Prison Workout for Massive Gains, No Equipment Needed
Despite lockdown being long behind us, there are still occasions where we need to get a session in, without the equipment, or the space. Whether it's a work trip that necessitates a quick hotel room pump or time constraints stopping your gym commute, taking inspiration from those who had limited iron but maximum muscle can be the quick fix to your low equipment quandaries.
The prison workouts of the likes of the notorious Charles Bronson are legendary, and can still be put to good use today. MH break down the best prison workouts, the bodyweight exercises, and why they should be in your equipment free training arsenal.
What Is a Prison Workout?
Prison workouts are high-paced and typically use minimal space and equipment. They focus on the bodyweight exercises:
The workouts facilitate progressive overload in order to result in muscle and strength gain. With high rep ranges, the rep schemes hone in on a hypertrophic effect to induce a massive pump. Prison workouts often also include plyometric jumps to boost cardiovascular fitness and intensity.
Due to their available time, inmates could train twice a day, however the routine can be split up and repeated as follows:
Day 1: Upper
Day 2: Lower
Day 3: Full body
Day 4: Rest
or
Day 1: Push
Day 2: Pull
Day 3: Lower
Day 4: Push
Day 5: Pull
Day 6: Lower
Day 7: Rest
What Is the Jailhouse Method of Exercise?
The jailhouse strong method was popularised by strength coach and author Josh Bryant. It includes a descending rep range from 20 reps downwards. This is similar to the reverse pyramid method. This could look like the following sets, using squats as an example:
Set 1: 20 reps
Set 2: 19 reps
Set 3: 18 reps...
Set 18: 3 reps
Set 19: 2 reps
Set 20: 1 rep
In between each set, walk the length of the room, before you're ready to start the next set.
How Do Prisoners Get so Big Without Weights?
Prisoners gain muscle so quickly due to the high rep ranges of the workouts and high workout frequency due to their time available, in combination with as much food as possible. With three square meals a day and additional food available to buy, prisoners could easily put themselves in a calorie surplus (consuming more calories than burning) in order to gain weight.
If you want to create your own version of the prison bulking diet, adhere to the following simple tips:
Eat three balanced meals a day including a decent serving of protein, carbohydrates and some fats. Plus, if possible, two snacks.
Familiarise yourself with how many calories you need. Aim to be in a consistent calorie surplus of roughly 200-400 calories, any more and you will likely be gaining fat instead of muscle. While you don't have to meticulously count calories, you will likely need to up your portion sizes to gain weight if you've previously been maintaining.
Eat enough protein. For muscle gain this is usually 1.6 grams to 2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight. As a rule of thumb, multiply your bodyweight in kilograms by 2.
Focus on recovery by including rest days in your programme and prioritising sleep. 1-2 rest days a week should be sufficient.
Do Prison Workouts Really Work?
Prison workouts are the perfect example that gaining muscle is possible if you train with enough intensity and get the job done, regardless of whether or not you have access to the best equipment or most boujee gym. Despite only using bodyweight, these workouts cause a large amount of mechanical tension on the muscles and push you close to failure, a key driver in hypertrophy, aka muscle growth.
They may seem simplistic, but if you want a tried-and-tested way to gain muscle and increase fitness, they will tick all the boxes. Like with any programme, make sure progressive overload is utilised, making your workouts more challenging over time to ensure you adapt and improve. Stick to the plan and you'll see the results you want.
3 Day Prison Workout Plan
Upper
In this workout you'll be alternating pull-ups and press-ups in a superset. Pull-ups will descend in reps from 20 down to 1, paired with press-ups which will ascend from 1 up to 20. To regress the exercises, you can cut the reps and sets to 10 for each move, or use bands. For example, complete 20 pull-ups and 1 press-up, on your next set 19 pull-ups and 2 press-ups and so on.
Pull-Ups
Descending reps from 20 down to 1 rep – 20 sets
Grasp a pull-up bar with an overhand grip over shoulder-width apart, lift your feet from the floor, hanging freely with straight arms. Pull yourself up by flexing the elbows while pinching your shoulder blades together. When your chin passes the bar, pause before lowering to the starting position.
Press-Ups
Ascending reps from 1 to up to 20 reps – 20 sets
Hit a strong plank position, with your core tight and hands under your shoulders. Bend your elbows to bring your chest to the floor. Keep your elbows close to your body as you push back up explosively.
Lower
Air squats
Pyramid sets: 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 reps
Standing tall, keep your chest up and sink your hips back, before bending your knees to drop your thighs until they are at least parallel to the floor. Drive up back to standing, ready to repeat.
Split Squat Jump
20 reps EMOM for 10 minutes
Set the timer for 10 minutes. Every minute on the minute complete 20 split squat jumps. Step one foot backward and sink into a deep lunge with your rear knee lightly touching the floor. Explode upward, switching legs mid-air to land in a lunge position with the opposite leg forward. Repeat the movement, alternating legs each rep.
Calf raises
20 reps – 5 sets
Engage your core and glutes and keep your knees straight. Lower your heels off a bench or plates stacked until your heels nearly hit the ground, then press back up, trying to point your toes.
Full Body
In this workout you'll be alternating burpees and hanging leg raises in a superset. Burpees will descend in reps from 20 down to 1, paired with hanging leg raises which will ascend from 1 up to 20. To regress the exercises, you can cut the reps and sets to 10 for each move or step in the burpees and take out the jumps. Hanging leg raises can be regressed to knee ups. For example, complete 20 burpees and 1 hanging leg raise, on your next set 19 burpees and 2 hanging leg raises and so on.
Burpees
Descending reps from 20 down to 1 rep – 20 sets
Crouch down and place both hands on the floor. Jump your feet back into the top of a press-up and lower your chest to the ground. Straighten your arms and hop your feet forwards, before jumping into the air with hands above your head.
Hanging Leg Raises
Ascending reps from 1 to up to 20 reps – 20 sets
On your last burpee rep, jump up and grip a pull-up bar and hang with your core engaged and shoulders pulled away from your ears. Lift both legs until they are horizontal, before you slowly lower them. On your last rep, drop down into your next burpee rep.
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