.- cm RUDY (07h ‘ONDITIONING RON Neal Merl cise [E Using the aN) of Supreme Survival AY Trt yas oO . “COACH” WADE ad to aSONVICT CONDITIONING How to Bust Free of All Weakness— Using the Lost Secrets of Supreme Survival Strength BY PAUL “COACH” WADE_DISCLAIMEB! — Fitness end strength are meaningless qualities without health. With cotrect training, these three benefits should neturally proceed hand-in-hand. In this book, every effort sas been made to convey the importance of safe training technique, bud despite this ali individual trainees are different and needs will very. Proceed with caution, and at your own risx. Your body is your own responsibility—look after it. All medical experts agree that you should consult your physician before initiating a training program, Be safe! This book is intended for entervainment purposes only. This book is not biography. The names, histories and circumstances o* the individuals featured in this book have accordingly been changed either partially or completely, Despite this, the author maintains that all the exercise principles within this volume~ techniques, methods and ideology-are valid, Use them, and become the best.‘ABLE OF CONTEN Foreword PART I: PRELIMINARIES 1, Introduction: 4 Journey of Strength 2. Cla School Galisthenios: the Lost Art of Powor 3. The Convict Manifesto: Bodyweight Training vs Modern Methods 4. Convict Conditioning: About This Book PART II: THE BIG SIX: POWER MOVES 5. The Pushup: Araor-Plated Peos and Steel Ericeps 6. The Squat: Flevator Cable Thighs 7. The Pullup: Barn Door Zack and Major Guns 8. The Leg Eaise: A Six-Pack From Hell 9. The Eridge: Conbat Ready Your Spine 10, The Hendstand Pushup: Healthy, Powerful Shoulders PART III: SELF-COACHING 11, Body Wisdom: Gast Iron Principles 12. Routines: Workout Programs Acknowledgements Index Tr 19 2g co 5 3 449) 185 221 259 275 289Bommworn IIT FOREWORD came time in 1969, 8 brash Caricidge undergcaduate sat hunched in the reverent silence, S as two seffror-clad ibetan Buddhist monks lectured on the mysteries of meditation and enlightenment. The manks radiated gentle peace and ease. Their ey petual inside joke. “Everything i bea washed over the young restless thought. crinkled with humor, as if sharing a per- stiful, nothing macters,” they seemed to hint, Their werds "s head—mostly wasted—zs his mind darted fram rescless thought to ‘One monk began to speak of the inner feedom that arises from the practice af deep mecitacion. ‘The monk used an analogy: “You can he locked in a prison cell—apparently in bondage—and yer ‘you remain fige inside, Noboey can take that ier Zreedom froma you.” The undergrad exploded out of his seat with an angry rebuttal, “How can you say that? Prison is prison. Bondage is bondage, Thece can bene real freedom when you axe being held against your willl” A deep button had been pushed, the knee-jezk response out of all proportion to the monk's, analogy. Lhe fellow monk smiled beatifically at the angry young man, “itis goox! to question your teack- ers,” he said with absolute sincerity and no hint of iroay. And the monks continued with their talk, lowing lke a river round she jagged boulder in thefr midst Forty years later, Some time in 2009. The volatile young Cambridge undergrad is row a some- what wiser and 2 yshole lot more mellow fellow, He's running a dynamic and rapidly expanding venture called Dragon Door Publications—a vehicle for those with a passion for the caitivation of physical excellence. And I'm about to introduce the world to one of the most exciting books T have ever read: It's a book about prison. It’s 2 book about freécom, I's a book about survival, Its a book aaox: humanity. Ifa book about strength and power. It's a book that belongs in the hands of our milis tary, our polive, our firefighters, and all who protect our countey from harm. Ies.a book to ciren- luue in our high schools and colleges. Irs » book for the professiona’ achlete aad for the out-of shage desk jockey. It’s a beok mms. I's a book ‘or boomers secking t0 reverse the sands of time. Ir's a book for anyone seeking the seccets of supreme survival strength. or stay-at-homsva Convice Conroe Jes a book by ani ex-con—a man atvipped of his freedom over a twenty-year period; a man von fined in some of the harshest prisoas in America. Forved into stvength by the brute needs of base sarvival. A aan stripped of all bur his 2ody and mind—who chose to cultivate himisclf against all odds and create a arivare freedom no one would be able to prize from tim, The freedom of a strong body anda strong mind. Its a book called Conviet Conditioning. Convict Conditioning?! [low aad why woulda company of Dragon Door's stature dace pubiish 8 ‘00K with such a sicle2 Surely, this has to be some glib celebration of the criminsl—hardly deserving of one of the world’s premier firness publishing companies? Many of our county's leading mess experts liave read preview copies ol Convied Condiejoning—anc loved the vonterns, In fact, in many cases, caved a2oat the contents, But in many cases, they balked and winced at the ttle. Convict Conditioning?! “John, ¢ae contents