Just wrote up all my training maxes and weights. None of it posted.
Lift - Calc. 1RM (Training Max)
Press - 187 (168.3)
Bench - ?292 (262.8)
Squat - 422 (379.8)
Dead - 485 (436.5)
It just so happens that the first day of my next cycle lands on Christmas. I will either find an open gym (probably not going to happen) or take a day off. Believe it or not, I hate missing days despite the fact that I miss so many. Oh well. I will take that time to recover, and eat carbs.
I am only moving my squat up 5 lbs instead of the recommended 10 because I struggled with it last week. This lift may need deloaded very soon. I may deload it before the third week if I feel like it is becoming counterproductive and I am just hitting a single.
I feel like I did make some progress in my last training cycle. Hopefully I can keep making pretty good decisions and working consistently.
Bodyweight of 210.0 as of this morning.
[quote]trivium wrote:
[quote]csulli wrote:
Good shit man, really strong[/quote]
Thanks man, but then there is thisâŚ
So yeah. We could definitely squat together and not have to change weights in between sets.
AndâŚshe is good looking. Double win.[/quote]
sheâs sexy. My ex could deadlift 250something but was crazy unfortunately. Hopefully lifting for chicks continues to catch on haha.
can you not use chalk at your gym ever? I had good luck with an eco ball, itâs like $2-4 and almost as good, but invisible.
I have to update this log later tonight. It is on my list of things to do. My life got nuts for a few days.
I worked traps, and got a OHP workout in.
Lift from 12/23/13.
Smith Machine Shrug
1 pps x 10
1 pps x 10
2 pps x 10
2 pps x 10
2.5 pps x 10
2.5 pps x 10
3 pps x 5 (Was losing grip here.)
2 pps x 10
2 pps x 10
2 pps x 10
2 pps x 10
I had a nice sore feeling going in my traps after this lift. I like being able to use less weight on my assistance and feel like I got a good workout.
Lift from 12/26/13. Went to a different gym because I was out of town. It ended up being really nice, Iâll explain below as I go.
Press
5x45
5x95
5x110
5x135
6x145 (Failed 7. Paused reps. A weak lift. I was not happy about this.)
5x145 (Repeated it. Only got 5. Paused.)
4x145 (Yeah. Failed number 5.)
4x135 (I was beat. I failed number 5. Paused.)
Dips
10/8/2 (Just wanted to get to 20 here. The bars were really far apart. Felt hard on my shoulders.)
Pull Ups
7/5 (Was losing grip here the bar was really smooth.)
Dips
10/7/6/50
(Found dip bars in the corner of the gym. These were old school and fucking awesome. I had a triceps pump going and my chest was nice and sore the next day.)
Pull Ups
5/5/6/4/5/4
(Found another pull up bar. It too was in the corner and was old school as shit. Awesomeness. I wanted to get to 40 total. Not sure if I made it or not. I donât care to count at the moment. Had a nice soreness going in my lats for the next day.)
I didnât eat quality food, or sleep well the night before. I also lifted early in the day, instead of at night like I normally do. Not my best lift, but I made due with what I could get, and got familiar with that gym so that next time I go back things will go better. This was the best I could do given the circumstances.
Todayâs lift.
Pull ups (We did them at a bunch of grips. Started with regular pull ups to try to make up for the other dayâs shittyness.)
10 reps pronated just beyond shoulder width. Tied PR?
7 reps supinated at shoulder width.
5 reps supinated at shoulder width.
6 reps neutral grip narrow width.
5 reps neutral grip narrow width.
5 reps supinated at shoulder width.
5 reps supinated at shoulder width.
Face Pulls
10x50
10x65
10x80
10x80 (Crap reps.)
10x80
10x80 (Crap reps.)
10x70 (Partner didnât reset stack.)
10x80
10x80
15x35 (Nice smooth controlled reps.)
Standing Straight Bar Curl
60 lbs x 10/10/10
70 lbs x 5 (Will be moving up to 70 for all sets next time.)
