The Cube Method for Strongman: Josh Thigpen’s Blueprint for Strength and Success
Introduction: The Origins of the Cube Method for Strongman
Josh Thigpen was, while tall, a lighter strongman competitor (at least in terms of being a much leaner and moth athletic strongman than say Žydrūnas Savickas or Brian Shaw who dominated at the time) who in spite of this managed to podium twice at Giants Live International events, at one time hold the Dinnie Stone hold world record time, and take a bronze medal at the 2012 WSF World Strongmen Championship behind Krzysztof Radzikowski and Laurence Shahlaei. He developed The Cube Method for Strongman as a response to the inefficiencies he saw in existing training programs. This system is built upon Brandon Lilly’s Cube Method for powerlifting but adapted to meet the unique demands of strongman competition—where brute strength, endurance, agility, and technical skill all intersect.
Thigpen, needed an approach that maximised strength gains while maintaining movement efficiency, explosiveness and minimising fatigue. His journey in strongman led him to experiment with various methods, ultimately culminating in a structured program that rotates Max Effort, Dynamic Effort, and Repetition Effort across different lifts and event training days. The result is a flexible, sustainable system that builds all facets of strongman performance.
This article breaks down the key themes of The Cube Method for Strongman, its major takeaways, how they align with my own coaching philosophies, and why Thigpen’s approach remains relevant in modern strongman training.
Key Themes of the Cube Method for Strongman
Thigpen’s program is structured around solving The Strongman Problem—the challenge of developing all aspects of strength while balancing event specificity and recovery. The major components of the method include:
1. The Three Pillars of Training: Max Effort, Dynamic Effort, and Repetition Effort
Much like the Westside Conjugate system, Thigpen’s Cube Method rotates training emphasis across three-week cycles:
Max Effort Days focus on lifting at 90%+ intensity to build absolute strength in the squat, deadlift, and overhead press.
Dynamic Effort Days emphasize speed work with submaximal weights (~50-60%) to enhance rate of force development.
Repetition Effort Days use moderate loads (~70-80%) for high reps, developing muscular endurance and work capacity—critical for strongman events like loading medleys and rep-based pressing.
This rotation allows athletes to push intensity without overreaching, ensuring long-term progress while avoiding burnout.
2. The Importance of Event-Specific Training
Unlike powerlifting, where the lifts are standardized, strongman events vary dramatically. Thigpen integrates event days into his program, alternating between:
Light technique days focusing on speed, movement efficiency, and skill refinement.
Heavy event days simulating competition conditions, pushing near-maximal loads on yoke carries, farmer’s walks, and stones.
This approach ensures that strongman athletes are always within 90% of competition readiness, rather than peaking only for select events.
3. Agility and Athleticism: Training Like an Athlete, Not Just a Lifter
One of the most overlooked aspects of strongman training is speed and agility. Thigpen makes a compelling argument that strongman requires the same multidirectional movement skills as combat sports or field athletics. His system incorporates:
Speed work with events (e.g., moving lighter yokes for speed, sprinting with kegs, optimizing footwork in stone loading).
Agility drills like ladder work, cone drills, and sprint variations to enhance reaction time and movement efficiency.
The idea that “speed work with events is new” is simply incorrect—Thigpen’s Cube Method proves that incorporating skill-based event training has been a strongman staple for years.
4. Prioritising Recovery and Injury Prevention
Strongman takes a toll on the body, and Thigpen emphasizes built-in recovery protocols, including:
Deload weeks every fourth week to facilitate joint recovery.
Assistance work targeting injury-prone areas, such as grip training for farmer’s walks and high-rep curls for biceps integrity (a nod to biceps tear prevention).
Post-training active recovery strategies like sled drags and mobility drills.
This long-term focus aligns with my own approach to coaching—sustainable strength beats short-term PRs that lead to injury.
If you’ve been in the world of strength training, you’ve probably heard of Brandon Lilly’s Cube Method—a powerlifting system that rotates three training styles across a four-week cycle to build maximal strength, speed, and muscular endurance without burning out.
Josh Thigpen, a multi-time World’s Strongest Man competitor, took this framework and adapted it to strongman, a sport that demands not only raw strength but also explosive power, endurance, agility, and event-specific skill.
In simple terms, the Cube Method for Strongman is a structured way to train for strongman competitions without breaking down or stalling. Unlike typical strongman programming, which often involves maxing out and going heavy on events constantly, this method allows steady progression by carefully rotating intensity and volume.
How the Cube Method Rotates ME, DE, and RE Movements Weekly
At the core of The Cube Method for Strongman is the idea that you don’t need to max out constantly to get stronger. Instead, it follows a four-week cycle, rotating three different training styles:
1. Max Effort (ME) Training: Absolute Strength Development
Goal: Lift the heaviest weights possible (90%+ intensity)
Reps: 1-3 reps per set
Focus: Overloading the nervous system and building raw, brute strength
Example ME Movements: 🔹 Squat Variations: Front squat, safety squat bar squat, cambered bar squat 🔹 Deadlift Variations: Deficit deadlift, 18-inch deadlift, axle deadlift 🔹 Pressing Variations: Log press, strict overhead press, axle press
ME training is rotated weekly across the big lifts, ensuring constant exposure to different variations while avoiding burnout.
2. Dynamic Effort (DE) Training: Speed & Explosiveness
Goal: Lift submaximal weights (50-60%) explosively
Reps: 6-10 sets of 2-3 reps
Focus: Improving bar speed, power output, and fast-twitch muscle activation
Example DE Movements: 🔹 Speed Squats (bands & chains) 🔹 Speed Deadlifts (low rest periods, fast execution) 🔹 Speed Overhead Press (push press with lighter weights, focus on speed)
Why does this matter for strongman? Because strongman isn’t just about strength—it’s about moving loads FAST.