are superb, but they deserve a better ttle. This book belongs with everr member of che military, every Jaw enforcement officer, it should be given to-every child by theit parents...but how many of them are going to evad it, with a tide lke this I did waver, Ladmig, Not about the book, but the tite, Would | be selling America—and even the enthor, Paul Wade—short by such a ticle? Would those two words, “Convict Condisioning,” somehow tum away che hundreds of thocsands who stané co benefit from the strength strategies within its pages? Wos.d the title relegare these wonderful sectets to just a small kand of enthosi- asts who grasp the biilliance of Paul's Big Six progreasians—and cate! care less abort the title! But the more | thought aboutit, the more absolutely convinced | was that the ttle had to stand. Because Covi Conditioning is about exactly that: a strength-surviva’ system born from ane of the most caily-dargerous environments any man can be placed in, Convict Conditioning is about taking your stredgth and power to a level where no predator would remotely consider attacking you, Gonvict Conditioning is about achieving an aura of sucagth and power that sends dea- matic and entirely unamoiguous message to other limbic systems: “Don't even think about it!” To call this ceservoie of knowledge by any other name would be to do it a great dasseeviee, It would he axin co taking 4 rare, rich Raquetor—bleedrg with potency—and calling it Cheddar Mild, Sorry, can't do it ‘And the-central message needs to stand: there {S a Zerdom that cannot be taxen from you— whatever ine box you may be stuck ia, And that’s the éreedom to cultivate the magnificence of your own body and mind, regardless of external environment. Paul Wade has crcated both a stunning testamert to that euth—and a masterplan on how you can achieve chat magnificence yourseliComvron CospreranrEs: Dive inco the pages of Comice Conditioning and you will quickly cealize shee this is no celebra- tion of “convietness”—no literary equivalent of gangsta rap. In fact, i's @ book that will make you fervently wish you never, evcr end up where Paul had to stead torso many years. But i's a!so a book to inspire you to achieve heights of physical excellenice you may have once considered impossible, ‘And thea comes anbther consideration: beeause this svisdom has been passed wus by an ex- convict, is this wisdom sormchow tainted? If a police officer or a high school ceach—for instance—use Paul's system and achieve unprecedented new levels oF scrength and powes, have they somehow sallied themselves, betrayed their profession, because the wisdom came from an ex-con? Hardly, | would say. Because that would deny cne of tie great spiritual traths embodied in Convict Conditioning: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” And deny the central message of hope within this book—any human being has the pozential for rodemprion, however dark cheir situation. I recently tried to num my 18-year old son, Peter on to one of the rock icons Thad revered in my ‘own teenage yerrs—Lon Reed. After listening to a short excerpt of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, his response was definitive: “Dad, there can be only one Bob Dylan.” While | dis- agreed with Peter about Lou, he wasn't that far off the mark. Lou Reed had idolized Bob Dylan— and because there was indeed “only one Bob Dylan” had 2 helluva time making the separation. To my mind, Lov achieved thet rare stature, “There is only one Lou Reed,” I would say In my life as 2 publisher I have had the good fortune ro offer three remarkable authors to the world: Pavel Tsatsouline, Ort Holmekler and Marty Galligher All shzee have an iconic stature that can be summed up in the phease “there is only one...” Thece can be ovly one Pavel. There can be only one Ori. The-e can be only one Marty. And now Tam equally privileged fo add 2 fourth author to that list, There can he only one Paul Wade. —Iohn Du Cane CEO, Dragon Door PublicationsAly 8 ae ae oe PRELIMINARIESThe modern fitness scene is largely Ceraee Uae any tomer agent et Mette muscle-bound bodybuilders, expensive Cece t-ta nt isstes(a ppee tO code h ee Es ieee DA ee Ia hE Lt There was a time when men trained to become intumaniy strong using nothing PCa Cre MSc eta ame Re eta ens No machines. No drugs. Nothing. Tf you want to know more about the real old school arts of power, read on.Pant I: Pumimomeres = 1 1: INTRODUCTION A JOURNEY OF STRENGTH alk into virtually any gym ir the world aad you will find any number 0! pumped uo steroid users who think that they are “strong,” men bocause they have eighteen inch arms, can bench press a heavy bar, or look big in a tank tap or Tshirt. But how many of them aze truly powerful? * Llow many of them have genuine athletic strength they cat use? # [ow many of them could drop and give vou twenty perfect one-arm pushups? © How many of rem have spines tharare sirong enough, flexible enough and healthy enough that they ean bend over backwards and uch the floor? + Tow mnaay have the pure knee ard hip power vo squat right dowa to the ground and stand up again—or. one | * How many of them could grab hold of an overhead bar and execute a lawless one-are pullup? ‘The answer is Almost none. You will find almost no bedybei cer in any gym today who can perform these simple hody- weight feats. And yor the kind of bloaeed poser you see strutting the average gym floor is viewed by the media and che mecteen public as the epitome of strength and fitness. The hodybuilder-type has become the accented status quo of ultimate conditioning. This seems like total insaaity to me, What does it matter how much weig’s you claim to be able to lift in a gym or on a spacial machine? How can somebody be considered to be “strong” if he eaa’t even move bis own body acound as nature incended?Common Coxpzerommna Becoming Strong The average gym junleie today is all about appescarice, not ability. Plash, not Eaaction, These men may have big, aetificially pumped up limbs, but all that the size i in the muscle tissue; their tendons and joints are weak. Ask the average muscleman to do a deep one-Jeg squat—ass-10-floor- style—and hrs knee ligaments would probably snap in two. What strengch most bodybuilders do have, they cannot use in s coordinated way; if you asked them te walk on ther hands they'd fall flat on their faces, J don't know whether wo laugh or ery when sce the current generation of men duped into hand: ing over a fortune in overpriced gym memberships and for weights and other exercise gadgets, all in the hope of becoming strong and powerful. I want to laugh because [admire the con trick tor what itis—a perfect gift. The fitness industry has duped tre whole world into thinking it can't get by without all this equipment; equipmentit then sels to the mack, or rents out at exorbitant prices {in the case of gym membership). I want to ory because its a wagedys the average modern uainee—who is noc on steroids—maxes little gain in size from year co year, and even less progress in trne athlese ability, To become hugely powerful, you don’t need weights, cables, fancy machines, or any other crap that che industry or the informercials are brainwashing you into thiale'tig you can’t do without You can gain Herculean strength—geruine brawn and yitality—with no special equipment at all But so unlock this power—zhe power of your own body—you need to know how. You need the right method, ike art, Suich a method does in fact exis, T's based on craditional, ancient torms ot training, sechaiques which are at old as training itself. Tait method has evolved by trial-and-error over the centuries, and as proved its supesior ability to tansZorm flimsy men into steel-forgec warsiers tine and time again. This method is progressive calisthentes—the art of using the humaa body to maximize its own developmen. Calisthenics today is set as a method of aerobics, circuit training or mus cle endurance. Icise't taken seriously. Buc in che past—hefore the second half of the twentieth cen- tiry—all of che world’s strongest athletes earned he bule of their power throaga performing cal- inthenivs progressivel—co become stronger and stronger, day by day, week by week, year efter year The Forgotten Art of Bodyweight Training Unfortunately you will nor be able to learn this art in any gym in the would. It hes becoene lost to the rast majority of acileres during che modem era—quite recently in fact. It hes been, mevei- lessly pasted out of the light of day by-a childish fascination wita the plethora of new training technologies that have sprung up over the last ceneuey ot sos everything from plated barbells and dumbbells to cable machines and hundreds of orher novelties. The knowledge of how to performPint Lt Pemnoyarrs calisthentes properly lias been choked, neurly strangled 1 death by the propaginda of fimes manufacturers who Want to sill you your fig2t to train your own body and mind. Because of chis assauly, the eraditional ares Of calisehenies have become degraded, relegared 10 high schoo! fitness methods for chilelen, *Ca‘isthenics” currently involves pushups, pullups and all fine excecises, but done for high repetitions waich will build stamina though develop litcle in the wey of sccengch, a veal master 0° progressive calisthe-res—“old school” ealisthenies— also knows how to build maxinnuene raw strength. Much more than the average trainee could pos- sibly hope to develop with a bacbell or a tesistance machine. I've seen men ieained in old school calisthenics who were powerful enough to break steel hendeuffs, tear apart a chairelink fence, and punch a wall hard enough to take big chunks our of i, splitting the bricks in tae process. How would you like shat kind of awesome bodily strength? can teach you how 9 develop is in the pays of this book, but you won't ger i from going to a gym or doing high-rep pushups, That kiad of raw, animal ability to ualeash your body’s own powers only comes from knowing how to do old school calisthenics How I Learned My Craft Doing Time Luckily, the hiddun syste of old schvol calisthenics hus survived. Bur it was oaly able to sur- vive in those dark places where met’ need maximum stiength and power just to stay alive; places where, for