Rear Lateral Raise
20 lb dumbbells for sets of 10/10/10
15 lb dumbbells for sets of 10/10/10
Rear Lateral Machine
10x80
25x50
10x70 (Really tried to control all reps on the machine.)
Was sliding all over the place doing the face pulls. I donât know why. That has never happened before. I had to adjust my set up a bit, but it was no big deal. Had fun with this lift.
Tomorrow I will squat.
[quote]browndisaster wrote:
[quote]trivium wrote:
[quote]csulli wrote:
Good shit man, really strong[/quote]
Thanks man, but then there is thisâŚ
So yeah. We could definitely squat together and not have to change weights in between sets.
AndâŚshe is good looking. Double win.[/quote]
sheâs sexy. My ex could deadlift 250something but was crazy unfortunately. Hopefully lifting for chicks continues to catch on haha.
can you not use chalk at your gym ever? I had good luck with an eco ball, itâs like $2-4 and almost as good, but invisible.[/quote]
You arenât supposed to, but I try to be respectful and I know a lot of people that work there so I am tolerated. I will get thrown out before I will stop using chalk.
Damn. I have been busy these last few days. Iâll have to catch back up with everyoneâs logs when I get a chance to breathe.
Squat
5xBW (My hips were so sore that I couldnât make depth.)
5xBW (Same story as before.)
5x45 (Horrible reps. Same story as before.)
5x135 (Terrible reps.)
5x185 (Finally started to be pushed down to depth. Hip pain.)
5x225 (I think you get the picture here.)
5x250 (Moved my feet in a bit and really tried to stay tight. Hip pain subsided until the hole.)
5x285 (Some pain on a few reps. Foot position was narrower again, and I was still working on staying tight.)
7x325 (No PR, but I had a good conversation with another lifter before this. Much slower descents here. Brutal.)
3x325 (Felt pretty good. I donât think I would have been good for 4 but my last rep was the best one. Slow descents again.)
5x285 (Rough set.)
5x250 (Some were paused, some not. These were hard. Really focused on keeping my arch here.)
(I need to remember to get that huge breath of air before the lift. That was key, and didnât happen on every rep. The other lifter told me I was dive bombing the lift, and to slow down because I would get more out of it, it wouldnât be as hard on my joints, and it would be easier in time. He also said I was going so low that he felt it was taking a lot of weight on the bar. He said my back was rounding a bit and that I am strong as hell, but moving the weight with my upper body, and not efficiently with my lower body.)
Leg Press
20x400
10x490
6x580 (I was whooped here. I didnât have any more in me. So I went into âsalvage the workoutâ mode.)
10x400
10x400
10x400
10x400
I am stiff as hell right now.
Jammed for time again. Sorry boys.
I was nervous about my last liftâs numbers because I found a 45 lb plate that looked to be the same size as the 100 lb plates, however I remember that I loaded the smith machine myself, so I know that they were all 100 lb plates to start.
All gyms are closed today. I just moved to a new city as well. I need to find a gym. I have been calling frantically, but nothing is open. I am burning up my recovery day between my upper body work and my deadlift session. I didnât want to have to do that.
I hate holidays, and I wish I had a home gym and didnât have to move every 6 weeks.
[quote]trivium wrote:
All gyms are closed today. I just moved to a new city as well. I need to find a gym. I have been calling frantically, but nothing is open. I am burning up my recovery day between my upper body work and my deadlift session. I didnât want to have to do that.
I hate holidays, and I wish I had a home gym and didnât have to move every 6 weeks.[/quote]
I know what you mean man. I am very fortunate to be able to train pretty much whenever. But this kind of thing is out of your control; can only worry about things you have control over ya know?
[quote]csulli wrote:
[quote]trivium wrote:
All gyms are closed today. I just moved to a new city as well. I need to find a gym. I have been calling frantically, but nothing is open. I am burning up my recovery day between my upper body work and my deadlift session. I didnât want to have to do that.
I hate holidays, and I wish I had a home gym and didnât have to move every 6 weeks.[/quote]
I know what you mean man. I am very fortunate to be able to train pretty much whenever. But this kind of thing is out of your control; can only worry about things you have control over ya know?[/quote]
I was driving around, and had to stop in a convienient store to get some laundry detergent and find a laundromat. This guy looked like he had seen the inside of a weight room before, so I asked him if there was a good gym around.
