tension is during the concentric phase of each repetition. Also, most experienced lifters don’t remain in the ‘get set’ position between reps, preferring instead to either shoot the hips up and relax the lower back (also taking tension off of the quads), or they let go of the bar altogether and stand up entirely before heading back down to get into position for the next rep. Either way, the weight is not baring on their body at all, so almost ANY deadlift routine never involves continuous sets and reps in the same way as almost all other grinds do.
Instead, something like 5×5 becomes more like 25×1 or at the very least 5×5 rest pause. In my experience this scenario becomes more and more pronounced the stronger and more advanced the athlete gets, so in a way, cutting straight to the chase and using a routine based overtly and entirely around singles is a natural fit.
On meet day, the deadlift is the only one of the three lifts that doesn’t get the opportunity to utilise an eccentric contraction before transitioning into the concentric portion of the lift. Therefore you MUST get good at overcoming the ‘deadweight start’ (hence the name deadlift). Specificity rules the roost and with this in mind, a routine based around singles wins again.
I’m not saying that continuous tension, ‘touch and go style’ deadlifts (or deadlift variations) have no place on the menu, but they’re an entrée at best, never a main course. If the ultimate goal is 1RM maximisation…pull the majority of your reps from a dead start.
Have you ever seen a 20 rep set of deadlifts that DIDN’T get ugly? No, neither have I. Ugly form, high reps and heavy load are a recipe for disaster. The deadlift gets safer, prettier and faster as reps per set go down. Pop quiz…what’s the least amount of reps you can do in any given set? There is another few good reasons to train your pull with singles.
Bench Press Adaptations
I’m going to cut straight to the chase! As I see it there are a couple of acceptable variations of the original routine that work very well for the bench press.
Bench Routine A
Start with 70% 1RM like the original routine, but instead of singles you will start with doubles. There will be one set cut from the first day and instead of jumping by two sets daily it will only rise by one and stop at 5 days per week instead of 7. Also, instead of upping the weight every week you will keep the load constant and up the reps”. So week 2 is triples, then week 3 is four reps and finally week 4 is five reps. Week six you would increase the load by just 5-10lbs (depending on your 1RM, the stronger you are the bigger the jumps), drop back to doubles and repeat.
With this variation there are no hard and fast rules for cutting off the cycle, you may not reach 80%, in fact beyond beginner level I doubt that you could, but by the time you get 8 to 12 weeks in, your bench press groove will be about as greased as its ever going to get and your 1RM will already be up (depending on how YOU convert to max singles you may or may not need a short peaking cycle to actualise the gains made here).
Rest between sets should be kept to 2-3 minutes for as long as possible but up to 5 minutes is okay if required to hit the numbers.
Week 1 (70%)
Mon 2×2, Tue 3×2, Wed 4×2, Thurs 5×2, Fri 6×2, Sat off, Sun off (40 lifts)
Week 2 (70%)
Mon 2×3, Tue 3×3, Wed 4×3, Thurs 5×3, Fri 6×3, Sat off, Sun off (60 lifts)
Week 3 (70%)
Mon 2×4, Tue 3×4, Wed 4×4, Thurs 5×4, Fri 6×4, Sat off, Sun off (80 lifts)
Week 4
Mon 2×5, Tue 3×5, Wed 4×5, Thurs 5×5, Fri 6×5, Sat off, Sun off (100 lifts)
(Total monthly volume 280 lifts at 70% 1RM)
At first glance this frequency and volume may seem ambitious, but upon closer analysis…it’s actually a bit of a cake walk.
Let’s compare what’s going on with other popular routines along the same vein. The magnificent ‘Power to The People’ program is notoriously easy to recover from and often leaves the lifter coming out of the gym feeling fresher than they went in. PTTP involves 10 daily reps (5-7 days per week) split into 2 sets of 5 reps. The first set is the ‘working set’ and the second set is a ‘back off set’ that’s 10lbs lighter than the first. The cycle starts at about 70% 1RM and moves in either a line or wave pattern towards 80-85% 1RM (or to peak). The intensity only stays at 70% 1RM for 1 or two sessions then it begins to rise.
