Killn' The Cube: My powerlifting venture begins

CincyKiller45 said:
Thanks man. Yeah, I could tell the more fatigued I became, the more I started reverting back to my erroneous ways. I'm just going to have to give it more reps to drill it through my thick skull.
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I'm fighting the same form battles, too.
 
CincyKiller45 said:
Thanks man. Yeah, I could tell the more fatigued I became, the more I started reverting back to my erroneous ways. I'm just going to have to give it more reps to drill it through my thick skull.
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The best way to do it is going to be through speed work and in your warmup sets. Get a lot of volume warming up, that will be what drills the pattern. Just try to continue to sit down and back and down and back and down and back. The whole way through. You'll get it.
 
Week 4: Day 4- Accessory day

Standing BB Military-
135x2x8
145x8
155x6

Felt weak on these. Could have been from all the jäger i drank last night.

Tate press:
40x8
45x2x8

Side raise:
20x10
25x10
30x2x10

EZ bar curl+band: 15x3

Banded press down:
2 onx mini x3x30

Chin-up:
BW+25x2x6
Back still felt sore, so I called it.

DB Hammer curl:
40x8x3

Quick easy session. Still was hungover, so my strength was a little down. Heavy squats tomorrow, should have a strong workout.

Edit: Going to be chilling today, thanks to all the great people who serve. Can't wait to get done with school to do my part. Might go fishing or take out the 30 aut to let her eat. I'm aware that i sound like a redneck lol.
 
Week 5: Day 1- Heavy Squat

Squat: 2x3- 315
I turned my feet out a little more than normal today and it went really well. Felt strong coming out the hole. I noticed when I take my time and stay tight I don't have the tendency to lean forward as much. I could have done more weight, but following the % protocol has gotten me stronger each week, so I'm not going to ego lift.

BB goodmorning: 8x3
135x8
155x8
175x8

Leg press: 20x3- 200

Lunges: 12x3- 90
I suck at lunges and absolutely hate them. So, I'll keep doing them.

Lying hamstring curl: 2x50- 30
Hamstring pump from hell.

Banded goodmorning: 50x1
Really focusing on increasing lower back and hip strength. Definitely a weakness of mine.

A lot of volume today. Felt sluggish at first, but once I got moving i zoned in. Forgot to get videos today unfortunately. Oh well, def felt stronger than last time I did heavy squats.
 
If you want to challenge yourself a little more, you can set a rep PR on your last set or maybe take an over set after your Rx'd sets. Just remember two things: It only matters on meet day, and don't miss a rep. You're gonna crush 405 when you try it next.

Here's an example: 405 was my buddy's PR until he hit 415 once in late April. He hit 460 this weekend and his opener of 405 looked something like this:

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CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUBE!
 
Yeah I def will once I establish rep maxes on reg squats. I was pretty much only box squatting previously, so it's going to take a little time.

Yeah bro, your buddy killed 405.

My turn next..
 
Week 5: Day 2- Bench rep

First off, I'm going to say I had a terrible start to my workout. According to my % I was suppose to hit 290x6. As I was warming up I could tell I was feeling weak. I attempted my last warmup set of 265 and tried to get 6. I stalled at 4! I
been looking at my program 7 ways from Sunday trying to figure out where I went wrong.

I've concluded it's either A: I started doing more triceps accessory on Sunday, which left me taxed for today, or B: My CNS is fatigued from heavy squats Monday and heavy sled pulls yesterday.

Pretty frustrating.

Rest of my workout went like:

DB incline: 20x2-60's

Close grip+pause: 12x3
135x12
155x12
155x12

Pec deck: 15x3- 140

V-bar press down: 100x1
50x100

Seated military: 12x3
95x12
105x12
115x12

I was pissed about my bench, so I took the anger and applied it to my supplemental lifts. Turned out to be a solid workout.
 
Note: it's not calorie deficiency either. The last week I've consumed probably 15 hamburgers and 6 boxes of pizza. I'm not exaggerating. Weight is up to 207.
 
Any ideas? Should I lay off BB bench and focus on floor presses, board presses, pin presses, and such?

I don't get why my bench sucked. Even if I had bad form, I had bad form before and got 275x10. I know my DL and squat are increasing as well.
 
