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    Convict Conditioning PDF

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    JAy Bone

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    .- 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 Porn Tz Pamcwcmanras and absolutely nothing tor your fitness and conditioning levels. Then there's the “macho” school of weight-teainings heavy bench presses and plenty of biceps curls are the rule, hete, Never mind that these exercises ruin the joints arc actually do little ior genuine Amctional siengch; never mind that modern “bodybuilding” either neglects or damages those muscles which are most er cial for authentic power and athletigisiu—the spinal exectors, dhe waist, the hands and fext, the neck, and the deeper tissues of the human: sysiem like the fransuersus or rotaior eff muscles. As Jong as you look pumped up in a Tshirt, cher's all sha marers, right? Throw ina little bit of silly, aon-committal stretching between stations that does about as much good as a déad doy, and taeee you have somethin body iz supposed to be doing. approaching che avezape yyra workout ewery~ The Modern Fitness Scam Tapplaud anyone who gets off the couch to go out and train, but just take q look at the restelts of the average person who goes to the gyim. (You might even be such a ferson yourself.) How much headway towards ther tress goals do they realy ake? The sad teuta is that most people make negligible conditioning gains ‘rom the kind of workout described above, ‘he dedieatedl ones trudge to she ayn, week ja, week o2:, but perhaps beyond a mitter initial improvement dey hardly eves seer to change at all, ler alone attain their peak potential. And these are the srainees who keep at itt Ninety percent of those who join @ gym quit within two months due to lack of results. But who can honestly blame people for getting de-motivated ‘with such leckluster results, From methods chae—to cap it off are boring, 1007 Back in Califocnia in the fifties, there was chain of gyms offering lifetime membersiips for 2 modest fee, By “lifetime,” I mean it—people paid an up-‘ont lump sum, and vould train ar the gym any time, for life. Sound like a good deal? Ir was—for the gym owners. More than 99%, of those wha took the offer joined and quit after a Sew months, never to come back. Ihe gym own- eis, of course, understood che business and knew full well chat this would happen. ‘Lhe flunk oat rate has always been the same with gyms Is this t-ue for you? Have you ever joined a gym all fired up'with enthesiasm and good inten- tions, only to give up shortly after? The chances are if its noé true for you. you will personally know many athers this sad story applies to, But if an activity—such as gym training—really is as yaluable, and instantly life-encichiny as weave told itis, why i there such amadsive drop out Fate? ‘The aaswer in part lies in the fact that people aren’ gerting the kind of results :hey should expect. Quite aside from the inefficiency of the average gym-based fitness routine, it’s incredibly incon venient, The standacd gy; session is a pain <: the backside. IVs not just the traming—ir's the get- ring there. Gyms require a lor of floor space, Lo aecommodeie all the equipment. Ho this reason, most gym: owners can’t afford ( seri! exnural Locationss they usually lease or buy space outside of town, in industrial or cunsdown areas. Most trainees have tn crive or take pablie wansport « get ah 22 Gonvior Comreromrne shere, You have to get ready by showering beforehand, you need to wash and launder your gym clothes, gat changed, pack your gym bag (towel, water supplements, mereherskip card}, ete, Tow many people are in tae mood for all thar after « haed day at werk or school? Then when you get there, even if you have a training routine prepared, dhe equipment you require is often in use, Evenings are she worst it’s just not fun hanging around in a gym inhabited by heaving, sweaty guys. (Unless you're into that kind of rhing,) Why do people hater putting themselves theowgh this rigmarale én che firse place? Because we are told thar—to become wao we want tw be—we need to. To get in shape, we need gym mem- bership. ‘lo got chiseled abs, we need the flashy gadgets. ‘To get big pecs, we need the expensive, scientifically engineered training, mechine. To work out safely and in comfort, we meect che designer trein'ng shoes, Ta gec buf, we need all chose provein pills, shakes and orker supplements, Why ate we told this? Ie’ ell down to money, folks. The “experts” om the infomesciais telling you that yoo need this kind of gadyet, or that kind of equipment to develop your pees or abs or what ever—ihey are the guys selling that steflt The same is true of dlietary supplements. The muscle magarines Unat fexture all the pro bodybuilders pusaing supplements ave ultimately financed by the bodybuilding fans. There is no money in pro bodybuilding. The magazires are cither spon- sored by or (in mast eases) published iy the companies who make those supplements. The hady- builders featurvd in heir publicutions aren’d buile by