all due respect, do you think that the cube and all the assistance work is necessary at this point. I am your height and about 25 pounds heavier. After 27 plus years of training, I now have an elite total both raw and in gear (admittedly, I have only done a handful of meets in the 90s and these are gym lifts but they were all performed in front of experienced lifters with meet style technique-I did not, however, do them on the same day like a competitive lifter so I am by no means bragging).
I started off lifting with a bodybuilding style routine and got stronger simply because I was new to lifting. After about 3 Years and multiple plateaus, I wised up and realized that 70% of what I was doing in the gym was a waist of time (E.g Using 3 pressing movements and 2 isolation movements for chest when I did not have a chest worthy of sculpting, 15-20 sets of biceps, I would occasionally deadlift and squat because I was under the impression that strength was measured by the bench press). This style of training, severely hindered my progress.
When I realized my training was built on a foundation of bullshit, I started from scratch. Before getting into more involved conjugated programs or more detailed Western periodization models (which has value, despite what some people may say), I simply went to the gym and did programs such as 5x5 on all the power lifts a couple of times a week beginning with about 75% of a 1 rep max.
I trained a total of 4 days a week. Monday and Thursday for upper body and Tuesday and Friday for lower body. I did the squat and dead lift on the same days. I added 5 pounds per week to each power lift until I could not get all 5 reps on each set. I would then take a week off, and start the routine over again using 10-15 pounds less than where I started and I would sometimes change the assistance movements if they also felt stale. This is the most basic form of periodization, known as 2 steps forward and 1 step back. Therefore, I would avoid burnout and still have a general trend of gains.
On bench I would do 3 sets of 8-12 reps on the second workout of the week with about 10-15% less resistance. On squat/dead lift day, I would start with 5x5 on the squat for the first lower body workout of the week, and on the second lower body workout of the week I would start with deadlift for 5x5. The second exercise, either deadlift or squat were performed with light weight for 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps. Note that I would rarely train to failure.
I would add about 2-3 assistance movements (plus some ab, biceps and calf work) that were basic full range exercises as opposed to floor presses, accommodating resistance movements using chains or bands, partial movements such as board presses, block/pin pulls etc… This took my bench from 225 to 315, my squat from 300-405 and my dead lift from about 405 to 525 at a body weight of about 170 (up from 150) in a years time. Granted, I was 17 years old and had a lot of time on my hands, low stress and high testosterone levels.
I have spent the last 15-20years using more complicated programs addressing very specific weak points and my body weight has gone up to 220 and I have put close to or more than 200 pounds on each of the power lifts. This averages out to about a 15 pound per year gain per lift. Admittedly, if I left my ego at home and followed the more involved conjugated programs ( as well as some western periodization here and there) correctly instead of over estimating what I was capable of, I would have achieved these numbers in half the time.
My point is this. The cube method (which I have used successfully as well as the Westside model) seem to assume that you have built a strong foundation. Your power clean and log press are great considering your powerlifting total. This is not a criticism, because my genetics are not great.
My current total is a result of lifting for a very long time. Having said that, in my humble opinion, you still have a lot of untapped potential to bring the other lifts up in a short period of time using a very bare bones routine designed to build a balance of size and strength. I would recommend using a very simple, old school strength program for a few more years.
I do not believe you have built a sufficient foundation to spend so much time analyzing your weak points and worrying about speed training. Simply lift with good technique, control the load and lift with as much effort as possible (in other words, apply as much force to the bar as possible on each and every rep). Good assistance movements can be changed every month or so and should consist of incline, decline or overhead presses with barbells or dumbbells and dips.
For lags do pull ups and a rowing or shrugging movement. For lower body, good mornings, leg presses, lunges and back raises are all you need. Throw in some type of curl and tricep extension for 4-5 sets of 8-12 reps.
FOR EXAMPLE: Monday and Wednesday do 5 sets of five on bench starting at 170-175 and add 5 pounds per week until you cannot get all 5 sets of 5. Suppose you get to 200 and fail on the 5th set. Then drop to 190 and start over again. The next time you might fail at 210.Then drop to 195-200 and start over.
Add a pressing movement for shoulders or pecs depending on where you are week for 4 sets of 8.
Add a tricep extension for 5 sets of 10 and focus on the quality of the contraction. If you do not feel it 100% in your triceps, then lighten the load.
Add a lat movement for 4-5 sets of 8-10. Either pull ups, barbell rows, one armed dumbbell rows or t-bar rows (leave the pull downs, hammer strength and cable shit alone for a while.
Add a arm flexion movement (curls, reverse curls, hammer curls) for 3 sets of 12-15 reps with light weight and perfect technique
Tuesday and Friday:
Squats for 5 x 5 with 235 or dead lifts 5 x 5 with 300
Dead lifts or a Squats for 4 sets of 8 with about 30-40 pounds less than you did the 5x5 with the previous workout.
leg press for 3 x 10
Good morning for 3 sets of 10
Hanging leg raises, standing ab pull downs, ab wheel roll outs, incline sit ups or weighted crunches for 4 sets of 15-20
In my opinion, you will gain size and add pounds to you power lifts much faster doing a routine like this, than by doing a more advanced routine for lifters who are benching at least 1.5 times body weight (at your current body weight more like 1.7 time bodyweight), 2.25 times body bodyweight on squat and 2.5 time bodyweight on deadlift. Basically, we are talking about a 315 plus bench, a 425 plus squat and a 500 deadlift.
You should hit these numbers in 1-3 years depending on quality of diet, rest and stress level. Then you can use a more advanced program to start chasing elite numbers. You may encounter some static from your more advanced training partners, but trust me when I say that none of them developed a foundation using the routines that they use now. You will also notice that the lifters who are at or near elite are lucky to gain 10-20 pounds on a lift in one years time.
Please take my long post as a sign that I know you are a serious trainee who wants to get better and I respect the hell out of that. I just do not agree with the top lifters encouraging novice to intermediate lifters to use their routines that are designed for advanced competitors. If you disagree with my sample routine, you might want to revisit 5/3/1.
If you stopped gaining on that program you may have over or underestimated your max, or training one day per week on each lift is simply not enough. Lifts need to be practiced more frequently at your current level. Good luck.
Tom