So a PTTP cycle would look something like this:
Week 1
Mon 2×5, Tue 2×5, Wed 2×5, Thurs 2×5, Fri 2×5, Sat 2×5 (or off), Sun 2×5 (or off) (50-70 lifts)
Week 2
Mon 2×5, Tue 2×5, Wed 2×5, Thurs 2×5, Fri 2×5, Sat 2×5 (or off), Sun 2×5 (or off) (50-70 lifts)
Week 3
Mon 2×5, Tue 2×5, Wed 2×5, Thurs 2×5, Fri 2×5, Sat 2×5 (or off), Sun 2×5 (or off) (50-70 lifts)
Week 4
Mon 2×5, Tue 2×5, Wed 2×5, Thurs 2×5, Fri 2×5, Sat 2×5 (or off), Sun 2×5 (or off) (50-70 lifts)
(Total monthly volume 200-280 lifts at between 70 and 85% 1RM)
Even the original Justa routine (based around singles) sees 252 total monthly lifts that may go from 70% to 80% over the course of the month depending on your 1RM! So as you can see ‘Bench Routine A’ should be quite easy to adapt to and if patience is shown…it will yield big results.
Bench Routine B
This routine is an almost identical shape to Bench Routine A, except there is a slight shift in emphasis from volume to intensity.
You will start with doubles as before, you will bench 5 days per week as before, you will begin the cycle at 70% 1RM as before, you will do the same amount of sets per day as before, all is the same as before.
Except this time your reps per set will not rise every week…the intensity will.
You will keep sets and reps constant and raise the weight on the bar by 5lbs every week until a week is completed at 80% 1RM. At which point your max is most likely up already, but you will, none the less, drop back down to 70%, increase the reps per set to 3 and continue as before back up to 80%.
You aren’t likely to be able to ‘stay on the train’ much beyond (or even up as far as) daily triples with 80%, but the good news is you won’t need to as ‘the train’ WILL stop off at a place your bench has never seen before!
Week 1 (70%)
Mon 2×2, Tue 3×2, Wed 4×2, Thurs 5×2, Fri 6×2, Sat off, Sun off (40 lifts)
Week 2 (70% + 5lbs)
Mon 2×2, Tue 3×2, Wed 4×2, Thurs 5×2, Fri 6×2, Sat off, Sun off (40 lifts)
Week 3 (70% + 10lbs)
Mon 2×2, Tue 3×2, Wed 4×2, Thurs 5×2, Fri 6×2, Sat off, Sun off (40 lifts)
Week 4 (70% + 15lbs)
Mon 2×2, Tue 3×2, Wed 4×2, Thurs 5×2, Fri 6×2, Sat off, Sun off (40 lifts)
(Total monthly lifts 160 at 70% – 70+% 1RM)
This may eventually peak at something which looks like this:
Week 1 (70%)
Mon 2×3, Tue 3×3, Wed 4×3, Thurs 5×3, Fri 6×3, Sat off, Sun off (60 lifts)
Week 2 (70% + 5lbs)
Mon 2×3, Tue 3×3, Wed 4×3, Thurs 5×3, Fri 6×3, Sat off, Sun off (60 lifts)
Week 3 (70% + 10lbs)
Mon 2×3, Tue 3×3, Wed 4×3, Thurs 5×3, Fri 6×3, Sat off, Sun off (60 lifts)
Week 4 (70% + 15lbs)
Mon 2×3, Tue 3×3, Wed 4×3, Thurs 5×3, Fri 6×3, Sat off, Sun off (60 lifts)
(Total monthly volume 240 lifts at 70%-70+% 1RM)
Back Squat Adaptations
As I mentioned earlier, on the back squat you can do ‘more with more’! Meaning, you can do more reps with higher percentages of your 1RM due to the greater ‘inter set rest’ made possible by the huge structural support your body enjoys between each repetition on the squat.
With that in mind…here we go!
Squat Routine A
Follow the exact format of the original ‘Justa’ routine except instead of singles do doubles and lose the last two days of the week making it a 5 day routine.