CincyKiller45 said:
Any ideas? Should I lay off BB bench and focus on floor presses, board presses, pin presses, and such?

I don't get why my bench sucked. Even if I had bad form, I had bad form before and got 275x10. I know my DL and squat are increasing as well.
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Its probably just an off day bro. Don't have the percentages set in stone, use it as a guideline.
 
Week 5: Day 4- Explosive Dead's

Deadlift: 6x2- 315
% called for 335, but my partners DL is well below mine, so I kept it at 315. I pulled, he pulled right after me. About 15 sec between sets. Really focused on hips down and leg drive. It feels like when I do I lean my back too far forward tho, weird. Should have got videos, but I was zoning and forgot.

Snatch grip DL from bottom pin: 12x3
225x12
245x12
275x12
No real issue with grip. Must be increasing.

Narrow stance squat: 8x3
225x2x8
235x8
All these close stance squats are doing wonders for me. Much better than when I started.

Shrugs: 12x3
225x12
245x2x12

Lat pull-down: 15x4
160x2x15
150x15
140x15
These smoked me. The lack of ISO movements have decreased my strength in them. That's fine with me, since the big 3 are improving.

Banded GM: 1x50- grey elitefts band

Really got after it. 1 scoop focus XT+1 scoop craze got me in another world. This is right where I need to be..
 
Yesterday's workout:

LISS cardio- 1 mile slight incline

Abs:

Banded crunches: 30x3

Banded side bends: 15x3

Plank: 2 min 30 sec x1

Also, hit the heavy bag for a few short rounds. It's been a while ha. Relieves some aggression tho, I'm Irish. Note I only do this when the gyms damn near empty, so I won't disturb anyone's workout flow.

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Week 5: Day 4- accessory day

DB shoulder press: 4x8- 70's

Banded press downs: 30x3- 2 onx mini's

Face-pulls- 15x3- 130

Cat back lat pull: 20x3- blue elitefts band
Saw this exercise in Sean's thread and decided to try it. Felt good, really pumped up the lats.

Banded EZ bar curl: 12x3- 30+grey elitefts band

DB hammer curl (slow):
40x8
45x2x6

Quick 50 min workout. I need to work on triceps and shoulder strength. Everybody's thinking I'm juicing. I try to tell them about the cube and how they should run it, but everyone already knows everything about everything, and their program is superior, lol. Ok.

Note: 1 scoop focus XT+ 1 scoop craze is the best PWO stack I've tried to date. I've tried damn near everything.
 
I posted in Sean's thread; I saw a full Cube cycle that Lilly put together for a buddy of mine.

The freakin programming is INSANE.
 
Swanson52 said:
I posted in Sean's thread; I saw a full Cube cycle that Lilly put together for a buddy of mine.

The freakin programming is INSANE.
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Wow, I wish that was in my budget, lol. Was it a lot different than the cycle Lilly had in his book?
 
Week 6: Day 1- Squat Reps

Squat: 6x1- 295
After reviewing the video, it's clear I was missing depth. This is not a problem I am accustom to. The weight felt light, but I'm disappointed about the depth. I need to focus more before I get under the bar and mentally vision killing every rep. The butt wink wasn't as prominent and I know I've got a lot of room for technique improvement, but it's looking better. I have something in mind for my next squat session.

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Wide stance GM: 8x3- 185
Upping the weight on these while maintaining the proper ROM. Hip and lower back strength are definitely on the rise.

Lunges: 15x3- 40lb DB's
These smoked me, enough said.

Squat: 50x1
Got damn this was killer. Even harder than the first go around. I got to 35 missed depth once, got extremely angry, yelled unconsciously, and killed the last 15. I laid on the floor for a solid 10 min after these.

Aside from the ****ty rep squats, I am extremely happy with my progression. The effort is certainly there. My partner said it was the best workout we've had. I don't doubt him.
 
CincyKiller45 said:
Wow, I wish that was in my budget, lol. Was it a lot different than the cycle Lilly had in his book?
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No it's the same, just the attention to detail, percentages w & w/o bands & chains, pause work, etc.

Wish I had the bucks too.
 
Swanson52 said:
No it's the same, just the attention to detail, percentages w & w/o bands & chains, pause work, etc.