supplement and proeein shekes, They are built by steroids. Like s many things in our modern, money-driven world, the vision most people have been ped led rogacding waat they “need” to get in shape, isa big lie, Ifsa scam, You don't need all these productsand extras to seach the pinnacle of strength and fitness All you need is your hody, the right knowledge, end a big hucketful of deverm ination. The Basic Benefits of Bodyweight Training could pretty nich write a thesis on why old school calisthenics isin a different leayne tn mod- ent, gyav-based training, Bur since space '$ shost, I'm going to stick 16 the hasics, Hece are six darn imporrant areas where oid school calisthenics scores over ether, more modern metnods: Bodyweight Training Requires Very Little Equipment TThece has never been a system of steength training moce perfectly in aarmony with the prinet ps of independence and economy, and there never will be. Liven. the most ardent weightlifter wil have to admit this fact. Pang I: Pamnnursanms For the master of calisthenics, his or her body becomes a gymnasium, Most exercises require no equipment, although if you wish the exercises can be enhanced with a fev items that can be foure lying atoand in almost ary home. The very most youll need is 2 place to hang from, and every tone of us can locate such a place if we look; stairs, a Tole hatch, even the branches of a tree! Ne gym is required, and very litle space—at most, she equivalent 10 the length of your ovn body, often even less. Whereas other strength training systems: use meral weights, cables, chains or machines to pro- duce resistance, the vast majority of calisthenies exercises exploit a free Zorm of resistance—graet fy. Wir no gym at equipment required, there is nothing to stare away; no clutter, Plus, it means that you can tain anywhere you happen to find yoarsell—on holiday, in 9 different citys at work—anywhere, You aten’t tied to specific locations. |'his factor is preciscly why calisthenics has survived and thrived in prisons, where ecip-nent is minima anda prisoner could be meved any- swhere—even solitary confinement—ara moment's notice Another big plus is that calisthenics waining is free. No equipment means ao financial invest- ment, and no gym mear-s no memanership fee. Ever. 2, Bodyweight Training Develops Useful, Functional Athletic Abilities ithenics is the wliimate in functional training. This is another one ‘of the ceasons its so pop: ular wich conv.cts—when trouble kicks off, you need to be able to really move in prison. “All showrand no go” might be okay ina mghtelub, but in the Yen you had better be able t handle yourself, Tn nature, the human body dossn’t need to move barbells or éumbbells around, Before it can move anything extemal at al, it hasto be able to move itself around! The legs need the strength to be able tr easily manage the weight of che corso in athletic motions, suck: ax running or in combat; the back and arms require tae power to be able to pull or push the hady up or awag. {8 sad 10 see that so many modern bodybnilders don’r understand this fact. They tain, firse and foremost, ta be able to move exiernal abjects. They may become very good ar it, but this approach neglecrs artd eventually compromises the prime athletic directive of selfmovensent. 1 have met hulking tcainees who could squat live hundred pounds, but whe waddled up 2 Hight of staiss, wheezing Uke old mea. I know one powerlifser wo can bench press four yaadced pounds, but who van hardly comb his hair due to his uneven, unnatural physical development, The practice of calisthenics will not cause any of these movement problems, pecause i is essen- tially a form of taming in movement, Old schoo! calisthenics will makw you supremely strong, bur no matter how advanced you become in this area, you will only ever become more agile ane! limber in your movements, never less, because you are training the muscles to move dhe body rather than something external. 23 24 Comvior Comrrrosmxe 3. Bodyweight Training Maximizes Strength Calisthen:cs movemeavs are the most eflicientexereises possible, because they work the bady as it evolved to work; not by using individual muscles, or the portions of a muscle, but as an inte- grated rit. This means developing rhe tendons, joints and nervous system as well as the muscies. This synergy in motion is what causes calisthenics to build auch impressive strength. Many weight erainers—no doiabr influenced by bodybuilding philosophy believe that rippling muscles ae the source of strength. In fact, i's tne nervous system that causes the muscle cells <@ fice, $0 your sttength and power arelargcly determined by the efficiency of your nervous system. he ner- vons component af strengrh explains why one man san have muscles for, lar smaller than another, yer be vastly stronger. Very strong men will a tell you that tendlon stiength is probably move imporlant for tie powe: than muscle size. Calisthenics motions work the joints and zendons.as they are meant 10 be worked, resulting in grease’ levels of power than weight-training movements can develop, (See reassrt 4 