UPDATED: Go to post #206 for beginning of Sheiko. Hola all. Dan here. I decided to start up a separate log to record my attempt to use Mr. Lilly's "Cube Method" training. I still think of myself primarily as an Olympic Weightlifting coach but given the very sparse amount of coaching I get to do I suppose it's a good time to really push my own training and see what happens. For anyone wondering why I don't actively train for and compete in Olympic Weightlifting; I have chronic left knee pain(PFS) that is greatly agitated by the violent re-bending of the knee which is really the crux of Olympic Weightlifting. Or at least in the style that I coach. So, given that I can still perform the slow lifts with only minimal to moderate knee pain I figured I'd be as good at them as I can. Even though, admittedly, I'm not a big bench fan still. So, training and what not. I decided to give this Cube Method a go for a minimum of one full ten-week training cycle and just see how it goes. This will really be my first attempt to really follow mid-term pre-determined programming not written by myself. Best recent lifts/training TM Squat: 385#/365# Bench: 290/275 Deadlift: 525/505 I'm attempting to keep my BW between 170-175# so that if I ever decide to compete making my way to 165 won't be an issue. So far maintaining this training weight has been pretty easy and I splurge quite a bit honestly. I could easily go further down in weight, I believe. But I feel my frame is just too large to go lighter. Hell I might end up being too tall for 65 anyways but I don't think I'm in any position to be thinking that far ahead so, no worries.
Saturday, DEC 15 Rep Day, Deadlifts Deadlift, from the floor 355#(70%TM) 1x8 4" Block Pulls 405#(80%TM) 2x3 HBBS no belt or wraps 195# 3x8 GHR: 2x10 Razor Curls: 2x10 Back Raises: 1x50 Body Weight 173 ---Pull work: The video is pretty useless. Had a hard time getting comfy in set up. Not sure why. The weight and set as a whole was very easy but very slow. I think mainly because of my set up being weird and me not cuing well. ---Blocks: Wish I'd gotten video here so I can at least try to replicate off the floor position a bit. Starts felt slow but very firm lockouts at least. Hands on fire like the whiny bitch I am. ---The whole workout felt crazy easy. Like one loooong warm up. Okay except the GHD work. That was tiring. I'm going to do the first week using his example workouts as closely as possible. Seems like a solid way to start as I'm not comfortable enough with the programming style to really change anything even though there is a lot of flexibility built in. The recommended percentages are very much on the safe side I think. I'll keep them for this cycle and see how they feel later on when things get a bit more rugged.
Great, I like seeing people trying out new programmes. When do you think you might compete? How competitive do you think you can be if you really focus?
Thanks man! I really have no idea. I'd like to believe I can put up good numbers but there are some ridiculous monsters at 165#. So, I have no idea how competitive I can be in the long term. I mean it's staggering to see the top two pulls at 65 being over 650 and third place being 618(?). Honestly if I could just make it somewhere on the top 10 active lifters list I'd be pretty pleased with myself. You and me both, buddy. I'm still going to use FS's as assistance. Don't think I've forgotten about you haha.
As will I. One of the great benefits of F13 is that one can use other people as guinea pigs; see how they respond to programs before trying them yourself. While of course some programs will work better than others for different levels etc, it's still possible to make an educated guess as to whether or not a program is worth trying. The Cube looks interesting, but I'm put off my the potential inflexibility of a 4 day week training template. I have a maximum of three days to strength train per week.
definitely going to be watching this log for basically all the same reasons listed above. this program seems pretty interesting. good luck!
I honestly don't feel I can comment with any intelligence yet. Overall though, the whole program seems more flexible. That was trippy. Very trippy. Good to know. One of the deciding factors in choosing this programming was your recommendation. A very loose recommendation, but still. If it makes things any easier he strongly encourages this 4th BB-style day to be brief and "fast paced". I feel I got quite a lot done today and I was able to get in and out in about 75 minutes. And that was w/ some bullshitting with my friend. Thank you sir!