As it turns out he knows one of my friends from my gym back home really well, and he pointed me to a small gym owned by a guy named âSmiley.â Apparently he will loan you out a key if he likes you. I am going to have to wake up early as hell, or get a good schedule going. I donât know. This rotation may end up being rough.
Lots of lifts to log. Here we go for 1/2/14.
Bench Press
5x45
5x135
5x175
5x200
11x225 (PR. Paused. Stopped a few reps short of failure. This was awesome.)
5x225 (Long pauses.)
5x200
5x175
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
80 lb dumbbells for sets of 10/10/10/10 (PR sets and reps.)
Kroc Row
115 lb dumbbell for sets of 10/10/10/10/5 (Last set was for a good squeeze.)
Here is the lift from 1/3/14.
Chest Supported Row
1 plate x 10
2 plates x 10
3 plates x 8 (Not happy with all reps.)
2 plates for sets of 10/10/10/10
2.5 plates for sets of 5/5/5/5/5 (3rd set was not so great.)
Rope Cable Pushdown
60 lbs on stack for sets of 10/10/9
50 lbs on stack for sets of 10/10/10/10/10
Straight Bar Cable Pushdown
70 lbs on stack for sets of 10/10
100 lbs on stack for 10
120 lbs on stack for sets of 10/5/5
90 lbs on stack for 10 (Really tried to squeeze and control all reps during this exercise.)
Yesterdayâs lift.
Deadlift
5x135
5x185
5x225
3x275
5x285
5x330 (Killed this set. I mean killed it. These felt awesome.)
9x375 (Hitched 9 a bit at top. 10 failed above knees. Not sure if PR or not.)
2x375 (Started to hitch 3, so I just stopped. Used towels to ease my grip pain.)
5x330 (Towels. Felt heavy.)
5x285 (Towels.)
(Took my time getting all these sets. Lots of rest.)
Leg Curl
10x60
10x80
10x100
10x120
8x130 (Almost got 9. This is 1 more than last week.)
15x100 (This was a set of 10 last week.)
15x100 (This was a set of 10 last week.)
8x100 (Almost 10.)
9x100
10x70
cool log Trivium, seems like youâre getting pretty close to your goal of 4/3/5
Super busy. I wish I had a bit more time to read everyoneâs logs.
EDIT: Wont let me post in my log, so I am going to post in an edit. This is my second off day, so tomorrow will be a lifting day. I will be doing press.
Here is what I was trying to post (It is a good write up for what I might be looking at trying out in the near future)âŚ
Been looking into Cube lately. Wanted to put up some info.
Originally posted on the Juggernaut Training Systemâs facebook:
"Cube Kingpin: How Can It Work For You
To start off this article I guess I should start with a â??Thank Youâ??. Thank you to the people who took a chance, and ventured onto a different path in their training, and believed in the Cube. The Cube is always evolving, but the core principles are the same, and that is the rotation of the varying intensities (Heavy, Repetition, and Explosive). The latest variation, and the cycle I used for my preparation for CAPO, and again for the contests that are coming up is called â??CUBE KINGPINâ??.
The reason for the name is a long story. Basically I visited Dan Green at his gym (Boss Barbell), and while I was in California I ran some ideas by Dan, and he ran some by me that he believed would benefit my training. As I was going through my cycle people began asking about what I was doing I decided to pay respect to Dan, and his gym and called it â??Cube Bossâ??. Since then there came about some confusion of people thinking Dan was training the Cube, which is not the case so to avoid any further confusion I changed the name to Kingpin, and here is why Kingpin will work for you!