Anotrer reason why calisthenics are so efficient in developing “aw strength is thar they crain the thle :0 werk mukiple muscle groupsat once, A bodyweight squat, for example, works n0r just the quadriceps ar the tont of the thighs, but the glutcus maximus and minimus, che spire, the hips, abdomen and waist, and even the muscles of the toes. Proper bridging worss aver x hundred muscles! This fact overlaps perfectly with reas 2, given above, because the body hes naturally evolvec to move in a compound, holistic. fashion, Many bodybuilding motions—particclerly those done on mackines—artifically olare muscles, causiag uneven development and lopsided funccioning, In dodybuilding end « let of weight-teaiaing, you get locked imo a simple geoave when performing techniques. This means chae relatively small areas of che physceal system ‘some- times only individual muscles) get targeted by an exercise, Bur when taining in calisthenics, you are forced to move your entire body; this requires coordination, synergy, balarice and even meatal focus, All these things develop nervous power, as well as muscular strength 4, Bodyweight Training Protects the Joints and Makes Then Stronger—for Life In prison, you need to be all-over stcong—no mater how old you sre, Being hindered by weale or péiaful joints would ake you very vulnerable, however big Your muscles might look, It may suprise you, but this = one important reason why a lot of convicts deliberetely avoid weight training One of the major problems with modern forms of sirengih and resistance training is the dame age they do co the joints. The joints of the body are supported by delicate soft tssues—tendons, fascia, ligaments nd bursae~which aze sitaply not evolved take the pounding of heavy weighttraining, Wea arcas include the wrists, elbows, knees, lower back, hips, the thamboid- complex, spine, and neck, The shoulders are pacticularly suscoprible to damage frem bodybuild- ing mations. Yoa1! be lucky to find anybody who has been lifting weighs for « year o: more who hhasn'c developed some kind of cheoaic joint pain in ove of these areas, Pam I: Pamocoarcs Don't juse rake rey word for it, Go into aay hardcore gym and you'll se liftess wrapping their vwrises and lenees, scrapping theic hacks up with high-tech helts, and applying stebilizing straps around their bows. The locker room will sink uf mento! hear reby and analgesic liniments, all applied to kevp tie pai at bay. Joint problems ase: bady builder's constant companion, When the brodybuildor starts to abuse steroids, these problems became oven worsey the mnseles begin :0 develop at an incredibly fast rare—faster chan the joints car keep up. Br the time most body- builders are x: their late thsties, the damage is done and pain is a way of life, whether they stop training or not. ‘This damage is done because bodybuiiding motions are largely uameevural. In order 20 place a great deal of emphasis on che mascles, the hody is fo-ced to hoist heavy extemal loads in motions and at angles not usually found in nature, One side-effect of this punishment isa vast amount of stress onvulnerable joints, joints which are forced to-endure chis horror repetitwely over time, the result is soft tissue tears, tendonitis, arthritis and other maladies. The joints become inflamed and sear tisae or even calcifications begin to build up, making che joints weaker and stiffer, Bodybuilding movements primarily target the muscles, which adapt much faster than che joins, this means that the more muscular and advanced a bouybuilder becomes, the worse the problem gets. When performed propedly and in scquence, the calisthenics motions in this book will not cause joiar aroblems—on the coareary, they progressively strengrhea the joins aves an athkete’s lifetime, and actualiy heal old joint injuries, This beneticial elfect occurs tor two reasons. The first reason is basie physics the resistance used is never heavier than the litter's own bodyweigint, The ridicu- tons, excessively heavy loads so aclmired in bodybuilding do not occur. The second reason is down to kimestaloyy —which is the science of movement. Simply put, the body has evolved over millions of years tw be able te move itself, frst and foremost; it was uever “designed” to lift progressively heavier exrema’ leacs on 4 regelar basis. A Kinesiologist might say that calisthenics movements are more authentic then weight-liting techniques. When the body has to lift sol, in 2 pullup or squat, for example, the skeleto-museu- lar serueture naturally aligns to the most efficent and natural ourpurt ratio, When: lifting weights, this natural shi't does not oceur—in fact the bodybuilder has to learn to move as wrnaturally as possible co fasce maximum emphasis onto the muscles. Pullups ase x good example of the “authentic” natuie of calisthenics; humans evolved, like our primate relatives, pulling omrsches Up into teees by the branches. This anatomical heritage stil exists in the human body, which is way people adapevery quickly and safely to pullup training. A bodybuilding alternative to pullaps isthe bent-ovey rose: humans did noe evolve to execute this movement, and as a result many lifters quickly injure their spine, lower hack and shoulders wien performing this exercise. The authentic movements offered by calistrenies apply che power of the joints naturally, ¢s they evolved to be used, The resulris that they develop sr proportion to the muscular system, becom- ing more powerful overtime zather than. weaker and worn down. As the joint tissue rebuilds itself, former aches and nains are worked out of the system, and future injuries are aveided. 