Slowing Down too much ?

[uncoordinated]

As I look to become sub 20 I have researched on how to get faster. Most if not all of the articles have said to slow down and look ahead and have really emphasized that point. One Article said to use a metronome and set it to 3 bps(beats per second) and said if you can successfully make a turn on every beat during f2l you will be sub 20. I have been trying this technique for about a week and I have seen zero improvement because of this I just tried to do and average were i try to solve it as fast as i can with half looking ahead. My average improved by about 5 seconds. So i was wondering if instead of having a constant speed you should have a mix in between the two.
I use Fridrich Method

 

[Litz]

Just keep practicing. If you train with a metronome, do one turn on each beat always. If you find it too easy, increase the bps. The idea is just to get you used to looking ahead, not to actually solve at that speed.

After doing it for a while, your eyes will naturally look for other pieces instead of you having to think, so you'll solve it slightly slower until you find the next pair, and once you find it, speed up until the current pair is done, repeating the process.

Example: Imagine pair number 1 takes 7 moves to solve. Your thought process would go like this: Found pair number 1: Start solving it while looking ahead to find the next pair. Then say you found the next pair after 3 turns. There's no point in solving the next 4 turns at the same speed if you already know how to solve the next pair, so you can just go full speed on those 4 turns and get started on next pair. It's hard to explain but that's basically what you start doing after you practice.

 

[uncoordinated]

thanks a bunch

 

[Joël]

I never really believed in a metronome that much, but of course any type of practice probably has some effect.

What I used to do it try to solve it at any speed I could handle that would result in fluent solves (without stopping), starting slowly and then gradually trying to push it to the limit.

 

[qqwref]

I've never practiced with a metronome. For F2L, turn as fast as you can without having to pause and look for pieces after each pair. Once you get to the last F2L pair, just turn as fast as you can for the rest of the solve.

 

[cyoubx]

This is what I did:
Tried metronome - didn't really work because sometimes a case is obvious and there's no point in forcing yourself back. That being said I got to around 190 bpm which is just over 3tps.

2-Look F2L - this is where you find two pairs, solve them blindfolded, and repeat with the other two pairs. I still can't really do this all that well, but it forced me to start the tracking process.

Walkthrough solves - this is basically where I sat down WITHOUT a timer and sort of explained the F2L solve to myself. Without the time pressure, it was much easier to track pieces and get used to looking ahead. This worked for me, but I don't know how effective it would be for others.

Two-gen scrambles - Two gen scrambles (R and U) create situations where no cube rotations are needed. It helps in learning how to solve some cases from different angles but also helps the look-ahead process. You only have four pieces to track, so it's a good learning step for F2L.

Three-gen scrambles (R, L, U) - This is the same principle, except now you have all 8 pieces to track. Again, it's still easier since no cube rotations will be required.

I hope that helps some. But the most important thing is to practice. Just doing timed solves repeatedly does very little. Try to actually work on F2L as a project, not just a step of the solve.

Good luck.

 

[ColdFactor]

...starting slowly and then gradually trying to push it to the limit.

This is what I did once, I was just getting over or less 20 seconds for my averages.
I tried slowing down to get 25 seconds but getting good look ahead. After a while, I began getting faster, just a bit. Then I kept on pushing it until I got all the way down to 18 second averages.
This helped realize slowing down actually works.

 

[uncoordinated]

Thanks guys this really helped

 

[charliebrown408]

Recently i also reach with less 20 seconds but, at begin you have to be manage the speed which will workable in entire path and you can be a at time with slowing down.

 

[Cubenovice]

I have been trying this technique for about a week and I have seen zero improvement because of this I just tried to do and average were i try to solve it as fast as i can with half looking ahead. My average improved by about 5 seconds.

Sounds to me the metronome training was effective. You may not have realised that your lookahead has steadily improved untill you did your "regular" average.

You should not time the metronome solves...

 

[Faz]

Scramble

Inspect
(Solve cross BLD)
Inspect
(Solve the first 2 pairs BLD)
Inspect
(Solve the last 2 pairs BLD)
LL

 

[ravenguild08]

Scramble

Inspect
(Solve cross BLD)
Inspect
(Solve the first 2 pairs BLD)
Inspect
(Solve the last 2 pairs BLD)
LL

Feliks, while solving two pairs at a time, do you suggest storing one algorithm in muscle memory and tracking the next two pieces then evaluating what to do after that, or are you suggesting us to remember both executions in their entirety from the beginning? Seems like a big and vital difference.

 

[FatBoyXPC]

Since you are to solve two pairs BLD, you can't really evaluate after the first pair. Solving two pairs bld is pretty rough for me, but I guess that would really help. I think I should concentrate more on my cross to first pair transition though, or maybe work on doing cross + first pair BLD.

 

[ravenguild08]

Since you are to solve two pairs BLD, you can't really evaluate after the first pair. Solving two pairs bld is pretty rough for me, but I guess that would really help. I think I should concentrate more on my cross to first pair transition though, or maybe work on doing cross + first pair BLD.

True, but when I practiced like this in the past, I would remember where the second edge and corner were as I turned in the first pair then reevaluate the state in my head afterwards. That always seemed more logical than predetermining where the pieces would end up and knowing both algorithms before donning the blindfold (closing eyelids).