azalonged periods, bachells, dumbbells and other forms of modern reaining, equipment may not be available, # ever Those places ace called penitenciasies, jails, correctional institutes aud all dhe oder names civilized men give to the cages where dhey keep less civilized! mea safely bochind bars, My name is Paul Wade, and sadly I know all about life behind bars, | encered San Quentin State Prisoa for my cirst offense in 1979, and went on to epend ninewen of the following ewenty-chtee years inside Some of che toughest prisons in Amevica, including Angola Penitentiary (a.k.a. “The arm”) and tarion—the hellhole they lnui.c co replace A-cauraz, Tako know about ald school calistheriess maybe more chan enyhody else a'ive, During my last stretch inside, [ became known by the nickrame Entrenador, which is a Spanish word for “coack,” beeause all the greenhoms ard new fisa came 10 mé for my knowledge on how to get reredibly powerful in superfast rime, [garnered a helluva lor of fayars and benefits that way, and | carned it, too—my techniques work, I myself got to a level where T could do more than a dozen oné-anm handstand pushups withoa: support—a fear have never seen. replicated, even by Olympic gymnasss. I woa the annual Angola pushup/pullua championship held by the inmates for siv years row, even though I was sabject co (ull daily shiftsaf manual labor in the working acm, (This was w wclunigue used in the Pen to reduce (couble—inmates put to work ox. ihe fac were generally coo exhausted by the en of the day 10 mess with the guards.) leven came thizd inComvror CorprtoxaNa the 1987 Californian Institutional powerlifting championship—despite the fact that { have never trained with weaghts, (Lonly enrervd ora bet,) Foe more years chen L-care 18 count, my training system has kept me physically tougher and head-and-shoulders stonger than the vast majozity of psychos, veteranos aad other vicious numjobs U've been forced tm Tub shoulders with for two cecades. And mos: of these guys workec out—ard, You might not read about their training methods or accomplishments in fimess magazines, bat some of the world’s most impressive ath- letes are convicts. Pre Stem et tr aoe creer ty Throughout my time in prison, getting and staying ag strong, fic and overall tough as possible has been my trade. But I didn’t learn that trade in a comfortable chzome-cavered eym, surrounded byeanned posers and spandos vixens. I didn’r qualify as the result of a three-week correspondence course, ike most of the personal erainets around today. And T suze as hell ain't some facass writer who never sweated a day in lis life ikea lot of the guys who carn out “fitaess” or “bodybuild- ing” books. Nor was [ born a “natural ath.ete.” When | first would up in the joint ~only three weeks alter my Owenty-secoud birthday—f weighed a hundred and fifty pounds soaking wet. At 61 my long, gang y arms looked like pipe cleaners and were about half as stcong, Following some nasty experiences early on, I learned pretty quickly that otker prisoners exploit weaknesses like ‘they breathe air; intiuidation is the daily cusreney in the holes Pve wound up in. And as I wasn’: planning on being anyone's bitch, J realized that the safest way to stop being a cagge: was to build niyself up, fastPana I: Pxmrtarsanres Truckily aftera few weeks in San Quentin, Twas placed in a cell withan ex-Navy SEAT. He jn great shape leon: his military teaining, and caught me how co do che basic calisthenics exercites pushups, pulluas, deep knee-bends. I leamed good form easly on, and tcaining with him over the months pat some size on me. Working out in the cell every day gave me great stamina, and soon L ‘was able to do hundreds of reps in some exercises. I stll wanted to get bigger anc stranger how- ever, and did all the research | could to learn how to get where | wamed to be. | learned From everyone | could find—and you'd be surprised ar the cross-section of people who wind up in the joint, Gymnasts, soldiers, Olympic weighelifters, martial artists, youa guys, wreseltsss even a Cow ple of doctors. At the time | did not have access to a gyim—I trained alone in my cell, with nothing, So Lhad to find ways of making my own hody my gymnasium. Training became my therapy, my obsession. Jn six months [ had gained a ton of size and powes, and within a year I was one of the mos: phys- ically capable guys in the hole, This eas enuiely thanks to old school, traditional caliseacnics, ‘These forms of exercise are ali daz dead on the outside, but in the prisons knowledge of them hes been passed 0° in pockets, from generation co generation. This knowledge only survived in the prison environment hecanse there are very few alternative training, aptions to distract people most of the time. No pilates classes, no aerobics. Everybody on the outside now talks about prison yms, but trust me, these ave 2 relatively new import and where they do exist they’ee poorly equipped One of my mentors was lifer called Joe Iartigen. Joc was seventy-one years old when { got to know him, ard was spending his fourth decade in prison, Despite his age-and numerons