Strength+cardio in a single workout. By increasing the tempo and decreasing the rest between sets and exercises, you can turn a bodyweight workout into both a high-intensity cardio session and a strength workout. In 30 minutes, you’ll be done with your exercise for the day. The Exercises

Here’s an exercise to build muscle. No weights needed,” Bronson writes in Solitary Fitness. “Get a towel, vest or whatever (ideally a material that is stretchy, but not nylon as this could burn your hands or create static within your body). If I’ve no towel or shirt (often I will be in solitary confinement and have nothing, just a bare cell), I still do it with my fingers entwined, pulling hard and then relaxing, it’s the same principle.” To perform a band pull-apart; Hanging Windshield Wiper. Perform a straight leg raise, but when your feet come to the top positions, brace your abs and rotate your legs to one side as far as you can. Rotate to the other side. That’s one rep. If you can’t do more than one stinking pull-up, see our “do more than one pull-up” workout. It’ll have you cranking out pull-ups for reps in no time. SquatsThis is a core blaster. Not only does it hit the abs, obliques, and rib muscles, but it also works your quads, hips, forearms, and shoulder muscles. Take a step forward to the fourth card, and repeat this process until you’ve made it through all ten cards. This is without a doubt the most entertaining and arguably the most practical fitness book I have ever read. It makes me want to read Bronson's other books.

Never the less it does contain some actual pretty good information on nutrition and why it's important to keep fit etc. I love that he stresses the importance of water intake, breathing and other health related thing you probably wouldn't expect. And although I find some of his information dated now (dairy for calcium? nah), he clearly is interested in proper health and not just looking good. I genuinely found his to the point no BS attitude hilarious too. Using this as your main workout guide is a good idea in case you are an aged person with various joint or other problems or only interested in leading a healthy life without caring how your body looks. This will make you stronger and healthier but won't make you ripped.This is not for the light skinned. Charlie shamelessly insults overweight persons, claiming they should be shot and that they are repulsive to look at. He also brags about his strength from time to time. But if you can look past this, I assure you, you will find a workout like no other. His exercises cover all parts of the body. I MEAN all parts. Even your, as he puts it, "manhood", and female breasts.

Bronson was quite the motivator, here he did everything right. He wanted you to take responsibility for your actions and start your fitness journey as soon as you started the book. The language was simple and a little crass but this kept the mood light and allowed to easily speed through the book. Narrow/Wide Hand Placement. By simply adjusting the placement of your hands, you can emphasize different muscle groups. Narrow hand placement works the triceps, while a wider hand placement emphasizes the pecs. Full Straight Leg Raise. Perform a straight leg raise as you normally would, but instead of stopping when your feet rise above your hips, keep going until your toes touch the bar.

Table of contents

The ultimate prison workout doesn’t skimp on anything, not even your anus. One of Charlie’s favourite exercises is the butt clench. One-Arm Straight Leg Raise. You’ll have achieved top-dog, alpha-male-prisoner, beast-mode status when you can perform multiple one-armed straight leg raises and hold yourself in the top position for several seconds. Burpees What he says works, however. Before completing the workout I was skinny and not very strong, but now there has been significant muscle growth in my arms, chest, etc. This is a hard workout plan but not an impossible one. For a man who has such unbelievable feats of strength he does not expect too much; burpees, star jumps, squats, sit ups, press ups, they make up the exercises you undergo over the thirty day workout. Exercises given can be incorporated in your daily workout routine with ease to increase overall health or can be used to recover from injuries. Most routines are only few minutes long. Prisoner Squat. The traditional prisoner bodyweight squat is performed by placing your hands behind your head. Squat down until your thighs are below parallel. Come up. That’s one rep.

Burpee+Pull-up. Stand underneath a pull-up bar or tree branch that is high enough that you have to leap to reach it. Perform a burpee normally, but when you leap up grab the bar and perform a pull-up. Repeat. Did you hear that? That was the sound of your soul dying. The contraction movements, as well as the relaxation of the sphincter muscle, should be performed smoothly and rhythmically,” Bronson advises. “Don’t strain! You don’t need to synchronise your breathing to the contraction and relaxation of the anus muscles.” While most of us will thankfully never end up behind bars, I think we can all take a lesson from convicts on how to not let your circumstances be an excuse for your fitness goals. Below we highlight bodyweight exercises used by prisoners the world over to get strong and stay strong. The Benefits of Bodyweight WorkoutsWhile in jail in 2001, he married his second wife, Fatema Saira Rehman, a Bangladeshi-born divorcée who inspired him to convert to Islam and take the name of Charles Ali Ahmed.