View Full Version : Question about The Cube
I have just finished reading the cube and am going to start really soon but I have a few questions:
1. How are the days split? Should it be every other day, for a week, then restart a week later? I don't always have sundays available to train, so is there a way to program around it? I'd love some examples to work around it.
2. Should I program ahead of time for the assistance work & bodybuilding days? I know the main lifts don't change, but should I go ahead and program the entire 10 week cycle including the assistance work? Because I might find a weakness in another muscle group that I should train instead of another for assistance work. I'm just a little confused haha.
Thanks guys. Can't wait to get started on this. I might do a mock meet before I start the cycle just to see where all my maxes are, unless you suggest I don't.
Hey man!
I donīt really understand your first question. What do you mean by "How are the days split"? The cube consists of 4 days, one for each main lift (deads,bench,squat,overhead).
If you can only train 3x/week: Usually you should shoot for ~6 exercises on the 4th day, so if you know you can only make it to the gym 3x a week, then simply add 2 exercises on the 3 days you are going to the gym. So you split the 4th day up and distribute it to the other days.
Second question: I think that doesnīt really matter. If you want, program the assistance work. If you donīt want to, then donīt do it. I personally do 2-3 "bigger" assistance movements after my main movements, which are pretty much the same all the time. So that would be i.e. floor press, dumbbell presses, snatch grip deadlifts etc.
After that i do 2-3 "small" assistance exercises, like rows, curls, triceps...for these i just do whatever i want to do that day. It really doesnīt matter if you do triceps extensions with dumbbell or bands, standing or seated.
But i do believe in sticking to some "bigger" assistance exercises, on which you also try to improve and progress.
Hope this helps!
Greets
Hey man!
I donīt really understand your first question. What do you mean by "How are the days split"? The cube consists of 4 days, one for each main lift (deads,bench,squat,overhead).
If you can only train 3x/week: Usually you should shoot for ~6 exercises on the 4th day, so if you know you can only make it to the gym 3x a week, then simply add 2 exercises on the 3 days you are going to the gym. So you split the 4th day up and distribute it to the other days.
Second question: I think that doesnīt really matter. If you want, program the assistance work. If you donīt want to, then donīt do it. I personally do 2-3 "bigger" assistance movements after my main movements, which are pretty much the same all the time. So that would be i.e. floor press, dumbbell presses, snatch grip deadlifts etc.
After that i do 2-3 "small" assistance exercises, like rows, curls, triceps...for these i just do whatever i want to do that day. It really doesnīt matter if you do triceps extensions with dumbbell or bands, standing or seated.
But i do believe in sticking to some "bigger" assistance exercises, on which you also try to improve and progress.
Hope this helps!
Greets
I mean the days split like.. do we just do however we want to? Like brandon always does bodybuilding day on sundays, but I don't want to have sundays in my training because I don't always have sundays free. How do we program them? Do they need to be every other day or just however I want? Haha sorry if I'm confusing you.
Also, when programming it, is it like every week we start, we do the next heavy day, etc..? Like let me try to give you an example.
Let's just say for example:
my first cycle, which is also week 1, I start tomorrow, which is a thursday, which is a heavy deadlift day. then I have an explosive day then a rep day. Does that mean I should do my heavy squats the next week on thursday? Or does that mean the days switch around like when he says "and as the weeks rotate the 'Work Days' are rotated also."
And can I switch the days around, like if I get a sunday off (my upcoming sunday I don't work) and I can skip the next sunday and do that workout on the next monday?
I guess I really just need help with programming haha
It doesnīt matter if your bodybuilding day is on sunday or not. A week could also look like that:
Mon: Deadlift
Tue: Bench
Wed: off
Thu: squat
Fri: bodybuilding
Sat/sun: off
Itīs really up to you.
As far as the rotations go. You have a heavy, rep and explosive day for each of the 3 big lifts.
So a week i.e.:
Mon: Deadlift heavy
Tue: Bench explosive
Wed: off
Thu: Squat reps
Fri: bb day
Sat/Sun: off
you always rotate heavy,explosive,rep. Next week would looke like that:
Mon: Deadlift explosive
Tue: Bench reps
Wed: off
Thu: Squat heavy
Fri: bb day
Sat/Sun: off
And so on.
Have you read the book? If not, get it and reat it from beginning - end!
It doesnīt matter if your bodybuilding day is on sunday or not. A week could also look like that:
Mon: Deadlift
Tue: Bench
Wed: off
Thu: squat
Fri: bodybuilding
Sat/sun: off
Itīs really up to you.
