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Killn' The Cube: My powerlifting venture begins

Sean1332 said:
You'd be good just doin some non taxing mobility work man. Maybe some prehab work.
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Cool, thanks. I been stretching the hips pretty aggressively. Hopefully I can achieve depth easier.
 
Week 11: Mock meet day


Don't know what to say, except I'm extremely disappointed.

Squat: during warm ups I was feeling weak and form felt off. Warmed up to 365. Attempted 365 and got folded. As soon as I started sitting back my chest caved and there was no recovering. Attempted it again, chest didn't cave, but I'm 100% sure I missed depth. So, me being a genius, I decided since I got folded by 365 once and missed depth once I would try 375. Straight up got folded. /squats.

Bench: warmed up to 275. Got it, but was very slow off my chest. Attempted 305, failed. Attempted again, got it but was the slowest rep of my life. No way I shouldn't have nailed it. I have gotten 315x4 4 months ago.

Deadlift: feeling drained by now. Attempted 455 and got it. Felt alright and I sat back more, but was pretty slow. Attempted 495, god damn fail again. Got it to my knees and couldn't finish.

Finished everything in about 90 min. No doubt in my mind I busted a$$ every single day during this program. I think the deload was my detriment. I been feeling weak all week. I thought it was in my mind because I haven't taken a deload, well ever. Nope, I displayed pure sh1t of strength today.

I'm going to take it on the chin and move on. Today is not the day to whine. I'm going to train harder than I ever have in my life these coming weeks. No holding back, no excuses, no nothing except improvement. I hope everyone appreciates the sacrifices people have made for our country today. Have a good day everyone.
 
Yeah, trying to grab a total in 90 minutes is crazy tough, dude. It takes me 45min to get to my max weight for one lift. This might have been a case of getting PRs all cycle long and not being able to perform on the meet day because you're all beat up. Lilly talks about that a good bit. Take some time to think up what's next.

Whatever you decide is next, we'll all be along for the ride.
 
Sean1332 said:
Well...in a real meet you're doing all 9 attempts within several hours...not 90 minutes. Sucks man.
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Yeah bro. Sh1tty because I know for a fact my squat has improved, which should have improved my deadlift as well. I was feeling great a week ago aside from some DOM's. That 6 days off killed me. I honestly think where I stand today, I could lift heavy more frequently and still improve. I'm upset, but not at the same time. Sometimes failing is the best thing for you in the long run. It's only uphill from here.
 
He does say meet week is week 10. Go to Nomz's Cube log and see how he did his. He did it over the course of a week.
 
herderdude said:
Yeah, trying to grab a total in 90 minutes is crazy tough, dude. It takes me 45min to get to my max weight for one lift. This might have been a case of getting PRs all cycle long and not being able to perform on the meet day because you're all beat up. Lilly talks about that a good bit. Take some time to think up what's next.

Whatever you decide is next, we'll all be along for the ride.
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Thanks man. I can't really say I been nailing PR's all cycle. A few rep PR's at most, and a squat single PR. I certainly was beating the hell out of myself on all the accessory lifts. I still think the cube is an effective program, I just didn't know how to implement it to my individual needs. The way it was set up in his book, IMO, left a lot of upper back work on the table.

I got some really good ideas. I'll be running the cube again, but set it up totally differently. I will be hitting back and bi's on tues and sat. I got this idea from Jimmy Pacifico. A lot of rows, zercher squats, chains, hip accessory, and pause work in my future. Along with extreme form improvement. The form changes IMO played a part today. 9 weeks is not enough time to ingrain proper movement patterns. I think when you start changing your form for the better, at first you will take a small step back then two major steps forward.
 
Sean1332 said:
He does say meet week is week 10. Go to Nomz's Cube log and see how he did his. He did it over the course of a week.
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My mistake, this is week 10 for me. I'll def check out Nomz log.
 