The basis for the Cube Method came from my transition from geared lifter, to training, and competing raw. I wanted to identify issues within my training, and narrow down the pieces of the puzzle that I believed would benefit me the most in this path:
Piece one of the puzzle was muscle hypertrophy as a goal Piece two was rep work. My time in Ohio was spent chasing the ever important 1 Rep Max, and I seldom ever did reps over a triple. I had gotten damn strong doing sets of 6, 8, 10, and 15â??s before, so I needed to get back to that. Piece three was heavy training. I had to come up with a systematic approach to training heavy without going backwards, and also find a way to lift the heaviest weight possible on meet day. The final piece was explosive power. I noticed that when I had trained with just a barbell I was damn strong, and very damn fast. I had used bands a lot, and chains even more, and I had slowed down. Thatâ??s not to say those tools donâ??t work, I had just never utilized them properly, so I wanted to start over with just a bar, then add in the extra tools as I saw fit.
The Cube Method is somewhat of a throwback and I appreciate it every time I hear it referred to as â??old schoolâ??. The reason the Cube will work is because it is very basic but can be applied to all levels. The â??secretâ?? is the rotation of the lifts and the waves involved.
On this method you will notice a variety of rep ranges, exercises, and an intense focus on realizing that a training cycle is supposed to build you up and prepare you for one day: Meet Day. On this method Meet Day will become something sacred to you. It should, that is the only place the lifts count. In a day and age of immediate social media networking anyone can become what I like to call a â??YouTube Superheroâ??. These are guys that PR every workout and somehow never produce at meets. On my method you may be the guy that showcases solid training in your videos or logs, but nothing over the top, and then BOOM a meet full of PRâ??s. You decide where your biggest lifts matter, and if it isnâ??t on the platform, and you need an ego boost every time you walk in the gym, then I apologizeâ?Œ This method is not for you. This type of training will kick your ass, and humble you. But like an unpolished stone along the way you will see the reps and sets are getting easier and easier until you walk under the bar for your opening squat and destroy itâ?Œ MEET DAY IS KING!!
CUBE METHOD PHILOSOPHY
Every single powerlifter has one common goal in mind. That is to become the best that they can be. Some will strive to be the best in their gym, the best at a meet, state, country, or World, but all that means is we have a desire to improve. If you donâ??t want to get better then I donâ??t understand why you chose powerlifting, as it is incredibly difficult, and Iâ??m not sure why you are reading this article. I believe that each powerlifter has a deeper connection with themselves than the average person on the street. I believe that we have a driving force inside of us that will not let us be â??normalâ??. I believe if times were different we would be the ones waging wars on the battlefield, we would be the warriors that rise up, and fight. Why do I say this? Because this sport has cost me dearly, but I canâ??t turn it off. It is a refusal to be complacent, or average. If I didnâ??t have this sport I can almost guarantee you I would be in prison for beating the shit out of someone daily. Nothing fulfills me like heavy weight. The fire within me is not something I learned, or can teach you. The fire is either there or itâ??s not.
On the platform we have to perform the three classic lifts: the Squat, Bench, and Deadlift. On the Cube we will attack them intelligently, but we will also bring back into the fold a much over looked lift, the Military Press. Ideas I like to adhere to:
The only PRâ??s that matter are those on the platform, and for those of you that donâ??t compete the PRâ??s at the end of the cycle is what we train for. You may not hit a PR for 9 weeks, but when you test them on week 10 you should blow your old PRâ??s away. Now, for those of you freaking out right now you will have chances to PR before then, but you need to buy into the fact that a 5 lbs. PR today is ok, but I want a 20 lbs. PR later, so donâ??t let your short term training diminish your long term results. Stop one set early. We all know the feeling of defeat when you are in the gym, you hit a good lift, then the next jump is iffy, we take it anyway and miss. We WILL NO LONGER MISS WEIGHTS. Make a plan, stick to it, hurt feelings. I havenâ??t missed a weight because of strength in over 15 months. I might miss on a technical failure, but if that is the case I can reset and immediately do the weight. Check your ego at the door. Your rep and explosive day are just as important as your Max day because they are what lead to successful PRâ??s, take them seriously, attack the weights each time you are in the gym.
