prison cell training

Website design By BotEap.comHave you ever noticed that many convicted felons go into prison as skinny punks but come out with 20-40 pounds of new muscle?

Website design By BotEap.comHave you ever wondered how that is possible?

Website design By BotEap.comA client of mine recently asked me if I thought it was possible to build muscle, burn fat, and get a lean, muscular physique without lifting weights.

Website design By BotEap.comWhile he thought about it a bit… he raised the stakes. He wanted to know if anyone could build a better body while he was locked in a ten by ten prison cell.

Website design By BotEap.comI thought about it some more… and then I started to do some research. After completing my research, I told him that I believed it was possible to build muscle even within the confines of a ten by ten prison cell.

Website design By BotEap.comThis is why:

Website design By BotEap.comPoint #1: Your muscles are stupid. In order to grow, your muscles must be under tension. If you lift a dumbbell, that puts stress on your biceps and back muscles.

Website design By BotEap.comBut… if you do a pull-up… that also puts a strain on your back and biceps. Here’s the catch: your muscles don’t know the difference between the tension generated by pull-ups and dumbbell curls.

Website design By BotEap.comThe important thing is that your muscles are being worked against resistance in each case. So lifting weights can be a convenient way to exercise muscles under tension…but it’s definitely not the only way to exercise muscles.

Website design By BotEap.comPoint #2: In the late 1980s, research used electromagnetic imaging to discover which exercises caused the greatest degree of muscle fiber activation. The reason is that the more muscle fibers that were activated, the better the exercise was for building muscle and strength.

Website design By BotEap.comThe researchers found that the most effective exercises were those in which the hands or feet remained steady and the body moved.

Website design By BotEap.comExercises in which the body remained stationary and the hands or feet moved were decidedly less effective.

Website design By BotEap.comHere’s an example: When you bench press, your body stays still and your hands move up and down through space.

Website design By BotEap.comBut when you do a pushup, your hands remain stationary and your body moves up and down through space.

Website design By BotEap.comHow about another example? When you do a seated leg extension, your body remains stationary and your feet move up and down. But when you squat, your feet remain stationary and your body moves up and down through space.

Website design By BotEap.comSo the pushup activates more muscle fiber than the bench press…and a squat recruits more muscle fiber than a leg extension.

Website design By BotEap.comThis means that many bodyweight exercises actually require a higher degree of muscle fiber activation than many common weightlifting exercises.

Website design By BotEap.comIn short, bodyweight exercises may actually be more effective for building muscle and strength.

Website design By BotEap.comSo… even if you’re stuck in a tiny prison cell, you can still build muscle and strength with bodyweight exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and squats.

Website design By BotEap.comOf course, to build extreme amounts of muscle, you need to go beyond the basic exercises and start using some of the more advanced exercises. These include the one-arm push-up, the janda sit-up, dips, and variations on the pull-up.

Website design By BotEap.comBut in the end, I see no reason why you couldn’t build a spectacularly muscular physique within the tiny confines of a ten by ten prison cell.