A fast yoke carry beats a slow one. A quick log clean saves energy. A snappy sandbag-to-shoulder can make the difference between placing 1st or 5th.
3. Repetition Effort (RE) Training: Volume & Muscular Endurance
Goal: Lift moderate weights (70-80%) for higher reps
Reps: 6-12 per set
Focus: Building muscle mass, work capacity, and event endurance
Example RE Movements: 🔹 Deadlifts for reps (similar to comp-style max reps events) 🔹 Log press for reps 🔹 Yoke walks for distance/time
This part of the program prepares athletes for the demands of strongman competitions, where strength-endurance is often more important than just raw 1-rep max strength.
How Strongman Movements Fit Into the Cube Method
Unlike powerlifting (where you train the same 3 lifts repeatedly), strongman events rotate based on competition demands.
Josh Thigpen builds strongman-specific work into The Cube Method using two approaches:
1️⃣ Dedicated Strongman Event Days
One day per week is reserved for event-specific training (stones, yoke, farmers, etc.)
Heavy event work is rotated based on competition priority
2️⃣ Blending Strongman Events into DE/RE Work
Events are programmed as DE or RE days when appropriate
For example: 🔹 Yoke for speed (DE) 🔹 Car deadlift for reps (RE) 🔹 Log press max (ME) one week, log for reps (RE) another week
This ensures strongman athletes aren’t just lifting in the gym but also honing the technical aspects of events.
Breakdown of Strongman Movements in The Cube Method
Lower Body (Squat & Deadlift Variations)
🏋️♂️ Max Effort (ME) → Heavy front squats, axle deadlifts, car deadlifts
⚡ Dynamic Effort (DE) → Speed squats, box squats, speed deadlifts
🔥 Repetition Effort (RE) → Deadlifts for reps, sled drags, yoke walks
Upper Body (Overhead & Pressing)
🏋️♂️ Max Effort (ME) → Log press, axle press, strict overhead press
⚡ Dynamic Effort (DE) → Speed push press, speed jerks
🔥 Repetition Effort (RE) → Log press for reps, sandbag shouldering
Grip & Carry Events
🏋️♂️ Max Effort (ME) → Heavy frame carries, heavy farmers walks
⚡ Dynamic Effort (DE) → Speed farmers, light frame carries for distance
🔥 Repetition Effort (RE) → Farmers for reps, sandbag carries for time
This ensures that ALL strength qualities are being trained consistently while prioritizing event-specific demands.
Who Is The Cube Method for Strongman For?
✔ Athletes struggling to balance strength, endurance, and recovery
✔ Lifters who need structured event training alongside gym work
✔ Strongman competitors looking for sustainable, long-term progress
✔ Powerlifters transitioning to strongman who need event integration
🔹 It prevents burnout by rotating intensity
🔹 It builds ALL strength qualities—max strength, power, endurance
🔹 It includes structured event training for competition carryover
🔹 It keeps strongmen moving fast and efficiently under load
How the Cube Method Aligns with My Coaching Philosophies
Thigpen’s approach intersects with my own methodologies in several key ways:
Blending Maximal Strength with Speed and Endurance: Like Thigpen, I advocate not just lifting heavy but moving heavy loads fast, ensuring that athletes can apply their strength in real-world strongman events.
Conjugate-Based Training with Rotating Emphases: The rotation of max, dynamic, and repetition work mirrors Westside’s Conjugate Method, which I use extensively with my athletes.
A Focus on Recovery and Longevity: Too many strongman programs push maximal efforts every session, leading to rapid burnout. Thigpen’s built-in recovery aligns with my philosophy of structured intensity cycling for sustained gains.
Skill and Agility Integration: The argument that “strongman is just about brute strength” is outdated. I’ve long emphasized refining movement efficiency, foot placement, and speed under load—areas where Thigpen’s work reinforces my own coaching principles.
Josh Thigpen’s Achievements and the Proof Behind His System
Thigpen wasn’t just a strongman who made it to World’s Strongest Man four times—he did so while being one of the lighter competitors in the field at the time. This proves the effectiveness of his system, as he relied on technique, training intelligence, and methodical progression rather than just brute size.
His podium finishes at two Giants Live Internationals and the 2012 WSF Strongman World Championships are particularly notable. Thigpen’s ability to maximise strength relative to his bodyweight, excel in throwing, grip and agility-focused events, and continuously refine his programming speaks volumes about the effectiveness of his training model.
Speed Work with Events Is Not a New Concept
A major misconception in strongman training today is the idea that doing speed work with events is a “new” innovation—it isn’t.
Thigpen’s Cube Method explicitly incorporates:
Speed-focused event work (e.g., moving submaximal weights at max velocity).
Technical refinement of events, ensuring efficient movement patterns at all load levels.
Sprint and agility drills to enhance dynamic movement under fatigue.
These elements have been fundamental in high-level strongman training for years, and dismissing them as a novelty ignores the history of the sport.
The Lasting Impact of the Cube Method for Strongman
Thigpen’s Cube Method for Strongman is a well-rounded, battle-tested system that combines brute strength, endurance, agility, and event mastery into a sustainable program.
For athletes looking to break plateaus, refine their event execution, and train smarter rather than just harder, the Cube Method offers a structured yet flexible blueprint for success.
If you’re serious about taking your strongman training to the next level—whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned competitor—my coaching programs take these principles and refine them even further, with individualized programming based on your weak points, biomechanics, and competition goals.
What Other Systems Should We Break Down?
This breakdown of The Cube Method for Strongman is just one example of how different training philosophies apply to strength sports. Drop a comment below or message me—what other books, systems, or methods do you want me to analyse?
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