The good thing about today compared to week 1 is i know exactly where my weak spots are. Squat is the hole. Bench is 2 inches off my chest. Deadlift is right below my knees. I'm still still new to all this stuff and have a lot to improve upon.
 
CincyKiller45 said:
Yeah bro. Sh1tty because I know for a fact my squat has improved, which should have improved my deadlift as well. I was feeling great a week ago aside from some DOM's. That 6 days off killed me. I honestly think where I stand today, I could lift heavy more frequently and still improve. I'm upset, but not at the same time. Sometimes failing is the best thing for you in the long run. It's only uphill from here.
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If you can walk away from it with lessons learned and a greater knowledge base, it was not a failure by any means.
Even if you were to bomb out during an actual meet, so long as you can pinpoint the reasons/weak points in form I'd just view it as another stepping stone. Keep hitting it hard and smart, and you will undoubtedly get to where you want to be.
 
A wise man sees failure as progress


That sucks man, but good to see you taking the positives from it. My meet(first one) total was 30lbs less than my gym total. Live, learn, adapt.
 
I say go back in a few days and squat and maybe bench again. It's still week 10. If you felt weak and were off, and were telling yourself all week that you felt weak, and worried about the deload, all that stuff is hindering you. You need to get in the right mind set, you need to KNOW that you are going to hit your number. Believe in yourself. If your rep PRs got stronger during this, and you just didn't produce on Meet Day, you still know you got stronger. Keep your head up and keep killing it.
 
CountryLiftin said:
I say go back in a few days and squat and maybe bench again. It's still week 10. If you felt weak and were off, and were telling yourself all week that you felt weak, and worried about the deload, all that stuff is hindering you. You need to get in the right mind set, you need to KNOW that you are going to hit your number. Believe in yourself. If your rep PRs got stronger during this, and you just didn't produce on Meet Day, you still know you got stronger. Keep your head up and keep killing it.
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I def felt weak, but I don't think I should max again. Because I want to tidy up my form before I attempt another max out.

This cycle the %'s won't be as important as I have established some rep PR's. I feel a lot more comfortable formatting it to my needs and adjusting accordingly. I love the idea of an explosive,rep, and heavy day. I know my squat improved and would bet my DL has too. Maxing out on DL's within such a small time of maxing on squats killed my DL. When I got 515 I certainly did not squat the same day, or within several days for that matter. Bench I don't really think improved. I expected a decline from the simple fact I started actually pausing and keeping a more controlled eccentric, but not this much lol.

Still happy I did the mock meet. Makes me think I can have a huuuge increase in total next mock meet day. :)

Cube run 2 starts Monday.
 
I feel ya bro. Just saying if you wana do it do it. You'll be good either way though. You sound confident and that's what you need.
 
CountryLiftin said:
I feel ya bro. Just saying if you wana do it do it. You'll be good either way though. You sound confident and that's what you need.
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Yeah I usually do my best following my worst. I won't be surprised if this coming cube cycle is the best 9 weeks of my life. I've got big goals to achieve.
 
Week 1: Day 1- Explosive squats


Pause squat: 3x8: 225
3 sec hold on first 7 sets and a 5 sec on last set.

Front squat: 3x3-
205x3
225x3 (PR)
225x3 (x2PR?)

Zercher low box squat w/ chains: 5x3-
Bar+2 60# chains
Haven't done zerchers in a minute. These bad dudes kill. The instability of the chains swaying really forces you to engage the core. The box was undoubtably below parallel at least 2".

Lying hamstring curls:
100x10
100x8
90x8
I did all of these with the slowest eccentric possible. Upwards of around 8 sec. Could barely walk after lol.

Banded GM:
Average EFS bandx50

Feels so good to be back in the gym. I'm going to have serious DOMS tmrw. I can already feel it in my hips, abs, hamstrings, and lower back. I hope this time off has helped my CNS fully recover and open up a new world of progression. I'm paying close attention to form and really sitting back and spreading the floor. I found out today the more I opened my hips up the more my back stayed upright.