CUBE PROGRAMMING
On the Cube Method you will train three or four days per week, I prefer four. It is a 10 week cycle. Upon completion of the cycle you should either do a meet, or a â??mock meetâ?? in your gym to establish new PRâ??s. Base your next 10 week cycle off of your new PRâ??s. Why a mock meet? Sometimes this sport can take a toll financially, so to avoid the hassle, and expense of a meet pick a Saturday at the end of your cycle and go into the gym just like it is a meet. Perform your best, and build from there. Believe me, psychological conditioning is every bit as important as the physical side of training. My waves are 3 weeks for squat bench and deadlift and they are modeled like this.
Week 1-Heavy Work Day, Explosive Work Day, Rep Work Day, Body Day
Week 2-Explosive Work Day, Rep Work Day, Heavy Work Day, Body Day
Week 3-Rep Work Day, Heavy Work Day, Explosive Work Day, Body Day
Week 4-Recycle the Wave
I called it â??Cube Trainingâ?? as when itâ??s mapped out it looks like a â??Cubeâ??. I never lift heavy on two lifts within a week. If I deadlift heavy training, my bench is explosive training, and my squat is for repetitions, and as the weeks rotate the â??Work Daysâ?? are rotated also. Keep in mind that if we are constantly â??testingâ?? a lift, we cannot appropriately â??buildâ?? a lift. At some point the body will reject the training and injury, or burnout will occur. On my method you are constantly stopping early, or training sub-maximally which creates the â??dog on a leashâ?? effect that I like to refer to. Think about holding back for 10 weeks, and holding back, and holding back, and then on meet day you are let off the chain. That is when you attack the platform with renewed ferocity, and I swear the PRâ??s will come.
Hereâ??s the setup:
WEEK- 1 2 31 4 5 62 7 8 93 10x
Deads- 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 x
Bench- 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 x
Squat- 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 x
Key- 1=End of Wave 1, 2=End of Wave 2, 3=End of Wave 3, , x=Meet Week
Sundays are always a bodybuilding day. Every Sunday I have three exercises that are never rotated. They are Military Press, Bicep Curls, and Calf Raises. From there I pick three weak bodyparts, and I choose one exercise for each. I vary my sets and reps depending on feel. If I am feeling beat up from the week I will do more sets (no more than 5 per bodypart, never less than 3 sets) with more reps (never more than 20, never less than 6 reps), if I feel fresh I do less sets with heavier weight for fewer reps.
A typical Sunday:
Military Press- 3 x 10 Bicep Curls w/EZ Curl Bar- 4 x 15 Calf Raises- 4 x 15
Weak Point Training
Leg Curls for Hamstrings- 5 x 20 Lat Pulldowns- 4 x 12 Pec Flyes w/Dumbbells- 3 x 12 Abs (Abs are done every training day)
The bodybuilding is a great day because it allows for a whole different style of training, as well as focusing only on hypertrophy, and forgetting about heavy weight. Take this day seriously, but be mindful to enjoy it. Understand that you are building your body to look like a lifter instead of a fat piece of shit which long ago became acceptable in our sport.
Now that you have somewhat of an idea about what the Cube Method originated from let me introduce you to the newest phase of the Cube, and the cycle that I believe has made me stronger than ever before. I do recommend that you run a cycle or two of the Cube Method before you jump right into the Kingpin cycle, but if you want a challenge then jump right in!! Just make sure to focus on your recovery�
CUBE KINGPIN
What I want to be clear with you about the CUBE is I am not trying to sell you on an easy path. Iâ??m not a scientist, I donâ??t use big words, I donâ??t give two shits about making people feel special. I donâ??t promise you miracle gains overnight, and I sure as hell donâ??t promise results without effort. What I do promise is a system that has proven to be effective over, and over again so long as the stimulus is increased for the lifter, and when we hit PRâ??s, we increase the stimulus, so the issue of success takes care of itself. So long as you work for it. The way I look at the body, and the longevity of a lifter is strictly dependent upon the base he builds. Imagine building your body like climbing Mt. Everest, in an attempt to make it to the top sometimes you have to stop for a few hours, maybe ever track back down the mountain a bit to find the path to best move forward, and give your body the ability to acclimate to the thinning air. A straight up ascent would lead to lung failure, and potentially death. Now, apply that to a powerlifter. I see guys make monumental strides for a year or two, and then they are gone. Where did they go? Why did their numbers stall?