injuries, Josssill trained in his cell every momning, And he was strong as hell, too; ’ve seer him do weighted pullups usiug only his (wo index fingers for hooks, and ooe-arm pushups using oaaly one dhvemb ‘were a regular pasty wick of his. In fact he made them look easy. Joe knew more about real tai ing than most “exyers” will ever know, He was builtin the old gyms in the firs: half of the pven: tielh century, before most people had even heard of adjustable barbells. Those guys relied largely on bodyweight movements—tochniques that, today, we would regard as part of gyrnasties, not bodybuilding or strength raining. When they did lift “weights,” they didn’t lift seated ent com fortable, adjustable machines they hugged around huge, cneven objects like weighted barrels, anvils, sanbags and other human beings, Liftiag like this calls into play qualities that are impor- tant for power, qualities cht acc missing in modern gyms—things like grip stamina, tendon strength, speed, balance, coordination and inhuman grit and discipline, This kind of training—done property, with the right know-how-—made the old-timers hugely strong, In St, Louis in the 1930s, Joe worked out with The Mighty Acom, ane of the most famaus strongmen ofall ime. Standing at just 5°4” and weighing 140 Ibs., he Atom, was.a phenomenon, Ile performed fea:s on a daily basis that would make modern bodebuilders ory for their mom- mies, Lie broke out of chains, drove spikes into pine planks wich his palms, and bit penny nails lean in helt. On one oceasion in 1928, he prevented an sirplane from taking off, by palling on a rope attached to it, He didn’t even bother t0 use his hands—he tied the zope to his hain Unlike modern gym junkies, The Atom was stgong all ove, and cpuldl prove ir anytotiere. He was famously able to change a car tire with no tools—he unserewwed the boles bare-handed before lite- ing the cir up and slipping on the spare! In the mic nineteer-thisties he was viciously ettacked boyComvzon ComrmromcKe six burly longsboreman, and he hurt chert so badly that as 2 result of the baw ulf six had :o be sent t hospital, was lucky he was never sent to prison for it, because he regularly bear stec! bers like hairpins. These were phenomenal feats fora pre-steruid cra. Like Jog, The Atom dida’e need phony muscle drngs and as a resulr he was frighteningly strong well into nis later years. In fact, he didn’ quit pectormingas a strongman uneil he was in his eighties. Over many long recreation peri- ds, Joe repaled aie with tales of che feuts of serengrh of che depeession-era strongmen he knew and tained with, world-class powermen whose names ate now lost in the rnisis of history, | was lucky enough to learn a huge amount about their training philosophies, too, Hor example, Toe emplasized the fac: that a lot of the old-timers focused on bodyweight training to get really strong. They might have demonstrated theie power by unleashing ir on external objects like nails ans! burreb, bucir many caves they actually built that basic strergch through coa:rol of the body, In fact, Joc hated bacbells and dumbbells, “Kids today ave'so dumb, trying te yet big with cheis barbells aad dumbbells!” he'd often tell me as we ate in tae cafeteria, “You can get the mos: impressive paysique using your own bods, That’ che way the ancicat Greek and Roman athletes trained—and look ac the muscles on the classical sculptures from that era. Ihe guys in those stat- ves were bigger and more impressive than all these drugged-up jecks you gerthese days!” Arc this is trucs jus take a lnoke ata seuiprare like the Farsiese Hercules, or the copy of Facicon now in che Vatican. ‘The model athletes who posed for those sculpmres were clearly augely musculas and ‘would easily win aatural bodybuilding contests teclay. And the adjustable bartell wasn't invented until the nineteenth eentury, If you still don’t agree, check outa modern male gymnas:. These ssuys almost exclusively use their bodyweight in «raining, and many have physiques ‘which would pur bodybuilders ro shame: Joe is no longer wish us, but I peoxised him that the best of his training wisdom woulda’t die oat. A lor of iris in this boalk. Rest in peace, Joey Se Meee eM a Cy bee Ce ore tao Ernest eins Bert Peers) Rta ee ery ar eee yer set pe eee oan CMe TrePare I: Prepnemsnces From Apprentice to Teacher ev safe ro say thas over dhe years I've had the opportunity 16 see how literally thousands of pris oners wozk out, both in the weights pic in the yacd ‘if a prison had ore) and in theie cel, with nothing. I’ve talked with 2 vast number of real veterans—ntany of them clite-level athleres—lor whom taining is a religion, a way of life. Over the years I've picked up a great number of advanced tips and techniques which I've slowly incorporated into my syscem, It's fair co say that (ye wleaned as rvach conditioning acumen: from prison life ay anybody has, But prisioa life is raraly easy or sale. I never rested for a single days [always tzanslated my knowledge into pain and sweat, experimenting on myself. Asa result, | was always known as being in superb condition, the guy Who was