I'll be hitting the gym tmrw for back/bi's. My back has really weakened since starting the cube. And why I'm doing bi's? Cause I want big arms dammit.
 
Awesome workout man. I can feel the DOMs reading that haha.


I usually like to do some curls, then bust a flex, then say "this is what happens here," and then I walk out the gym with my arms up in the air and flexed on the way to the car. I think it helps :D
 
rob112 said:
Awesome workout man. I can feel the DOMs reading that haha.

I usually like to do some curls, then bust a flex, then say "this is what happens here," and then I walk out the gym with my arms up in the air and flexed on the way to the car. I think it helps :D
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Thanks man, felt a lot better today. It's safe to say I will never try to total in 90 min fasted again. It will have to be in 2 days, as I don't have time to be at the gym for 5 hours lol.

That's one way to go about curling, haha.
 
Today:


Cat-back lat pull-
Heavy EFS band:
x25
x20
x15

Croc rows: 12x3- 90

DB rows: 15x3- 60

Reverse fly: 20x3- 90

Concentrated curl: a lot- 20's

Shrugs:
135- 10 sec squeeze at the top. Going for more of a DC type training on traps. Bodying heavy weight up does not make mine grow.

Calves

Ab wheel roll out

Static stretching

Didn't do anything heavy today. Some volume and concentrated on a slow tempo. I blew out my shoulder playing college baseball due to a lack of proper back/rear delt work. I will not cross that bridge again. Total workout lasted about an hr.

Heavy bench tmrw. Going to implement pause presses an inch or two above my chest. Interested to see how I respond.
 
Week 1: Day 2- Heavy Bench


Floor press: 2x5- 275
Ignored percentages and went with a weight I knew I could nail. Every rep except one felt smooth. Good pause on ground.

Pause press 1-2" above chest: 3x3- 225
First time trying these and I loved them. 3 sec pause on every rep.

Rolling tri extension: 12x3- 30's

Pec deck:
forget weight and reps just did every rep as slow as I could and with a good squeeze at the top. These felt so much better with a slow tempo. Going to keep it that way.

Seated military press: 15x3- 95
Was smoked by the time I got to these, so I picked a weight I knew I could perform perfectly with each rep. Was tough, but I got all the reps.


Today was the best bench day I've had with the cube hands down. Every single rep was performed with close attention to form. The weight felt light. I'm thinking the deload might have done me good after all because this week has been great. Maybe I just needed time out of the gym to rethink how I was doing things, and to rekindle that flame.
 
That's a pretty big floor press. You let your tris soak into the floor? I feel like that gives me the best work.
 
CountryLiftin said:
That's a pretty big floor press. You let your tris soak into the floor? I feel like that gives me the best work.
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Yeah I did. It's def the best way. My sticking point is just above the chest. If I can get that better through isometric work my bench should improve. I felt fresh today and instead of the 252, which the cube called for, I did 275. I might have been able to do more honestly.

Edit: lifting partner deleted the video erhh. Looked good from what I saw .
 
Yeah man that's good work right there. My sticking point is about the same, weak tris, but it's improving the more I hammer them.
 
Week 1: Day 3- DL RE

Deadlift from floor: 415x8

Felt solid. I def had more in me, maybe 11 or 12. I have a video, but it's not worth posting. My phone fell and all you can see is my knees down. What I did learn from the video: I thought I was dropping my hips way lower than normal, 90 degrees maybe. The video however shows I was nowhere close to that. Going to work on that.

Sumo from floor: 6x2- 365

Just felt awkward. I'll post the video of which is quite possibly the worst set of sumo DL's. lol.

Rack pull: 3x1- 455

Set the pin one higher than normal, but also stood on some plates.

Oly squat: 8x3
225x8
235x8

Felt great.

Reverse hyper pseudo set up: BW- 20x3

Had a great workout today. Hungover from country concert yesterday. Started drinking at noon and don't want to know how many beers I drank. I didn't let that slow me down. Somehow some of my best workouts are after a night of drinking. I pulled that 515 hungover and fasted.