As far as the rotations go. You have a heavy, rep and explosive day for each of the 3 big lifts.
So a week i.e.:
Mon: Deadlift heavy
Tue: Bench explosive
Wed: off
Thu: Squat reps
Fri: bb day
Sat/Sun: off
you always rotate heavy,explosive,rep. Next week would looke like that:
Mon: Deadlift explosive
Tue: Bench reps
Wed: off
Thu: Squat heavy
Fri: bb day
Sat/Sun: off
And so on.
Have you read the book? If not, get it and reat it from beginning - end!
I've read it but I keep going back and looking at key areas haha. I can rotate the explosive / rep days however i'd like, right?
And do the days matter? Like your example, on both weeks, wednesday is an off day, but what if i wanted to switch my tuesday and wednesday? And should I always end my week cycle on the same day?
Really appreciate the help bro
This is my current cycle setup, with today's session that I'm about to go do:
Maxes set at:
Squat 330
Bench 235
Deadlift 400
July 5th
Week 1, Day 1 - Deadlifts (ME)
Deadlifts w/ 2 Deficit:
320 x 2 x 5 (5 sets of 2 at 80%)
Snatch Grip Deadlifts:
225 x 8 x 2 (2 sets of 8 at 55%)
Dumbbell Rows:
45 x 10 x 3 (3 sets of 10, each side)
Dumbbell Shrugs:
65 x 20 x 3
Doing the deadlifts with 2" deficit with sumo, since that is what I use for the heavy weights. I will do conventional on explosion and rep days. I'm going lighter on the snatch grip since I have never done it before and I'm not sure how I will handle it at 65% haha.
Chivalry
07-05-13, 3:01 pm
You can rotate the days as you see fit, but a week is done once you finish that cycle of all four days (or three if you just do three).
My set up is Sat - Chest, Sun- Legs, Mon- BB, and Wed - Deads, just because those days are the easiest for me to get into the gym and get the work done.
But, you can switch the days up if you need to. Like... say I had something else come up on Wednesday, I could switch deads to Tues, Thr, or Fri.
You can rotate the days as you see fit, but a week is done once you finish that cycle of all four days (or three if you just do three).
My set up is Sat - Chest, Sun- Legs, Mon- BB, and Wed - Deads, just because those days are the easiest for me to get into the gym and get the work done.
But, you can switch the days up if you need to. Like... say I had something else come up on Wednesday, I could switch deads to Tues, Thr, or Fri.
Thanks bro! I just made a new post on the journey section and finished my first day of the cube!
http://forum.animalpak.com/showthread.php?41269-I-m-tired-of-being-weak-(Cube-Method)
Another question if someone could answer this..
How do you guys program your main and accessory exercises? Like in the book itself, it says, for example, squat rep day 1 is 1 set of 8 at 70%, and then some other stuff that we can choose to do. How do you base your programming on the assistance movements? And I have seen others change their squat reps and stuff on their main movements. Is it because the cube is very free-moving? Do whatever you want pretty much? lol
Chivalry
07-11-13, 6:28 pm
Another question if someone could answer this..
How do you guys program your main and accessory exercises? Like in the book itself, it says, for example, squat rep day 1 is 1 set of 8 at 70%, and then some other stuff that we can choose to do. How do you base your programming on the assistance movements? And I have seen others change their squat reps and stuff on their main movements. Is it because the cube is very free-moving? Do whatever you want pretty much? lol
From what I take is as long as you keep the basis of the Rep/DE/ME days, you can program it how you like or how you're feeling for that day.
From what I take is as long as you keep the basis of the Rep/DE/ME days, you can program it how you like or how you're feeling for that day.
Sounds good bro.
Also, I have no way to do floor press at my gym in the squat racks that they have (only have 2.) Is there any other way I can do it, or should I just do close-grip bench as an alternative?
Brandon Lilly
07-17-13, 11:23 am
What's up guys? I've been MIA for a few weeks, some of it die to traveling non stop, and some of it for other reasons, but I apologize I didn't get to this sooner.
I train:
Monday-Squats
Weds-Bench
Friday- Deads
Sat or Sun- Bodybuilding day
The main thing you guys need to focus on is your needs. If you don't like floor press, or don't have access to floor press, try pause presses, or inclines even. Work with what you have, and what your body needs. There is no right or wrong answer, much of the programming will not change but the exercises will fuse to individual differences.