Get total-body power: UFC star Sean Sherk reveals his prehistoric training regimen

Men's Fitness, May, 2008 by Brandon Guarneri

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Cavemen were stronger than most guys today because they spent their lives lugging around heavy objects and hunting for their food. As he prepared for his comeback fight, former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk followed in the footsteps of our Neanderthal ancestors by performing what's known as "caveman training." "It's really unorthodox," he says of his twice-a-week conditioning program. "I'll flip tires, hit things with sledgehammers, or climb ropes, and my movements always change." Exercises like these build the grip strength and total-body power that the former wrestler needs for takedowns, his best weapon. In addition to MMA-specific training, like grappling and striking, he'll do five 5-minute rounds of caveman training on Monday and Friday. Here's what one session is like, along with Sherk's regular weekly weight workouts:

MONDAY

Caveman Training

Round 1

Elliptical machine, 2 minutes Sprints, 30 seconds Upper Body Ergometer, 2 minutes Sprints, 30 seconds Rest 1 minute

Round 2

(1 minute each station) Tire flips Sledgehammer swings Rope climbs Tire flips Sledgehammer swings Rest 1 minute

Round 3

(Each station 1 minute) Bear crawls Plyo pushups Plyo jumps Medicine-ball throws Inverted rows Rest 1 minute

Round 4

Same as Round 1 Rest 1 minute

Round 5

Same as Round 2 Rest 1 minute

TUESDAY

Arms

EZ-bar curl superset with skull crushers, 5 sets Alternating dumbbell curls superset with rope press-down, 4 sets Concentration curls, 4 sets

WEDNESDAY

Chest and Back

Incline bench press superset with seated row, 5 sets Bench press superset with 3-point dumbbell row, 4 sets Incline dumbbell flys superset with V-handle pullups, 4 sets Pec deck fly, 4 sets

THURSDAY

Shoulders and Abs

Shoulder press superset with crunches, 5 sets of 50 reps Arnold press superset with weighted crunches, 4 sets of 50 reps Lateral raise superset with situps on a hyperextension machine, 4 sets of 50 reps

FRIDAY

Caveman Training Utilizing different exercises from Monday

SATURDAY

Legs

Kettlebell swings, 4 sets of 10-12 reps Running stairs, 30 minutes Deadlifts, superset with standing and seated-calf raise, 6 sets of 8 reps Leg press superset with leg extensions, 5 sets Lying leg curl superset with abductor and adductor machine, 50 reps