Caveman Training For Super Conditioning
What The Heck is Caveman Training?
Caveman training has really caught on in mixed martial arts circles. It combines old school strength training with traditional exercise to formulate one hell of a full body workout. Although traditionally developed for athletes, it has been expanded for all types of people to help them accomplish all types of goals. It is great for building muscle mass, losing fat or for improving performance in particular activities. So what are the factors that make caveman training so special?
[Mixed Martial Artist fighter Sean Sherk demonstrating a brutal Caveman Training workout]
Caveman training will combine traditional conditioning, cardiovascular and strength exercises along with novel strength and conditioning exercises. It may appear as a miss match but it is a calculated combination of the best exercises and principles taken from all different types of strength and conditioning workouts. Let’s talk about some of the key principles that make caveman training unique.
Strength built the old school way - with effort
Caveman Training Uses Novel Strength Exercises
The use of novel strength training exercises is a great inclusion. Before all the fancy machines and high tech gizmos, people in the old days built strength with pure hard work. These types of exercises can include things like tire flipping, sandbag clean and press, overhead squats with water filled pipes and sledgehammer swings. Not only is this type of strength training fun and different, it can also feel more functioning to the individual, more ‘real world’ in its application. Instead of just pushing a metal bar up and down the act of lifting something like a sandbag has a more practical feel to it.
The key principles of caveman training are fairly straight forward. A heavy emphasis is placed on compound movements. So no bicep concentration curls or tricep pushdowns to bring out the inner head of the tricep. The big compound movements mean more muscle is built and more fat is lost, that’s why they are included. Workouts are goal specific for the individual and are tailored from the best of other training methodologies creating a mixed workout. Every exercise done in a workout has to be an effective exercise, it must tax your system to the maximum. This way you get the best results on the investment of your time and effort. And lastly for athletes, the goal is that training should be harder than competition.
You won't find any 'pumping' or 'toning' exercises in Caveman Training
Caveman Training Structure
There are some main tips that govern the structure of a caveman workout. Firstly workouts are done in a circuit fashion. No rest between exercises results in maximum intensity. Usually four exercises are chosen for the circuit. Traditionally a repetition goal may be set, but caveman training likes to set time periods on the exercises. So a trainee may complete as many chin-ups in one minute as possible then move on to do sandbag presses for one minute.
Caveman training is a brutal way to get in shape for competition. That is why it seems to be so popular for mixed martial artists. It is good to see the novel strength training exercises being employed. Unfortunately most people may not have the willpower or desire to go through such a brutal workout. There are alternatives that exist that can help you achieve your physique and fitness goals. Turbulence Training has a similar approach of intensity like Caveman Training, but maybe slightly more palatable for people who are not professional athletes or do not have access to a Caveman training facility. Click here to read my summary of Turbulence Training or visit their main site here.
I hope you have enjoyed this insight into caveman training.
