How to Use Body Weight Exercises to Build Strength Using the Prison Workout Routine
During my recent trip to San Francisco, my wife and I visited Alcatraz, the most historic prison in the world. Our tour guide told us the saying: “You go to prison if you break the rules. You go to Alcatraz if you break the rules in prison.” It doesn’t matter if you are in a low-level security prison or a maximum security institution, you will have to deal with living in a tight, small space. Aside from the typical trappings of prison life, it is possible to still get a great workout while you’re there, however I don’t recommend getting locked up just to improve your physique. 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.
The great thing about a prison workout routine is that it can literally be applied anywhere. There aren’t many situations more restrictive than prison, so there are no more excuses for not being able to exercise. So, how can you use bodyweight exercises to build functional strength?
There are limitless combinations of exercises you can do using only your body weight. Below is just a sample of some that work well for me. The great thing about bodyweight exercises is that most require compound movements. 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.
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. This combination will give you a fantastic arm and leg workout, and will give you some excellent cardio work as well.
Perhaps the top staple of any bodyweight routine is the pull-up. You just need something to hang from in order to do it. Get yourself a wall mounted pull up bar if you can. You can do several different types of pull-ups such as the wide grip, narrow grip, overhand grip and the underhand grip, among others.
Dips: get two chairs or any other object that you can support yourself on. Those not incarcerated may use a professional dip station. Lower yourself until your arms are parallel or less to the ground and explode back up. This offers a tremendous workout for the chest and the triceps.
Push ups: every bodyweight regiment must include push ups. You literally need no equipment or other objects for these. 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 and pop up, then repeat. Does that seem to simple? Incorporate jumps into your squats, or try one-legged versions.
Plyometrics: other great lower bodyweight exercises include a variety of plyometrics. 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. Complete a basic plank workout that incorporates a straight body version and those for each side. A lot of people think that planks are just a yoga type exercise. However, you will see amazing results if you can do left, right and straight planks for up to 3 minutes each position.
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.
No fancy equipment, no fancy space, just you against your body. This is the core foundation of what the prison workout routine is based on.
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