How will Cavemantraining Benefit a Bodybuilder?
Following is the “science” behind the Cavemantraining for bodybuilders who are getting ready for a show, some thoughts on how the program will be put together and a sample week to get the idea of what we’re talking about.
Progression: unlike many periodized sports programs where intensity (% of 1RM) goes up while Volume and Endurance goes down. We prepare our bodybuilding clients similar to how we may train our fighters getting ready for a fight.
- As a bodybuilder gets closer to their event, emphasis on heavy lifting decreases while importance of eliminating body fat increases. Designing programs to maximize conditioning (continuous motion and a high level of exertion) vs. heavy lifting (say 200lb sandbag lifts) will dominate the workouts.
- Due to extreme dieting, more emphasis will be concentrated on lighter weight/body weight exercises (a lot of rope conditioning, plyo-push ups etc.) vs. a lot of clean and presses, deadlifts and exercises of that nature.
Below is an example of what a week may look like (possibly 3-4 wks before show) we’ve purposely kept out the sets and reps for the weight training days because we know that everyone is different on how they approach a show.
Monday
| Chest/Triceps | Bench Press, Incline Dumbbell Press, Cable Fly’s, Dips, Flat Bench Fly’s, Laying Triceps Extension, Dumbbell Kickbacks, Cable Rope Extensions. |
| Abs | |
| Long and Slow Cardio |
Tuesday
| Cavemantraining (Muscle Endurance/Cardio Endurance) | |
| Cardio Performed between 75%-85% of MHR (Determined through VO2 Max Test) | Treadmill (between 5-10% incline) 10min, Stepmill 10min, Airdyne Bicycle 10min. |
| “Strength Portion” Continuous motion for 90 second stations with no/minimal stops (repeated 3 times) |
|
Wednesday
| Back/Biceps | Deadlift, Wide Grip Pulldowns, Bent over Barbell Rows, Dumbbell Row, Dumbbell Pullovers, Barbell Curls, Alt. Seated Dumbbell Curls, Cable Curls. |
| Abs | |
| Long Slow Cardio |
Thursday
| Cavemantraining (Muscle Power/Cardio Power) |
Round 1
Round 2
Repeat Round 1 & 2 to complete workout |
Friday
| Shoulders | Military Press, Upright Rows, Lateral Raises, Front Raises, Bent over Fly’s, Shrugs. |
| Abs | |
| Long Slow Cardio |
Saturday or Sunday
| Legs | Back Squat, Alternating Barbell Lunge, Romanian Deadlifts, Seated Leg Curls, Leg Extensions, Calf Raises Standing, Calf Raises Seated. |
| Abs | |
| Long Slow Cardio |