My belief is that they rose too quickly. To be the best your body has to be working in unison. Tendons, ligaments, muscles, neuro activity. All of this has to build gradually. So how do we achieve this steady progression, that is not only realistic, but in a way that allows our body to work together?
Steady progression. I have a map that I lay out for lifters that looks like this. We run five, ten week CUBE KINGPIN cycles in a year with a goal of a minimum of 5 lbs. progression each lift.
Squat- x 5 cycles x 5 lbs Progression x 1 year = 25 lbs.
Bench- x 5 cycles x 5 lbs Progression x 1 year = 25 lbs
Deads- x 5 cycles x 5 lbs Progression x 1 year = 25 lbs
That gives us a yield of 75 lbs. progress per year in theory. Now, some of you may laugh at this and say you can add that to each lift in a cycle. Maybe you can, but I am talking about raw strength. Not getting a tighter suit, or bench shirt, but real measurable strength. Now my geared lifters donâ??t get in an uproar! I am just saying that a shirt, or suit can be great today, lose a pound and itâ??s rendered ineffective tomorrow. I am talking about raw progression as it is consistent.
So, in theory 75 lbs. per year x 4 years = 300 lbs. (In theory)
Take a 220 lifter (raw), with a 1500 lbs. total. Have him stick to this plan, and lets say in year one he doubles his expectations and hits 10 lbs. per cycle, then for the next 3 years stays on point. He is now an 1875 lbs. lifter, and if he can maintain another year or two like that then you are talking about a lifter that is now on the Top 20 List All-Time!!!
I am not here to promise you bullshit. You will not make it to the top quickly. People look at Dave Hoff, or Eric Lilliebridge both doing massive numbers by 24 years old� Guess what? Dave joined Westside at 15 years old!! Eric began training with his dad at 13 years old, so they have over 10 years invested, many of those years in the quiet shadows as an unknown working their ass off. I added in the Strongman Movements, and Chin Ups (almost every Euro Lifter I look up to does chins on the regular� YouTube Konstantin Konstantinovs for example) to make you mentally tougher, as well as physically harder. That will make you better overall. But it will still take time. My question to you, rather my challenge is can you pull the reigns back and progress more methodically, and purposefully? Can you set your goal at 3 years of constant progress instead of 2 years of zig zagged effort? If you can understand that champions are not built overnight, but rather over a career then here is a plan for you.
FORMULA
(Here is a 3 Week Wave of the Kingpin Cycle)
WEEK 1
Heavy Deadlifts
Competition Stance from Floor 80% x 2 reps x 5 sets
Block Pulls 85% x 1-3 reps x 2 sets
2â?? Deficit Pulls 75% x 4-6 reps x 2 sets
Lat Pulldowns 15 reps x 4 sets
Shrugs 10 reps x 3 sets
Heavy Dumbell/Barbell Walks 30 secs x 3 trips
Pull Ups x Failure x 3 sets
Rep Bench
Competition Bench 70% x 8-12 reps x 2-3 sets
Close Grip 75% x 6-8 reps x 2 sets
Bench w/Pause 1â?? Off Chest 65% x 10-12 reps x 2-3 sets
Lat Pulldowns 15 reps x 4 sets
Side/Front Raises 10 reps x 3 sets
Pull Ups x Failure x 3 sets
Explosive Squats
Competition Stance Squats 65% x 3 reps x 8 sets
Olympic Squats or Front Squats 70% x 5 reps x 2 sets
Pause Squats (Pause in the hole) 60% x 8 reps x 2-3 sets
Heavy DB/Barbell Walks 30 secs x 3 trips
Leg Curl/GHR 15 reps x 3 sets
Back Raises 12 reps x 4 sets
Pull Ups x Failure x 3 sets
WEEK 2
Explosive Deadlifts