Wish I had the bucks too.
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Nice, nice. I'm def going to implement more pause work. I don't know how to gauge tension with the bands and I want to follow the %'s as close as possible, so I just save the bands for accessory stuff.
 
Sean1332 said:
Cheaper than I thought..
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Yeah it is. I kicked it around, but I simply don't think I'm strong/advanced enough to need his level of detail. I'm still gaining with the basics, so would that be well spent for me? I dunno.
 
Swanson52 said:
Yeah it is. I kicked it around, but I simply don't think I'm strong/advanced enough to need his level of detail. I'm still gaining with the basics, so would that be well spent for me? I dunno.
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I would like the balance in my training, proper assistance planning, and the fact that I wouldn't be as easily injured because of it. That's a very reasonable price. There's a guy who's more expensive across the river from me, and he's just some guy.
 
herderdude said:
I would like the balance in my training, proper assistance planning, and the fact that I wouldn't be as easily injured because of it. That's a very reasonable price. There's a guy who's more expensive across the river from me, and he's just some guy.
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For sure, that's a SMOKIN price.
 
herderdude said:
I would like the balance in my training, proper assistance planning, and the fact that I wouldn't be as easily injured because of it. That's a very reasonable price. There's a guy who's more expensive across the river from me, and he's just some guy.
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x2. For 200 that's def worth it. I was thinking it would be 3 times that. Tempting..
 
Today I went to the gym and did some LISS cardio, abs, foam rolling, and stretching.

A little sore today, but nothing major. To be expected after a 50 rep Olympic squat set. I don't know if its the foam rolling, extra stretching, compete, or the combination of them all, but I'm recovering considerably faster.

I remember my first week cubin, I did squats Monday, drug the sled Tuesday, and couldn't walk right until Sunday lol. Feeling good and loose. Could use some more hip mobility tho.
 
I think my long arms could be the reason for my hips shooting up too early. Might need to start the DL in a already higher hip position.

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Interesting read.
 
From Mike Tuscherer:

Get on a 1" block, break the bar off the floor, hold for 3-5s, then finish the rep. You'll find out exactly where your hips should be at the start.
 
Nice, ill give that a try Friday. Due to my long arms and high hips I know my starting hip position will be higher than most.

Also, I'll be pulling conventional and sumo here on out. I feel like my sumo will be respectable.
 
Week 6: Day 2- explosive bench


Bench: 2x6 - 205
I wish I could have got videos, but I trained solo today and was In a hurry. Speed was much improved. I also held my air and stayed tighter.

Incline DB: 15x3
75x15
70x15
70x15

JM press w/ chains: 12x3- used only 2 60# chains but left half of the chain on the floor because I suck at the JM press.

Standing DB military: 10x3- 50's

Pec deck: 15x3
140x15
150x15
150x15

Banded face-pull: grey elitefts bandx15x3

Good session. Got it in fast and kept form tight. Weight keeps climbing. I'm sitting around 209 already.
 
Week 6: Day 3- DL HEAVY

Got damn I love me some deadlifts

Deadlift: 2x3-
435x2
435x2
445x2

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Worked up to 405 on a 2" deficit. Man I tried my hardest to keep my chest up, but it's caving in every time I lift heavy. Would that be an indicator of an upper back weakness?

Also pulled sumo for 2 sets light to get the feel for it. I noticed in the video the bar was too far out in front of my shins. I think sumo could be my best lift if I keep working with it.

Sumo: 365x2

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Snatch grip DL: 8x2
275x8
275x8

Stiff legged DL: 8x3
185x8
185x8
185x8

Just focus on pushing ass back and slowly letting the weight down.

Pull-ups:
BWx12
BWx10
BWx8

30 sec between sets

Behind back smith shrugs: 20x2
225x20
245x20

Grip was absolutely smoked. Gave my body a beating. My partner missed 405 twice, so I started giving him cues on form. He ended up hitting 405x2 twice. Then 415x2. Feels good to help a brother out.
 