28 26 © Govier Coxprmtomree 5. Bodyweight Training Quickly Develops the Physique to Perfection Secengels and health should be the major goals of your training, You need to be as powerful and functional as you possibly can he, fora long tine into your old age. Calisthenics ean give you that, Bur let's be honest—we all want a little muscle, too. A lot, preferably. A big, beefy physique adds to the selfecsteem and sends a message to other males saying “don't mess with me.” This is an important pert of prison culture. On the outside, étdoesn’e hurt with the ladies, either: ‘The practice af modern calisthenics mainly builds endurance and a little aerobic toning, but it does virtually nothing tor the physique. Old school calisthenics on the other and, wit\ pack slabe of ciascle onta any frame, and take the physique to its optimal development via the shortest route pos sible, What’ miore, the final result won't be the freaky, artificial “pumped up” gorilla costume wore by modern sterdid-using bodybuilders. Ik will be natu, healthy and in perfect propor- tion, like the athletes of Greece who modeled fur the statues of the Greek sods which—evea today—are seen as being the archecype af the perece human body, Tn the presteroid era, the man widely thought of as. possessing te most muscular—and most aasthettc— physique of all rime was John Grimek. John Grimele won the 1939 “Perfect Man” tite, and was the only mar in history to win the Mr America title inore than once, in 1940 and 1941 Pca ge et arc Me tae Wes a ed a Pe renee CR ct ee CW te shart ekC a ar} ee ore ini ec er ss eer COP SoC SCs inch mark, at a height of 5'9. ‘he men achieved his strength ee ese ts ee oR en rteen tarts rod ei ected Meee Me ir Meant hin gees Greece vanes elit rir) Perec Serre ois enw ree cred Poe T: Paeynermanres Hig physique was awe inspicing, anu ie s:ll ws ly regarded now: Ragged and masculine, Geimele seas the ultimate specimen, Unlike today’s mnscle-bound bedybuilders, be was alsoa phenemensl athlete. To finish his posing roatine, hc flipped onto his hands ané did a handstand pushup, belore lowering his feet :0 the grou ina pestect bridge, and spreading his legs nil he was siting in the splits, Grimek was an avid weightlifter, bur he also claimed tha: he gor much of his uppec body muscle from handstand exercises. He preached tae value of ealsthenics, but fay itseems, istened For indispucable proof tha: bodyweight raining can develop 2 massive, muscular physique. take a look at the men’s gymnastics next time it comes on TV. Those guys have massive bice shoulders like cocomas and lats thaz look like wings—all built simply by maving their own bod- ies against gravity, The way men used to train. 6. Bodyweight Training Normalises and Regulates Your Body Fat Levels Conventional bodybuilding is corducive to overeating. Forget the ripped pros you see in the magazines—no way do they look like that most of the tume. They aly do taeie photo shoots dur- ing che brief competition season, after monchs of strict ard unhealthy dieting, in she off-season. these men are muck heavier, carcying twen'y, thirty or more pounds of superfinous body fee. Ancl thar the top guys. Lhe average bodybuilder isin a muuch worse situation; the magazines he reads religiously all tell him he nceds way more protein than he acrmally does fin a cynical arterp* ro sell supplements} and as & result he chokes muscle-building foods down himself any chance he gers. Because the majorisy of amater lifters are not on lange doses of steroids, their metabolisins just aren't powerful enough to tun all those extra calories into muscle, The end result is that most guys become over-nourished and chushbyy when they begin lifting we ght seriously. ‘Weight-traiaing and the psychology of overeating yo hand in hand. Belore « hard session, an athlete convinces hitnsel: that if he eals moce, he'll hft better and put or: beef. After a haxé session, anvatleve is artitivially depleted and 4's appute increases accord .nely. The opposize dynamic occurs when an athlece Segins training seriously in calisthenics, Trokesiny cad bodyauildirg arc best friends, obesity and calisthenics ace nazacal enemies. If your goal is t0 beut-over row 400 Ibs., you could overeat as much as you like and probably still meet your goal despite carrying around a massive gut. but you couldr’t set a goal of doing onc-atm pullups with= ie seatching your bodyweight. Nobody ever became beter at calisthenics by bulking up into a ig fat pig, The goal ofealischenits is to master lifting one’s own body. ‘Uhe laste: you aro, the moce difficult this beeomes, Once you begin training regclaely in calisthenics, the subconscious mind makes the connection between a leaner bodyweight and easier tcaining, and regulates the appetite ard eating habirs auromatically. I know this is “rue—f've seen it myself on -aany occasions. Guys who take us bodyweiga: training nsturally drop flab. 