tutS aaout training. Any incident I got involved in with was over quick, because | was 50 explasive, in such gooc shape. All this gave me a mystique over rime which ensured | got muck more respect than | would have done without my training, | even got some admiration from the Jracks {guards} ior my lifestyle and ability, In the ninesies, | was in Marion Penitentiary, which was in pe-manent 'ockdown following the murder of two guards. (By “permancat lockdown,” Tmeao thar all iamates were lett in solitary confinement for twenty-three hours per day, every day.) To crush any potential srouble, the hacks did the rounds checking out the inmates every lorry min utes. There was @ running jekein Marion shat the hacks would see me doing pushups, and setarn forty minutes later, snd Pd still he doing, ther»—the same set Tn my last few yeats in prisoa this reputation as an athlete got me lot of daily sequests for coaching, mainly irom fresh inmates. They had all heard that Lcould teach ther how to get a:ison tongh in no approach ro exercise altered accordingly, Ar the core of these changes were the good old platc-loading barbell and dumbbell, Basbells and rmeral free weights have beer: azound for centuries, but the rwentiesh ceneuey approach to fimess was teuly-ashered in during 1900 when Brtish acilece Thomas Inch invented che plate-loading barbell. Hefore long, cables and weight stacks were added to che mix, and shortiy after their incep-Pann It Pae.iw0eapres sion weight training mackines which bore no resemblance to frce weights became all the rage. In the ninctoa-seventies, nobody yas anybody who dida’t train on Nawfikes machines—resistance devices $0 named because their primary cam lever was shaped like a Navtilus mollusc shel. During this cea, Nauti us gyms grew up all over America, and now herdly any gym in the world can be Found that isn’t mostly sopalated with complicared and confusing strength mechines, Even batbells and dambbells have had to take a back seat. And as for bodyweight exercises? Despite a handful of advocatos—ike Charles Atlas—progressive bodgweight tcaining slowly moved towards extinction as the twenticth century wore on, The Difference Between "Old School” and “New School" Calisthenics All of these changes ‘nave altered the way we exercise very radically in a very short space of time, and we have lost something extzemely valuable along the war. For many thotsands of years—almost all of human history—men who wanted co ger big and strong trained themselves with bodyweight exercises. Grea: systems of knowledge arc sophisticated philosophies regarding training methods aad techniques were passed down from generation to generation. Impressive (and supte-nely e'fectire} methocologies evolved, methodologies whieh were hased largely aroand strength and power, methodologies which were inte ligent and progressive, the prodact of many centuries of tris] and error, These priceless arts were designed to make an athlete stronger and stronger, until he achieved the peak. af human ability—not only in strength, but in agility, motive power and renghness. This is what] mean when T talk about ofd school calisthenics When the barbels and machines began to really take over in the second half of the nweasieth century, all of this hard-earned ancient knowledge became considered redundanc. Immaterial to the mndern age, Dazzled by the new gadgets and the methods assaciated with them, fewer and fewer people continued using these ancient o¢ schoo! riethods and shey began co die out Today, bodyweight strength ctaiaing has been almost rotally replaced by weight-taining with machines, barbells and Cumbbells. Bodyweight training is seea es the feeble sibling of these newer approaches, and has been relegated to the sidelines. Lhe old school skills ard systems dwindled through disuse and became lest. All thar survived wes the hasic miaimam. Today, when people— even so-called strengrh “experts”—talk about bodyweight craining, they-only really know the beginners’ movemenss—pushups, deep kaee-bens, etc. ‘lo this they add a few useless and pathetic modern exciciscs, like ab eminches. These exece'ses are given co school childien, weak- lings, or are done as warm ups or to develop light endurance. Compared to che tracicional, strenigth-based attizude, this appcoach could be called new schol calisthenics, Old school calis- thenics—which involved Locyvieiax: systems designce to propressive'y develoa iahaman power and wrength -have almost died ou. Alinost. 