Week 1 (70%)
Mon 3×2, Tues 5×2, Wed 7×2, Thurs 9×2, Fri 11×2, Sat off, Sun off (70 lifts)
Week 2 (70% + 10lbs)
Mon 3×2, Tues 5×2, Wed 7×2, Thurs 9×2, Fri 11×2, Sat off, Sun off (70 lifts)
Week 3 (70% + 20lbs)
Mon 3×2, Tues 5×2, Wed 7×2, Thurs 9×2, Fri 11×2, Sat off, Sun off (70 lifts)
Week 4 (70% + 30lbs)
Mon 3×2, Tues 5×2, Wed 7×2, Thurs 9×2, Fri 11×2, Sat off, Sun off (70 lifts)
(Total monthly volume 280 lifts at 70%-70+% 1RM)
This is a fairly decent volume of deep knee bends, so you may be best served to run a short pre-conditioning cycle similar to the one used with ‘Smolov’, however even this is not 100% required as the intensity is relatively low enough to allow fast adaptation and the DOMS will fade quickly.
Speaking of ‘Smolov’, if you think the volume here is ambitious and you’re not sure if you can tolerate this much work on the squat then note this. The ‘base mesocycle’ for ‘Smolov’ has you making 408 total lifts within just 3 weeks, at a frequency of 4 days per week and under much tougher loading parameters and set/rep configurations than those seen here…and that’s just for starters!!!!
So my advice is to go drink a glass of quick dry cement and harden up before somebody calls the wambulance for you!
Eastern European Weightlifters squat this kind of weekly volume as a warm up/assistance work for the ‘real lifts’ they compete in…so never underestimate or patronise yourself in this regard. If started from a low enough intensity and given adequate time to be adapted to, the legs can become indefatigable pistons that never say die!
Back Squat Routine B
The second routine really takes advantage of the squats unique ‘more with more’ characteristics. But it also has a much higher rate of perceived exertion, which in turn dictates that it must be lower volume because you can only recover from so much and sooner or later…you have to pay the piper.
The daily volume of reps will be the same as the original ‘Justa’ routine, but again, we will lose the last two days in the week. However there will one significant difference. Instead of doing singles all the reps will be grouped together in one set!
It’s only 1 daily set and it starts off very low volume and intensity, but after a while…it’s going to make you earn it! The weight jumps from week to week should be smaller to accommodate the increase in perceived exertion, 5lbs is plenty.
The cycle will look like this:
Week 1 (70%)
Mon 1×3, Tue 1×5, Wed 1×7, Thurs 1×9, Fri 1×11, Sat off, Sun off (35 lifts)
Week 2 (70% + 5lbs)
Mon 1×3, Tue 1×5, Wed 1×7, Thurs 1×9, Fri 1×11, Sat off, Sun off (35 lifts)
Week 3 (70% + 10lbs)
Mon 1×3, Tue 1×5, Wed 1×7, Thurs 1×9, Fri 1×11, Sat off, Sun off (35 lifts)
Week 4 (70% + 15lbs)
Mon 1×3, Tue 1×5, Wed 1×7, Thurs 1×9, Fri 1×11, Sat off, Sun off (35 lifts)
(Total monthly volume 140 lifts at 70%-70+% 1RM)
Deadlift Routine A
It’s no surprise that I recommend the original ‘Justa’ singles routine for the deadlift. However, one slight but significant change I always made to the original format was to cut the rest periods from 2-3mins down to 10-30 seconds. In the beginning, you can get away with way less than 3 minutes. Towards the end of the cycle, by all means rest longer if you need to, although…we never did.
Week 1 (70%)
Mon 3×1, Tues 5×1, Wed 7×1, Thurs 9×1, Fri 11×1, Sat 13×1, Sun 15×1 (63 lifts)
Week 2 (70% + 10lbs)
Mon 3×1, Tues 5×1, Wed 7×1, Thurs 9×1, Fri 11×1, Sat 13×1, Sun 15×1 (63 lifts)
Week 3 (70% + 20lbs)
Mon 3×1, Tues 5×1, Wed 7×1, Thurs 9×1, Fri 11×1, Sat 13×1, Sun 15×1 (63 lifts)
Week 4 (70% + 30lbs)
Mon 3×1, Tues 5×1, Wed 7×1, Thurs 9×1, Fri 11×1, Sat 13×1, Sun 15×1 (63 lifts)
(Total monthly volume 252 lifts at 70%-70+% of 1RM)
Have you ever heard the expression “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”? Well, when it come to the deadlift, this applies to the ‘Justa Singles’ routine. Why then am I suggesting a second option?
