I always keep an eye on anything or anybody that may give me another idea
but a lot of men are caught up in these prison fitness systems. There is no doubt
that there are strong, strong men in prison there is also a lot of sorry ass weak
non working out prisoners just like out here in the real world.
Anyone I have talked to whether guard or even some that were in prison and
I have never met a prisoner that got out of jail in any type of physical condition.
There are some that train and are in great shape but what else do they really have to
do. If I was locked down for 23 hours I would be superman with all the time for the
body to rest and the lack of food would keep me lean.
Even watching these prison shows never show any of the things that these new
prison fitness books show. Look at the yard, you see pullups, dips, pushups,
hitting the bag, jumping rope lifting weights, prisoner squat thrusts no one leg
pistols or one arm handstands these guys just train.
So why the big interest? I have 3 prison fitness books two are believable the other
one is made up. I know one is real because the prisoner who wrote it is still in jail
and has been over 20 years and everything is basic and raw.
For the people that think by doing a prison style workout will become some super
stud is mistaken these are the same thing, same workout anyone can do in their own
bedroom. Also do you think these prisoners are worried about form and injuries like
today’s men? NO!
Anyone who has all day to train should be some incredibly fit person but it’s just
not the case, because you still have to put in the time and sweat to get the results.
Some bone heads think that just because these men walk into a cell they become
the mightiest of the mighty.
Do you think just by ordering a book about prison fitness will somehow catapult you
to some super beast? Keep dreaming. Buy what you want, the pictures are cool but it’s
the hard work that makes the man, not the picture book.
Toughness Builds Winners
Johnny Grube
Hey John –
Can you tell me the name of the one book that is good? I may want to purchase it. thanks.
If you know so much and you have this and that book, where is it? Or, are you just happy to sit back and bash something you know nothing about. Whether Paul Wade is fake or not, if someone takes Convict Conditioning and apply the hurt to the exercises, there is beast potential. Now, just as a pure feat of strength, how many people or prisoners do you know that can do a two handstand balanced pushup? If your books are so great, give us a look without having to pay for something. If you do youre just another Paul Wade
Mike I dont know you and dont want to, but quit being so modest. ” I may want to purchase it” get real. He’s already bashing 45 dollar prison workout books, why buy his and he’s not even the author
John ~ I will try to correct your posture in this. It is obvious you have not hung out around a prison. You said you have never met a prisoner that got out of jail in any type of physical condition. Really? Then you’re looking in the wrong places. You’re correct about weak people in the prisons of course but don’t think they call it gladiator school because it is some kind of boy brawl. As far as nutrients, if an inmate can get phones and drugs don’t you think they get nutritional supplements?
You mention locked down for 23 hours a day. Few inmates are locked down like that. Most inmates work and in the federal system they are required to work. It’s Uncle Sam’s very own plantation. Inmates might make 23 cents an hour. While you are sleeping tight in your rack I want you to remember that a tremendous part of this population isn’t physically locked up at all. They are in camps that might have 2 guards, no cameras, and no fences. I can tell you John, these people stay put because they decided to. The same discipline keeps them on track for fitness.
The prison yard is where the TV producers want to go. It is where the action is. The workouts are in the Gym and they will not let the high security inmates near free weights of course. However, John, only 7% of your prison population is violent according to the DOJ numbers. That means the remainder, mostly, has access to fitness equipment. Do you really think MSNBC wants to video non-violent inmates spotting each other and getting fit? Who would watch that?
You say prisoners are not worried about injuries. You’re wrong again. Medical treatment in US Prisons flat out sucks. Getting hurt is a ticket to being more miserable that you were before your workout. Prisoners are innovative with many things including their workouts. You might see inmates use a heavy mop handle to fashion pull up bar or use garbage bags filled with water for free weights. The list goes on and on. You only have to open Muscle Magazine and see the prison photos for more proof. Check with the fitness certifications folks, the same certifications at fashionable gyms and you will find inmates getting their fitness certifications and preparing to work when they are released.
Your quick to call names John. Boneheads that walk into cells. First, they got thrown in that cell. Second, things happen fast in prison and often you have to become a person you were not ready to be. You become predatory, paranoid, and resourceful. I would not be so quick to call names but since you did, know this. With the largest prison population on the planet in the US you have already meet many inmates and you didn’t know it. The US represents 5% of the world population but an amazing 25% of the worlds incarcerated. Of every 100 people you see on any given day one of them is likely to be an ex-offender. While we are at locking folks up with ease, you too are only one quick slip from prison. We all are.
If you are in a gym with trainers, you are near the ex-offenders. They blend in because they have too. You never know who is around John when you start with the opinions and name-calling. The good news for you is they do not want to go back to prison for cracking you in the mouth. Your accomplishments are notable and I like reading about them as I am sure many inmates do too.
The last notion I will leave you with is this. You’re in business and you just pissed in the face of a huge demographic that has money. I also happen to know for a fact that more than a few of these guys could run you into the dirt. That would be great challenge for your next record. I’ve seen guys do sets of 100 pushups in under a minute to warm up for a pull completion. This is where they do as many pull ups as possible and then the next guy has to match. This might go on for hours with little rest between sets and a tremendous about on the line including pride and money. There is no camera crew to show off for. They are called bar stars. And they do it day after day.