1s16 Comrom Comrarornas The Role of Prisons in Preserving the Older Systems There was one place that the old school calisthenics never died outs a place where the oldet sys- toms were pesfectly preserved, lke ar: ancient insovt teapped ia amber—in prisons The ceason for this is obvious, The massive sevolution in waining technology which killed off old school calisthenics on the outside never ocurred im prisons, Zither that, or i occurred very late. The barbell and dumbbell-based gyms chat became the rage in the filties and sixties? Not ia prisons. Very primitive weight pits cil’ start appearing until the late seventies. ‘he “indispens- able” strength taining machines upon which most gyms became builtin the seventies and eight ies are still largely absert From prison gyms. In effect, this means that—while the rest of the strength taining would was undergoing a huge “modernization” during the twentieth century—peisons were like a bubble, The traditions that wore being killed off in gymnasiums up and down the country stayed alive in prisons, because they weren't choked to death by Geuhnology and the money associated with aoveky gimmicks. During the eighteench und nineteech centuries, the guys who got incarcecated and knew how to do true bodyweight training, based on strength—the gymnasts, acrobats, circus performers and stronginen—passed their knowledge on to och inmates, This knowlalge—old sciaoo! calisthen- ies—was gald in prisons, where no exercise equipment at all was co be found, with the exception of the bars overhead and the flace below. And being physically strong as well as agile wes essen- tial—those days were tough. Life in prisons today is harsh, but going back a century o so, things were even harder. Beatings and cruel treatment were a part of the expected daily grinc, and inmates killed and seriously wounded each other as a matter of routine. The handful of guys who trained fr strength in th cells did $0 t0 literally stay alive. They teained furiously and with enormous sexiousnest—being powerful was 2 life or death marter! In rais sense, those inmates from our past wese x0 different from the Spartans led by Leonidas sixty-cight centuries ago. They all depended on their power vo survive, and in order to develop that power they teained in traditional calisthenics. The Origin of Convict Conditioning To this day, prisoners all over the world still train using of school calisthenics, During my decades inside the nation’s prisons, I've been obsessed with strength and Fitness, Over rime, this changed into an obsession with bodyweight training—talisthenics. Only after several years inside id [begin to understand the tcue natuze aed value of productive bodyweight exerise, end it took years after that until | was able to piece togetier the “secret history” of old schoo! calisthenics, and the role that prisons have played in preserving these artsPorn Is PRenrurnanres In my time, Pye read everything Tcan about training and exercise, and ways of developing the body with litte or no equipment. I've had the privilege of seeing how hundreds o! unbelievably strong and athletic prison-trained men work but, usiuy only their bodyweight. Many of these guys have had phenomeral ability end practically Olympian strength and fitness: but you'll never see them or get to read about -heit staining in magazines due to theie personal histories and lowly plaw on sociery’s ledder, Pre seen what thse men can do, and spoken to them in depth about their methods. Ive been hionored to befriend and speud long periods with the previous generation of convicts, guys who were old enough to remember the strongmen who were actually trareed by the strongmen of the second Golden Age of physical cvltare; guys who met the old svrongmen, heard their theories and knew how they exercised. Following their lead, T've trained myself cay and night with merciless techniques eneil my bedy ached and my hand: bled; I've coached hun- dleod’s of other athleves, further honing my knowledge of aadyweight execcise, Te made it my job to find out more about old schoo! calisthenics than any othes man alive, Over the years, I've collecced dozens of notebooks and taken the finest ideas ane techniques from all the systems P've learnad or the inside, to develop the ultimate form of calisthenics...a method that ean be used progressively to develop visanic powes, agility and fitness; 4 method thar requires no specal equipmens, minimal ime and minimal eamiplexiry in application, ‘This system represents the best of the best of what I've learned. Ir is the system which is known today as Concicr Conditioning, and it’s the subject of this book, But despite the name and the ori- gins, Couvict Conditioning isn’t juse tor prisoners—it has a whole hos. of kenefis 10 ater any- body who wants to become extremely powerta and Fx wile staying at che peak of health, Lights Out! Pye found that when I ralk to people on the outside abot the kind of grttyy hardcore, push-ill- youdrop bodyweight exercise programs that are still ropularly performed in prisons, I'm, invari- ably met with a wave of enthusiasm, Guys love to hear about it! After a spirited discussion. litters and athletes tell me with a serious look in their eye that they'll dedicate themselves to mastering bodyweight work. Then I find ou—only weeks later—that they never evea tied calisthenics. They're back in the gym working exclusively on machines and free weights, on the same unjpee~ cluctive courines everybody else is doing, getting nowhere. Lean‘ really say I blame them. People find i diffcule 10 commit themselves to a method of training that’s so individualistic—something that nobody else on the outside seems to be doing, ‘What most trainees need in order to really psycliologically invest some energy in old school calis- thenics is a good dose of reality, They need to know the differences between the unproductive, costly and damaging rew methods of working out and the productive, free and safe arts of peo- gressive bodyweight vaining—“traditional” arts that wall bewme tomorrow’ cutting edge. Til discuss the differences between calisthenics and mare modern methods in the next chapter. 