I’m not…not really. The thing is, most routines do start to go stale after a few cycles at best. What I’m presenting here is an option you can use to extend the productivity of ‘Justa’s Singles’ for the DL.
I’ve spoken about this option extensively in my contribution in the book Easy Strength .
Once you’ve successfully ran a couple of cycles of the original routine, make a subtle change. Instead of testing your 1RM then recycling with heavier loads than before, repeat the exact same cycle using the exact same loads…but do so whilst standing on 0.5” plywood boards.
This will extend the range of motion just slightly, almost beyond perception, which is exactly the point. Once this cycle ends, repeat the same loads again but this time the boards are 1” deep. Your max is effortlessly rising and it may even be starting to feel easier than it was the last time you were pulling from the floor.
Justa Bitta This and That!
This all sounds great…but how do you piece it all together in one cycle simultaneously?
It’s actually not as complicated as you think. Believe it or not I’ve had some of my top guys run the original ‘Justa’s singles’ routine for the deadlift at the same time as Smolov on the squat AND a hefty bench cycle as well. Why? Because ‘Justa’s singles’ is the least of your worries no matter what your overall programme looks like. That’s the very point of it, it’s not just easy strength…it’s almost EFFORTLESS strength!
Too many recreational lifters look at the frequency and upper end percentages involved in ‘Justa’s’ original protocol and assume this equals ‘too much’ if any significant squatting is also to take place on top of that.
But they neglect to take one major game changer into consideration. The ‘Justa’s singles’ routine is SO well thought out that once you’re about half way through the first week the weights are already starting to feel lighter. By the time you start lifting in the mid to upper end percentages stipulated in the routine, they actually no longer represent those given percentages because you are now SO much more effortlessly stronger!
So in effect, intensities such as 80% actually feel more like 65% by the time you get there.
Also, it has to be said, one of the biggest differences between the average strength enthusiast and top competitive lifters/athletes is mind set. A soft culture of habitual excuse making and capitulation has weaved its way into the fabric of modern physical cultural the world over. An often times irrational fear of ‘doing too much’ has become the norm with the man on the street. At what point did ‘hard work’ become ‘overtraining’?
To be blunt…the strongest lifters I know just don’t give a shit! They would literally eat nails if they thought their squat would benefit. They fear nothing.
Before anyone tries to play the genetics card I can assure you that in Centaur, with my guys, this mind set was systematically worked on from the first time they touched a VERY light weight as a teenager, right up until they post 1060kg total to become the highest totaling Irish powerlifter of all time (true story).
Man up (even if you’re a woman)…get it done!
Putting It All Together
In truth you could piece these routines together in any random order of selection. But I’ll help you out a little with what way I would do it and why.
If you are not due to compete any time soon I’d run ‘Deadlift Routine A’, ‘Bench Routine A’ and ‘Back Squat Routine B’ because, with the exception of the DL work, they all emphasise base building, volume, fatigue and to a certain extent hypertrophy. Whilst taking the focus off of peaking limit strength.
If you are several weeks out from an important meet and wanted to use a combo of these ‘Justa’ hybrids then I would pick ‘Deadlift Routine A or B’, ‘Bench Routine B’ and ‘Back Squat Routine A’. For the exact opposite reasons as given in the paragraph above.
However one thing I would potentially add here would be to drop the last two weekly DL sessions in either Routine A or B. They work great alone, but the bench and squat work is 5 days per week so coming into the gym to deadlift wouldn’t make much sense and may well throw a spanner in the works recovery wise as the cycle reaches its money sessions towards the end.
In the case of a three lift program I’d work the DL as follows:
Mon 3×1, Tue 5×1, Wed 7×1, Thurs 10×1, Fri 12-15×1
Best of luck. May your lights always be white!