*My personal deadlift days on the explosive day are different than what is listed. I choose to do a wave of 65% for 12 reps in under 20 seconds, 70% for 8 reps in under 15 seconds, 75% for 6 reps in under 10 seconds. This is just my preference, my clients usually stick to the program as listed. Competition Stance from Floor 65% x 3 reps x 8 sets Block Pulls 70% x 5 reps x 2 sets 2â?? Deficit Pulls 60% x 8 reps x 2-3 sets Lat Pulldowns 15 reps x 4 sets Shrugs 10 reps x 3 sets Heavy Dumbell/Barbell Walks 30 secs x 3 trips Pull Ups x Failure x 3 sets
Heavy Bench
Competition Bench 80% x 2 reps x 5 sets
Close Grip 85% x 1-3 reps x 2 sets
Bench w/Pause 1â?? Off Chest 70% x 4-6 reps x 2 sets
Lat Pulldowns 15 reps x 4 sets
Side/Front Raises 10 reps x 3 sets
Pull Ups x Failure x 3 sets
Rep Squats
Competition Stance Squats 70% x 8-12 reps x 2-3 sets
Olympic Squats or Front Squats 75% x 6-8 reps x 2 sets
Pause Squats (Pause in the hole) 65% x 10-12 x 2-3
Heavy DB/Barbell Walks 30 secs x 3 trips
Leg Curl/GHR 15 reps x 3 sets
Back Raises 12 reps x 4 sets
Pull Ups x Failure x 3 sets
WEEK 3
Rep Deadlifts
Competition Stance from Floor 70% x 8-12 reps x 2-3 sets
Block Pulls 75% x 6-8 reps x 2 sets
2â?? Deficit Pulls 65% x 10-12 x 2-3
Lat Pulldowns 15 reps x 4 sets
Shrugs 10 reps x 3 sets
Heavy Dumbell/Barbell Walks 30 secs x 3 trips
Pull Ups x Failure x 3 sets
Explosive Bench
Competition Bench 65% x 3 reps x 8 sets
Close Grip 70% x 5 reps x 2 sets
Bench w/Pause 1â?? Off Chest 60% x 8 reps x 2-3 sets
Lat Pulldowns 15 reps x 4 sets
Side/Front Raises 10 reps x 3 sets
Pull Ups x Failure x 3 sets
Heavy Squats
Competition Stance Squats 80% x 2 reps x 5 sets
Olympic Squats or Front Squats 85% x 1-3 reps x 2 sets
Pause Squats (Pause in the hole) 70% x 4-6 reps x 2 sets
Heavy DB/Barbell Walks 30 secs x 3 trips
Leg Curl/GHR 15 reps x 3 sets
Back Raises 12 reps x 4 sets
Pull Ups x Failure x 3 sets
As you can see the formula is the first movement is always the competition lift, and it holds to the Cube rotation of Heavy, Rep, or Explosive but the added benefit is that you really work all three each day! This is done by adding 5% to the second movement, and then on the 3rd movement dropping 10% from the second lift percentage. So each lift will be worked from three intensities, and in three different forms. What I have found this does it allows the lifter rapid development in each lift, as well as building a solid base to build upon cycle to cycle, and hits the lifts from various angles so you become virtually unstoppable once competition begins. At the end of each three week wave you just revert back, and up the percentage so that you consistently climb in a linear progression, but you always slack back just a little after the heavy week, this allows for maximum recovery, as well as the heightened excitement to go that much harder in the gym when the heavy days do roll around. I have found in myself that when the heavy comes for each of the lifts I am not bogged down, and dreading the work, rather I am anxious and excited about the fact that I get to handle maximum work capacity. This is the kind of lifting that builds confidence over time. Consistently handling weights in excess of 90% at all times may work for a while, and especially for a geared lifter, but for the majority it will lead to burnout, and frustration from the impossible task of hitting PRâ??s every week. The only PRâ??s that matter to me are on the platform, or in your arena of athleticsâ?Œ Last I checked official records arenâ??t kept on what you do in practice.
(To date six men have competed, and totaled over 2,000 lbs. raw using the Cube Method. Hundreds have hit their Elite totals, and numerous Best Lifter trophies. I want to personally thank all of you, as well as the people who doubted our abilities. If it werenâ??t for people doubting me Iâ??d never have started competing in the first place. Thank you!)"