I was inspired to try a new workout routine after a recent trip to San Francisco and a tour of the infamous Alcatraz prison. As they always say, “disobey the rules and you end up in prison. If you break the prison rules, you go to Alcatraz.” Regardless of whether you are stuck in the most or least strict prison, the bottom line is that you are confined to a very tight space. Even though that is the case, it is still possible to do effective workouts while incarcerated…not that I would suggest turning into a criminal simply to exercise more. Even though you have limited space and no gym equipment, you can use bodyweight exercises for strength increases.

One of the best features of a prison workout regimen is that it can be followed in virtually any environment. If you think about it, prison comes with a lot of restrictions on what can be used and what can’t, so with this routine there are no acceptable excuses. So, how can you use bodyweight exercises to build functional strength?

Using only your body weight, there are many different types of exercise combinations that can be accomplished. The following are just a few that I find useful. A big benefit of bodyweight exercises is that the majority of them involve movements of a compound nature. Compound movements are much more effective for muscle growth. Consider the different muscles necessary to complete a chin up or a push up as opposed to the narrow range of muscles necessary for bicep curls and other isolation exercises.

One great exercise that truly provides a full body workout is the burpee. From a standing position, do a squat and throw your legs back so you are in pushup position. Do a pushup and immediately bring your legs back underneath you and jump up. This combination will give you a fantastic arm and leg workout, and will give you some excellent cardio work as well.

Chin ups: pillars of all bodyweight regimens. The only equipment required is something above your head from which to hang. Get yourself a wall mounted pull up bar if you can. Pull ups can be done in a number of ways, including underhanded, overhanded, with a wide grip or with a narrow grip.

Dips: get two chairs or any other object that you can support yourself on. Those not incarcerated may use a professional dip station. Lower your body to the point where both arms are parallel or less to the floor, and burst back upwards quickly. Dips will work your triceps and your chest muscles.

Push ups: every bodyweight regiment must include push ups. No equipment or accessories whatsoever are necessary for this exercise. As with the pull-ups, there are many different types of push-ups that you can do to mix things up such as decline push-ups, which work the upper chest; closed grip push-ups that work the triceps; as well as wide grip, dive bomb, one-armed, Hindu and even regular push-ups.

Squats: this is as basic as can be. All you need to do is squat down, stand back up and repeat. Too easy? Incorporate jumps into your squats, or try one-legged versions.

For extra lower bodyweight exercise you should try out a variety of plyometric exercises. These include lateral jumps, depth jumps, leap ups and step ups, all of which help to increase strength in the calf, hamstring and quad regions.

While it is possible to spend all day doing crunches, your abdominal muscles really will not benefit. By utilizing a simple plank routine you can achieve much more. Think planks are just an easy yoga exercise? Talk to me once you have built up to 3 minutes on all three kinds of planks.

If you want to really use bodyweight exercises for strength, then read Convict Conditioning. It consists of guidelines for the novice that teach ways to move from basic bodyweight exercises into more complex ones.

Once again, you won’t need any fancy equipment or a lot of space to accomplish these exercises. This is the core foundation of what the prison workout routine is based on.

 

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