17Pimp I: PRnomueres ‘ak Convicr MANIFESTO SODYWEIGHT "TRAINING VS MopERN Mrrnops any living proof thar you don’t need to get to the gym and use gmmicks co gain a lot of muscie and power. My many “stud ons all over the nation are proaf too, oder machines and ‘working out in pris- But my methedls are so far from the status que now that a lot of trainees will have trouble agcepting chem, There's a reaven for wy opinions being $0 out of step with the *ronn.” T eonie fiom 4 background were thete were xo prottin shakes, uo adjustable barbells, no Naudilus machines or Bowflex. A hacsh, tough environment where men have only thetr bodies and a hell of 2 fot of aggression and spare Lime to build up their muscles and maximize their strungth, 1, and many others, have achieved these goals—but we did it by locking back, and using our bodies plas traditional, time-tested techniques, no# by turning to Aeshy equipment and gadgers. Some people will never acceps that old schocl calisthenics works, because they've been beans washed into thinking thar they need free weights and modem gyrn equipment to reach their full porential. F you'te going to embrace Conuict Conditioning, you'll have to be prepared 10 901 any indoctrination and preformed opinions to one side—at least long enough te give my methods a shot, ln chis chapter 'm going to show you tvby what you might have been tanght abour medem teaining is misleading, false, or downright wrong, Modern Physical Culture- a Bastard Child I love the world of strength and fitness. But when I take a look atthe direction training and ath- leties are herded in the outside world, wealmost makes me want to head to San Quentin and bang on the main gate to go straight back inside, Whea old sclauu! ealistheaies begun to die wut, 0 did 1920 s Convio Cosrrtomise physical culture in general. ‘The world of physical conditioning has never been in such a desper- ately lov, pitiful situation 2s iis today. Ever, Some disagree with this opinion, presenting the elite athleves and world record holders of the moslern era as proof thar the science of conditioning has never been so higniy advanced. Biut for a moment, forget the madern champions and pro athletes you see playing sports on TV. Thanks to recent media reports and exposés, the genctal public are finally beginning to geasp the fact that auost of the top guys (whether you believe it vr net) only acbicve their |teaporarily) high level of ability due to performance drugs such as anabolic steroids, testosterone variants, growth hor mone, insulin and rumeracs other substances. Even a short way into their career, vicually all of those involved mm intense, competitive sports find themselves held together by painkillers, comi- sone, tranquilizers and other analgesic and relaxant chemicals which alow their joints ta (again, lenporarity) cope with the unnatural steesses of raining and competing, This is nut to mention she recreational drugs that are now flooding pro sports—drugs like alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, and even crank (|) ate now ysed everywhere in sports by weak-minded arhletes who can't adjust tothe pressures of their name, And as for training methods? Despite whar you may have read or heard, very few pro athletes know how to condition themse.ves ali that well. From the high school lovel (and even before) the majority of peccociously talented furuze pros are taken on and trained full-time ty coaches and ceainers who do the thinking for them, Kill the Gyn \ So lets ignoce the pros and modern-day Olympians for right now. For a while, let’ also ignore convicts and their training methods. What about everyone e'se? The rest of us are told—by the magazines, TV shows, fitness gurus and even goveminent health agencies—that if we wane to shape up, we need to “get co the gym.” ‘What does this entail? Generally speaking, icinvoives bo things these days; cardio machines and weights work— SSR. cither free weights, or expensive resistance machines. ies difficule t9 think of anything more futile, depressing and tedious than the cardio machine section of a modem gym. You've all seen the drill rows and sows of gym members silently rowing nowhere, spinning their wheels or stepping up non-cxistent stairs with very litle intensity and winning hardly any gains by way of real-world results, [And as for the weights worl? Taere tend to be two types of approaches to this, Firstly, there's the generalized, feminine “toning” attitude—ger into a machine on its lowest setting or pick up tar weniest dumbbells you can, and begin che monoronous counting, ‘This charade might lok good in @ chrome-clad gym if you are covered in spandex but trust me, it does zero for your health