1:00 to 1:30 Times

  • Cross - 5-10 seconds
  • F2L - 25-35 seconds
  • Last Layer - 25-30 seconds

Rotations

One of the main reasons for people to loose precious seconds is cube rotations. What does this mean? You may be thinking to yourself. Well, its rotating the cube to look for your next piece. Try to spot the next piece in advance and remember where it is so that when you progress onto that piece you will already have a head start in locating it.

Split Solving

Slightly different kind of technique here. Split you’re solves into 2 different sections, F2L and then OLL/PLL. If you’re trying to get down to a lower time bracket this really is going to help wonders. Start by scrambling your cube and grab your timer or stopwatch. (By the way, we really recommend a cube timer rather than a phone or stopwatch as it’s great practise for if you ever fancy attending a competition).

If you have a PC or notepad that is going to make this whole process much easier and should also help you improve faster. Starting with a scrambled cube, time yourself solving the cross and first 2 layers (F2L), once the last edge/corner pair is in place simply stop the timer and write down your time. Then reset your timer and solve the last layer (OLL and PLL) and again, log the time it took you to solve this step. Add these 2 times together to get the whole time it took you to solve your cube. Do this 30-50 times a day for 2-3 days and you should start to see improvements in each step. Your probably looking at something like a 60/40 F2L to Last Layer split (60% Cross and F2L and 40% LL).

Practise

This may seem like an obvious one but practise really is the key here. Chances are you’re not going to become an overnight world record holder (although we really hope you do). Persistence is key here. Make sure you pick up your cube EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. We recommend anywhere from 25-50 solves per day in this time bracket.

Finger Tricks

We see most people in this time bracket solving the cube by turning each layer with their whole hand. This is of course, a good way to ensure you’re doing correctly, however, it is completely unnecessary. There are plenty of vides on YouTube on how to perform ‘finger tricks’ on your cube. An example of a good finger trick is to use your index finger on your right hand to perform U moves and the index finder on your left hand to perform U’ moves. 

Fun Game

Starting with a scrambled cube, memorise where all 4 edges of the white cross are and how to build the cross. Then, close your eyes and attempt to create the cross. If this seems too hard at first, just start with 2 edges, then progress onto 3 and finally all 4 edges.

This will help with your look ahead and set you up well for the future. Not only this but the Rubik’s Cube is a great logical puzzle. It gets you thinking and using your brain, little games like this to test yourself can help with all aspects of life. 

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