You didn't take the slack out of any of those reps. When you jerk them, it's hard to keep the back in the right place. You have to get down in there and lean back on the bar until it feels like your hams are gonna rip off, and THEN explode up.
 
herderdude said:
You didn't take the slack out of any of those reps. When you jerk them, it's hard to keep the back in the right place. You have to get down in there and lean back on the bar until it feels like your hams are gonna rip off, and THEN explode up.
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When your saying "lean back on the bar" are you implying keeping the bar on the shins before you pull?
 
Lower back is tore up today. Didn't do too much except a ME cornhole tournament. On another note; I'm stressing out whether my deadlifts or bench are actually improving. I been training my ass off, eating a surplus of cals, but not sure where my numbers actually stand.

I guess that's what week 10 is for.
 
CincyKiller45 said:
When your saying "lean back on the bar" are you implying keeping the bar on the shins before you pull?
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No, you don't have to. I start with the bar over the balls of my feet. But as I bend my knees, I rock back. You mentioned you want to try to have your hips high, and that's fine, but you still want to rock back into position. Think about sitting back until your shins touch the bar, and then try to drive your heels through the floor and headbutt someone behind you simultaneously.
 
Week 7: Day 1- Explosive Squat

Pause squat: 2x5- 245 (2-3 sec pause)

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Damn power rack has 3 inches between pin holes, so I have to tippy toe it off the weight holders or I would have to quarter squat the weight off. Looked like I didn't have the butt wink problem and kept my chest up better. Anything else you guys see?


Front squat: 2x1
245x2 (PR)

Olympic squat: 5x4
225x5x3
245x5

Leg press: 15x4-220

Reverse hyper: 20x3- BW
Tried to Jerry rig a band and it didn't go as planned.

Cable pull-through: 15x3- 90

Zoomed through this workout with little rest. The entirety of this session lasted 55 min. My work capacity is higher than its ever been and I increased weight on every single lift. Also, did every lift completely RAW w/o my belt. Felt great today, which is surprising since I went to a wedding yesterday and drank at least 15 manweiser's.
 
CincyKiller45 said:
Week 7: Day 1- Explosive Squat

Pause squat: 2x5- 245 (2-3 sec pause)

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Damn power rack has 3 inches between pin holes, so I have to tippy toe it off the weight holders or I would have to quarter squat the weight off. Looked like I didn't have the butt wink problem and kept my chest up better. Anything else you guys see?

Front squat: 2x1
245x2 (PR)

Olympic squat: 5x4
225x5x3
245x5

Leg press: 15x4-220

Reverse hyper: 20x3- BW
Tried to Jerry rig a band and it didn't go as planned.

Cable pull-through: 15x3- 90

Zoomed through this workout with little rest. The entirety of this session lasted 55 min. My work capacity is higher than its ever been and I increased weight on every single lift. Also, did every lift completely RAW w/o my belt. Felt great today, which is surprising since I went to a wedding yesterday and drank at least 15 manweiser's.
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The butt wink and falling chest are still there but much more faint. Hard to really see from this angle tho.. Not sure about knees.
You broke your hips then kinda paused, then went down.. try to make the motion more fluid.


Also, lol at the term "manweiser"


Just keep doing more wall squats and body weight box squats pushing the hips back super hard
 
aceroni said:
The butt wink and falling chest are still there but much more faint. Hard to really see from this angle tho.. Not sure about knees.
You broke your hips then kinda paused, then went down.. try to make the motion more fluid.

Also, lol at the term "manweiser"

Just keep doing more wall squats and body weight box squats pushing the hips back super hard
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Thanks brother. When I'm breaking my hips I'm actually arching my back to get in position to squat. I guess I should keep that position throughout?

I'm actually pleased with how my squat is progressing. It has improved the most throughout this cube run.

I still need to work on staying tight/holding my arch, and using leg drive on bench. Also, sitting back on DL's. It's a lot harder when you know a lot more than your partner and have to cue yourself. Oh well, I've got all the time in the world and will keep chipping away, hopefully taking a small step forward each day.
 
CincyKiller45 said:
Thanks brother. When I'm breaking my hips I'm actually arching my back to get in position to squat. I guess I should keep that position throughout?

I'm actually pleased with how my squat is progressing. It has improved the most throughout this cube run.