Sunday, DEC 16 BB Day OHP: 120# 4x8 -H Lat Pulldown, wide: 120# 4x12 -E KB Alt Pr: 24 Kg/Ea 4x8/ea -H Low Row, D Handle: 150# 4x10 -E Front Raise + Laterals: 15#/ea 4x8 -E Face Pulls, Spud strap: 100# 4x12 -E Calf Raises, Smith: +90# 4x20 -E BB Curls: 65# 4x10+D/S -H Spud Strap Kneeling Crunch: 150# 5x12 -E --This was surprisingly fun. I used to be a big "bro" for my first couple of years in the Navy. Did a drop set of curls, 5-3-3-3-3-3, and then a bunch with the bar using 2.5s. Lololol. --First time I've OHP'd in.... a long time. Surprisingly good. Last couple of reps on the last set were slow-ish but I'm not worried about it. --He's really big on the calf raises and bicep curls so I figured I should go with it. Felt weird. --I was in and out in about 75 minutes.
What do the H and E stand for at the end of some of those exercises? Edit: if it's "hard" and "easy," i'm going to feel pretty special
Hahahah. Spot on Scoops. I figured since I'm supposed to be rotating a bunch of this stuff out frequently I needed some kind of note about how challenging said set was. There's no real metric obviously other than how I "feel". I'm erring on the side of caution though so E/Easy I could definitely have done more, easily, no doubt and H/Hard meaning it was even moderately challenging/slowed down/etc. I'm doing this because a lot of these movements had a history of causing various issues when I was bro-ing it up.
Good luck with the cube method. I know a few people who are considering of switching over. I'll direct them here!
I bought the ebook. If one's intention is to compete in Powerlifting, you could do a lot worse than run a cycle of the Cube. I found the book to be well written and informative(and as others have pointed out, very reminiscent of Wendler in some parts). I will not be using the Cube, as I believe it's too specialized for me. I might have tried it six months ago, at the beginning of Squatr Bowl, but next year I will be focusing on my Martial Arts training, especially BJJ. So while Strength Training will still be important to me, it will be a lower priority. Wendler's, "5/3/1 for MMA" will be more than enough. Since you intend to do a Meet, Dan, the Cube will probably give you good results.
Monday, DEC 17, 2012 Bench Day, Heavy Floor Press: 225#(80%TM) 6x2 5th Set: Flat Bench: 175#(63%TM) 2x15 Lat Pull Down, medium grip 120# 3x12 -E Klokov Press: 85# 3x12 -H DB Shrug: 90#/ea 3x12 Band Pressdown, purple: 4x25 --Floor pressing felt easy and strong so I did an extra set. --The flat bench repping was semi-rough. The recommended % was anywhere from 60-70 so I rounded up to 175# which is a little above 60%. Last three or so reps of the second set were slower than I'd like. --Same for Klokov pressing. Last couple reps of the last set were somewhat annoying. The programming called for mil pressing today but I'll be honest my delts were shot from the mid line forward so I did this instead. --Felt silly doing shrugs.
Wednesday, DEC 19 Squats, for speed HBBS, belt, wraps: 225#(60%TM) 8x3 R/B HBBS, belt, wraps, Light band 295#(80%TM) 2x2 1st and last set of straight weight, reverse band squats: Front Squat, belt: 185x5, 195x5, 205, 215, 225 Done as ascending 5's. Leg Press: +6 3x15, +8 1x15 -E KB Swing: 80# 3x15 -E Ghetto rev hyper: Micro band x50 --Felt really strong today. First time using straight weight for "DE" work. Tried to keep the rests short between squat sets. The programming only called for one set of reverse bands but they felt great so I went ahead and got another set in. The first rep of the second set came forward a bit as I was really trying to move. --Front squats were easy but I was staying on the cautious side as it's been a long time since I squatted that much in one day so I'll have to see how the knee responds. --Leg pressing was weird. --Didn't have easy access to a Reverse Hyper today so I.... improvised. Once I add some way of padding and better hand holds the set up will be serviceable.