How about given these guys another look. Regarding the books, I could care less. But your characterizations of the prison population is flat ass wrong. Be the man your claim to be and look at this group again. You will be surprised.
For someone who worked in a penitentiary for four years I can tell you those guys only do bodyweight workouts and they are the most fit people I have ever seen. Their main exercises are burpees, pushups, pullups and sprints. Guess what, John’s main exercises are burpees, pushups, pullups and sprints. He knows what he’s talking about.
have u ever been to prison u sound like some kind of hater. the best training i have ever done was in prison with a convict who wrote a fitness book . All I here from u is negative bla bla bla speake what u know boy
Hey johnny! Good read.. Couldn’t agree more!
P.s. I think someone shit in jackal’s wheaties
Hey there Johnny boy,
I spent 7 years in Federal and military prison. At the time I was released, I could consistently perform 1000 pushups in just over 20 minutes, 450 pullups in under one hour, and run a 4.6 40. That’s at 202lbs and 5’6″ tall.I don’t supplement, I eat like shit, but I WORK, hella hard. And, for the record, I’ll be that “bonehead.” Just remember that this bonehead fought in the Iraq War in 03-04, and was decorated for valor. I also am 13-2 in amateur MMA, and speak 12 languages. So, hold your tongue, you pretentious cocksucker.
You do what you can do. That’s all there is to it. There aren’t any real secrets to get in awesome shape. I recently watched the movie Bronson with Tom Hardy and it showed him in one scene on lock down doing just push-ups. When you’re locked in a cell there’s not a whole lot of room to do some of the stuff those books say. Work with what you have.
I can tell you first hand that there are tons of strong men in prison. I was in prison in CA. I did 400 burpees a day 6 days a week, pushups, dips, pullups, sit ups, squats, running,jogging etc. We had NO WEIGHTS so we made do with what we had. I was on max security LVL 3 for a while, then LVL 2, 1 and then “fire camp.” There were lots of guys doing insane amounts of working out on the normal yards. Sometimes we would do dips and pushups “all day.” Same with pullups and body weight rows. Same with abs and legs. Tension excersises, etc….
Yes there are some weaker guys in the joint but it is MANDATORY workout on a lot of yards here in CA (for some of the “races”). So a guy is gonna workout or get stabbed. That simple. Being a white boy we had to workout which was no problem because I had been working out for about 14 years prior to going to prison. But let me tell you: I was in excellent shape while in prison and when I got out I was MUCH stronger than anyone I knew.
Big Props to those who just work, no questions no shit talk.
“Real Hard to talk shit when ya, spittin teeth outcha mouth”. CT
The truth is: convicts do as many as up to 2000 reps of any exercise a day. That volume alone on a weekly basis or even a 4 day a week basis would put mass on even the skinniest endormorph alive. They also do not care about range of motion on their exercises which also contribute (in contrary to popular belief) to their quick size gain and long term joint health.
The guy is a homophobic troll. He is a fit homophobic troll but a homophobic troll non the less. He even stoops as low as to make up fake trolls and post on his own website in order to big himself up. John your pathetic!
Why do people talk shit about you Johnny to me its not cool? Maybe some people are jealous about you, I don’t know just my guess, and they don’t even know the guy personally lol. By the way aloha from Hawaii.
what the hell I wasn’t even trying to talk bad to you Johnny. I was just trying to back you up.
I spent 3 years in prison here in Texas. When locked down or otherwise denied access to weights I had my own “dorm routine” that included one-legged squats, headstand push-ups, pull-ups off top bunks (knees tucked in), push-ups with one hand on a cup, standing skull-crushers (hands on a top bunk, only elbows bend) ect.
I lifted weights before I went to prison & had read a bit on bodyweight exercises before I got locked up. I didn’t pick up anything from other inmates except for squatting with people on my shoulders when I could. Guys that have actually studied the subject & know what they’re talking about are rare in there.
We usually found each other & swapped books & magazines & hung together. We knew everyone who had subscriptions to the muscle mags & knew who had which bodybuilding encyclopedias (sent by their families). Those books & mags pulled double duty as weights, being loaded into commissary bags & curled or carried for walking lunges.
The vast majority of weight lifting inmates I came across weren’t the types who read up on anything or had the discipline to research a subject. They fell in with their friends who worked out & followed along. Big guys with great genetics who grew with any sort of training were treated as experts on the subject by their hanger-ons. Legs were almost never trained by anyone. Jogging & basketball were big activities, though.
I’ve worked in prisons for close to 18 years- since 1996. Maximum, minimum, remand, weekend detention- you name it. I can tell you first hand that most prisoners are NOT in great shape- most are lazy, skinny, flabby junkies. Some of them WERE muscular steroid users on the outside and when they come to prison, they shrink away to small flabby versions of their former selves. They have no idea how to train without their roids and gym memberships- couple that with the lousy prison diet and they fade away to nothing.
The ones that do manage to build impressive physiques do it with the old stand-bys- pushups, pullups, dips and ab work. They tend to train at moderate intensity and pretty high volume from what I’ve seen.
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ive never seen so many responses to a john grube article..its about time you must be catching on john..you still have the best courses on the net in my opinion. no fluff..and don’t worry about these twittiots theyre just trying to get a rise out of you.
free speech is not dead folks. and don’t think just because you call someone a hater or a troll you’ve won. you haven’t.