'lry is and sce, 27 28 Comvron Comprstoxrre Lights Out Many diferent types’ of people will read this book. Some will be beginners, looking to gain some steengsh andl 1p.1sele on their journey shrough life. Many wil he peuple who are already ded- icated hodybnilders, weight-rainers and gym-goers, shopping around for some additional tech niques and methods they ean throw inte, theit repettoite—mayhe Zor when they’ee on holiday, on weighs layoil, or away from the gym sliogether. Some readers will be ennwviets themselves, inter ested in the ideal cell routine to pass the time during their siretca inside. A Jew will be those devo- lees interested in exercise generally, who might want Lo know a litle bit about how we do it in prison. Whichever one of these you may be, Thope Pye made you reflect on the values of bodyweight waining. I'm passionate about spreading this message, because I know that af! modern athlewes can gain an enormous amour from the knowledge and methods that survive in prisons and pen- iceutiaries. To me, this book is about more than just exercise techniques. Its 2 manifesto for revor lutionizing modem strength training—a come! man So far in this book I've been trying to sell you on the theory behind the piste CU) 0 FU Hee yor eRe Pea eh MEL Une aricfoy 1 PUICTCMn oer Rte scan oe am ew) eg DC CeCe ce CCTM MLC med the system, as it's set out in this LL ee S Men O crag etree Rime to Imow in the next chapter. Past Is Punonams 4: Convicr CONDITIONING ABnouT ras Book first got che idea for this book when I was in Angola Penitentiary. | was in year six of an cight-yeer stretch, and Td been training a lot of guys to reach their peak. As a result, T had a huge pile of loose nutes, jotted ideas and scribbled training progranss wrapped up in a big card file. Tho ides of writing a book actually wasn’t my own—it wasn't even another con- vict who came up with it, Iewas a hack, named Ronnie Ronnie wasa big, beefed up black gay who got a Lot of respect Zrom the iamaces because he was a high-ranking local powedlifter who looked a3 big asa truck, and was about as strong, too, Although he was softly spoken, Ronnie didn't take any shit, And you certainly didn’t wane hisn to take you down, because he'd nearly tear your arr off in the process. But T always got along with Ronnie, partly because of our mutial interest in strength. Sometimes on his evening rounds he would stop at my cell and we'd chat about this or that exercise, or I'd tell him stories about the history of the tron gane. One day T was talking to Ronnie about the finer points of bandstand training, when he just Blasted out “you know, you should write some of this Gown. Nobody knows any ofthis stefé on the outside anymore, Irs all been lost.” Having read exercise magazines and books in varions prison libraries and on the outside for years, | had to agree with him Over the next couple of years T gradually transferred my rechniques and methods into book form. It wasn't too hard in the sense thac the system already existed. I had been teaching it for years, But condensing are dishlling everything into a manual-sized book took a lot of effort. [was ‘new 10 waiting, but gradually made my way in the spare hows, This book, Conice Conditioning, is the result of all those efforts. To make iny teachings digestible, | thought ie might be useful to the reader if I presented an overview of the steuctive of the book ir this chapcer, su you know what to expect and how best to use it, In doing this, Lalso want to introduce anal outline some of the core concepts of Convict Conditioning, in pacticulac the “Rig Six” and the “ten steps.” Here's a summazy of the book und irs contents: 29 30 Conyion CoxprnrommNe Parr I: PRELIMINARIES Tie first part, Preliminaries, will give you a great background to the system of Convict Conditioning, Tc comiains an inwroduction, & chapter on old school calisthenics, ¢ chapter on the beactits of bodyweight training celative to modern in-gym training, and the current chapter, These four caapters will teach you everything you need 1 know about the theory of the system, its nature, rewards and advaccages. You'll also lear something about the org ‘cadition of prison training, anc the origin ang. history of Convict Conditioning. These chapters are all useful for learning about the system and clearing up any misconceptions you might have picked up about prison training or calisthenies from inauthentic sources. Parr I: _ ” 1 & « 2 .6m The Bie Srx: PowrrR Moves The second part of the book is called The Big Six: Power Moves. This part contains the real meat of the system, As the sitle of Pare Two implies, Convict Conditioning is basea. around six types of movemients—the “Big Sin.” Asany competent weight-

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