Will post videos after they upload.
 
Sumo:

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First rep was the best. Sh1t fell through fast. I was having trouble getting my hips through with these. I need to learn to get my hips back further without falling back. Going to need a lot more reps, barely been doing these.

Oly squat:

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Felt good and was getting some bounce out of the hole.

Sorry for the bad angles I didn't have my partner today to get videos. The space is so tight in that portion of the gym that I couldn't set a box to the side for a better angle.
 
Soooo how's your back feel on those sumo pulls?

Try to open the knees up a but more on the squats. Awesome depth though, man.
 
Sean1332 said:
Soooo how's your back feel on those sumo pulls?

Try to open the knees up a but more on the squats. Awesome depth though, man.
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Not bad, lol. I know they were bad. Sumo is not my thing, just doing it to strengthen my hips. Not an excuse to not improve my form though. They just felt weird. I was getting pissed and form went down even more.

Yeah I noticed my knees were caving in a little as well. Forgot that cue today. Depth was def there tho.
 
Nice work. Back was sort round before you even did the sumo reps. Maybe you're just curvy... LOL
 
Week 1: Body day


DB shoulder press: 6x4- 75's

Cable side lateral:
30x15
20x20x2

JM press: 8x3- 95
Yup, I suck at these.

Weighted Pull-up: 6x4- BW+25

2 min plank

Good workout today. Going to keep doing my body day on Saturday's and have Sundays for recovery. I need to foam roll today. Pretty sore from my workout yesterday.
 
So, there's a trainer at my gym that I always talk to. Real cool guy. I decided to google his name.

Here's the first picture that showed up:



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Hahaha wtf. He's yoked, but why in the hell is he wearing that?
 
My first personal trainer was the same way, he had viking pictures, Conan-looking pictures, all kinds of photo shoot-type stuff. That's just what they do. ****, I'd wear Spartan **** even fat and hairy!
 
Judging by the posing trunks one can assume he's on stage. My guess is this is at the night show during his routine and he probably wanted to have fun with it.

Maybe the show was around Halloween.
 
Week 2: Day 1- Heavy Squat

Squat:
275x2
295x2
315x2
335x2(Rep PR)

Phuck yes. Took my stance in today and I can honestly say my squats have never felt so strong. Got some bounce out of the hole. I'm not kidding when I say I'm 30-40lb stronger this way. Achieving depth was effortless and I think I was breaking parallel on a lot of reps.

Pause squat (10 sec goal/no belt): 1x4- 225

Since I'm going to keep squatting narrow, I thought I should spend some time in the hole to get comfortable.

Leg press (high): 20x3- 200

Goblet squat: 12x3- 65lb DB
Hips loved it.

Banded lateral walks: 10x3- x2 wrapped onx mini

Great damn workout. I wish I could train this late everyday. Had 3 meals in me and I could feel the difference from fasted. Don't know exactly how long, but my guess is a little over an hr. For me that is great time. I was certainly not 100% today, lower back has been so damn sore. I felt so good with my squat i almost attempted 365x2. ALMOST, lol.
 
Squat: 335x2

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I still need to work on spreading my knees. Also, staying more upright. I think I finally figured the cue to keeping my chest up, and I believe I was getting depth. Once again i trained solo so I apologize for the angle.

Pause squat: 225

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Goal was 10 sec. I don't think I was there quite 10, but I stayed until I thought my head was going to explode. I tucked my elbows and It forced my chest up so hard I almost ate sh1t on the way up haha.
 
Thanks man. Now I need to find exact parallel depth with it, as well as spreading the floor. My walk outs are much improved. I should have listened to Sean earlier and narrowed my stance. This might sound weird, but this is the first time I really feel like I'm incorporating all my leg muscles into my squat.

That pause had me redder than a tomato. I thought I was gonna pop for a second.
 
Pauses are freaking brutal. I should do them more myself.

In Sean we trust on dem squats
 
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