I still need to work on staying tight/holding my arch, and using leg drive on bench. Also, sitting back on DL's. It's a lot harder when you know a lot more than your partner and have to cue yourself. Oh well, I've got all the time in the world and will keep chipping away, hopefully taking a small step forward each day.
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Yeah you should move those j hooks one set lower, and arch the bar out of the rack.

That or find some mats to stand on for the higher setting.

do not tip toe the bar out
 
Week 7: Day 2- Heavy bench

Floor press: 1x3
295x1
305x1
315x1

These were all tough reps. I made sure I had a 1 sec pause on the ground. The bar started drifting towards my head on the last two sets. Didn't get vids because I'm lying about the weight. Really was using 135, lol.

BB bench:
205x14
205x9

Paused every rep. I'm no longer going to care about weight, but to execute efficient reps. I kept my body tight for all the reps. Also, noticed a big difference from pushing through my heels off my chest. Thanks ace. I was down reps on this particular exercise from the last heavy bench. I do not contribute it to getting weaker; more like using better form and floor presses being taxing as hell.

Cat-back lat pulls: Blue elitefts band
x25
x15
x14
Showed my buddy from Columbus these. We were both hurting and loving it.

Triceps press-down: 2 onx mini
x25
x20
x15

BB shrugs: 15x3- 225

OH press:
115x12
95x12
95x8/4 rest pause

Showed my buddy what the cube was about and now he's having me write him my 9 week template. Really pushed the pace and kept intensity high. Couldn't let him think his program is more challenging. This workout coupled with waking up at 4:30 has left me absolutely drained. Today was a huge success.

Edit: Floor presses are harder for me than reg bench. The ROM is not much shorter and I can't use leg drive.
 
CincyKiller45 said:
Week 7: Day 2- Heavy bench

Floor press: 1x3
295x1
305x1
315x1

These were all tough reps. I made sure I had a 1 sec pause on the ground. The bar started drifting towards my head on the last two sets. Didn't get vids because I'm lying about the weight. Really was using 135, lol.

BB bench:
205x14
205x9

Paused every rep. I'm no longer going to care about weight, but to execute efficient reps. I kept my body tight for all the reps. Also, noticed a big difference from pushing through my heels off my chest. Thanks ace. I was down reps on this particular exercise from the last heavy bench. I do not contribute it to getting weaker; more like using better form and floor presses being taxing as hell.

Cat-back lat pulls: Blue elitefts band
x25
x15
x14
Showed my buddy from Columbus these. We were both hurting and loving it.

Triceps press-down: 2 onx mini
x25
x20
x15

BB shrugs: 15x3- 225

OH press:
115x12
95x12
95x8/4 rest pause

Showed my buddy what the cube was about and now he's having me write him my 9 week template. Really pushed the pace and kept intensity high. Couldn't let him think his program is more challenging. This workout coupled with waking up at 4:30 has left me absolutely drained. Today was a huge success.

Edit: Floor presses are harder for me than reg bench. The ROM is not much shorter and I can't use leg drive.
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Glad you got that leg drive down brother.

I hate floor presses, I feel like I just can't get my upper back as tight, nor can I have any arch
 
That's some serious floor pressing, my man!
 
That's funny; I like floor presses because I spent so many years benching incorrectly, so the lack of leg drive doesn't affect me much.
 
aceroni said:
Glad you got that leg drive down brother.

I hate floor presses, I feel like I just can't get my upper back as tight, nor can I have any arch
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Yeah man, for the first time in my life I felt the bench press work my legs. Felt different, but my bar speed increased noticeably.
 
Swanson52 said:
That's funny; I like floor presses because I spent so many years benching incorrectly, so the lack of leg drive doesn't affect me much.
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I've only floor pressed a handful of times, so it's weird for me. Def harder for me to stay on my traps and hold my arch.

Get your leg drive down and you'll be benching an ass ton.
 
Today:

Walked on treadmill 20 min at 4mph on a slight incline.

Banded crunches: 30x3

Hanging knee raises: 10x3

Banded kettle-bell side bends: 12x2

Palloff press: 12x2

Finished with a decent foam roll sess.

I've decided I'm going to run a few more cube cycles, last of which will be constructed by Lilly, then have my first real competition. I think this will give me enough time to hammer down my form and get my numbers up.

Until then I will keep busting ass and learning more and more. My quest to retard strength will continue.
 
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