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 the saying goes, “if you break the rules, you go to 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. Despite this restriction, you can get a great workout in prison…not that I’m advocating committing crimes just to ramp up your workout routine. Despite the fact that you are in a small space and have no workout equipment, it is possible to perform bodyweight exercises for strength gains.
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 what does it take to build functional strength simply through the use of bodyweight exercise?
Bodyweight Exercises
Using only your body weight, there are many different types of exercise combinations that can be accomplished. Below is just a sample of some that work well for me. The great thing about bodyweight exercises is that most require compound movements. You will achieve a lot more muscle growth when you do compound movements. Consider the muscles that are used to do isolated exercises such as bicep curls and bench presses, yet when you do bodyweight exercises such as pull-ups and push-ups, you use a wider range of muscle groups.
The burpee is an exercise that will give you a full body workout. 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. Not only will you get a great arm and leg workout, but you’ll also get a fantastic cardio benefit as well.
Upper Bodyweight Exercises
Pull ups: a staple of any bodyweight routine. You just need something to hang from in order to do it. A wall-mounted pull-up bar will fit the bill for this exercise. There are numerous variations of pull ups: underhand grip, overhand grip, narrow grip, wide grip, etc.
Dips: get two chairs or any other object that you can support yourself on. If you’re not in prison, you can get a real dip station as well. Lower your body to the point where both arms are parallel or less to the floor, and burst back upwards quickly. This offers a tremendous workout for the chest and the triceps.
Push ups: every bodyweight regiment must include push ups. No equipment or other objects are required to complete a proper push-up. 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.
Lower Bodyweight Exercises
One more element that you need to know about are squats. All you need to do is squat down and pop up, then repeat. Too easy? Try squat jumps or one-legged squats.
Plyometrics: another kind of effective bodyweight exercise involves plyometrics. The strength of calves, hamstrings and quads can be increased through step ups, leap ups, depth jumps and lateral jumps.
Abs
You could do crunches all day, but those won’t really help your abs. Complete a basic plank workout that incorporates a straight body version and those for each side. Think planks are just an easy yoga exercise? However, you will see amazing results if you can do left, right and straight planks for up to 3 minutes each position.
Convict Conditioning
An excellent book that will help you to effectively use bodyweight exercises for strength is "Convict Conditioning". This book will help you to learn the basics of simple bodyweight exercises all the way up to learning how to achieve advanced bodyweight techniques.
There is no need for expensive equipment or gym memberships, as these exercises pit you against your own bodyweight. That is the essence of a prison workout routine.
