New Stuff on Convict Conditioning: 3 Updates

Hi everybody!

Exciting news!  The Coach is putting out new aids to help us get thru the program.  New books which include a DVD demonstrating the progressions!

To get the Push-up Progression book and DVD, CLICK HERE!! PUSH-UPS!

To get the Squat Progression book and DVD, CLICK HERE > > > SQUATS ! ! 

 So that's two updates, the 3rd is, I'm not dead, I'm still here, just went thru big changes in my life, like moving halfway across the country.  I ended up with about a month off the program and saw some (expected) drops in my numbers, but I've been back at it and climbing again.  I have more posts planned, but little time, but keep watching!

Leo

Sets, Reps, & Rest

Before I get down to detailing my personal progress with Convict Conditioning, I thought I ought to explain how the sets and reps work with this system. After all, these are really the “brass tacks”, as they say – what is the exercise we are doing and how many sets and repetitions per set are we going to do to make progress? For bodyweight exercise and progress in strength and fitness, even more so than with lifting weights, this is where the magic lies, since your weight doesn't change (much) from workout to workout.

Although the book is really well written, thorough, and detailed (kudos, Coach!) the specifics of sets and reps got a little hidden (it seems to me) towards the back of the book. FYI, its on page 266, and says:

“This raises another issue; of how to make progress from step to step, along the ten steps. Generally speaking, this is simple - start by meeting the beginner standard and simply aim to add another repetition to the exercise you are working on every week or two (or three or four perhaps, for harder exercises). If you continue doing this consistently, you will very quickly be able to do one set of ten reps in any given exercise. When you can do this, begin doing two work sets. Keep adding reps to both your work sets over time, and you will quickly reach the intermediate standard (also given on the pages opposite the exercise photos). When you reach that level, add a third work set-but only if the exercise's progression standard demands it (most exercises don't). Continue adding to your reps-using perfect form-over time until you meet the progression standard, and then move to the next step in the series.”

Or, in a nutshell:

1. Do one set of at least the beginner standard number of reps.
2. When you can do 10 reps, start doing 2 sets.
3. When you meet the intermediate standard, add a third set, if the step requires it.
4. When you meet the progression standard, move up to the next step.

OK, one question I have which I didn't find an answer to, is: once your first set reaches the progression standard number of reps, should you keep adding reps to that set, or stop there and just work on adding reps to the later sets? I've chosen to do the latter – stop the first set at the progression standard number of reps and work hard on adding reps to the other work sets. If anybody is doing it differently, let me know.

The other question, also a bit hidden IMHO in the book is – how much rest between sets? That answer lies on page 269 and leaves the decision up to you, just recommending you not go over 5 minutes. I started with 2 minutes rest, but felt that was a bit short for strength training and upped it to 2:30. I might up it to 3 minutes soon, as I have stalled on a couple of exercises and wonder if added rest between sets might get me over the hump.

Also, I should note here that KEEPING A TRAINING LOG IS ESSENTIAL! You really can't make progress if you aren't keeping track of each and every workout. Since I can't remember the rep count from exercise to exercise, let alone from workout to workout, I keep a sheet of paper handy and record each set and rep for each workout. This is well described in the book, and is vital to making everything work. Keep a record and add reps every workout, if possible.

This is a great system! If you're working it, leave a comment on how it's going. And if you haven't started on it yet CLICK HERE!

Begin at the BEGINNING

The Master Steps of Convict Conditioning are awesome examples of bodyweight fitness and strength – one arm push-ups, one arm pull-ups, etc. I only dream of getting there!

How big is your dream?

How long will it take me to develop muscle like that ?!? Well, I suppose that depends on many things, but one of the most fundamental is . . . . where will I start?

Take a look at the ten steps on each progression. The final steps are certainly beyond reach – but the first steps look too easy! I've been doing bodyweight exercises for a couple of years now! I'm not a beginner, or recovering from an injury. Surely I don't need to start with exercises I've already mastered?

Well, according to the Coach, you should begin all the progressions from Step 1 (page 261).

Patience, everyone, patience! To quote the Super FAQ, page 1, “starting with the first steps is never, ever a waste of time.” Here's the reason: those beginning steps ”gradually condition the joints and soft tissues, build coordination and skill, and kick-start the slow process of building permanent energy supplies into the muscle cells.” Sounds like good reasons to me!

From reading the book, I got the impression the Coach was suggesting you should spend a month or more on each step, even if you can do it easily. But after considering what's written there and in the Super FAQ, what I decided on this route:

Each exercise has a clear beginner, intermediate, and progression standard. Once you meet the progression standard, you can move on to the next exercise. So . . . .

I did each exercise starting at Step 1. I did the reps exactly as described, with perfect form, and as many as I could do, until I reached the progression standard number of reps. For many exercises, this was the very first set! If so, I did the next set the same way, and if I made the progression standard, I

did a third set, and if I made the progression standard on that one then I graduated to the next step for the next work out. Simple, huh?

In this way, I don't over-extend myself. I'm actually just following the program. And much to my surprise, when you do the exercises as instructed (slowly), they're harder than they look. On some, I cruised through on up to steps 3, 4, 5, even 6 – on others, my progress was much slower.

And by the way, the Coach recommends waiting on the bridges and handstand push-ups until you've attained to step 6 on all 4 of the other Big 6 moves (page 278). I'm not there yet . . . .

Don't have Convict Conditioning yet? CLICK HERE to get it!

Leo

Warm Up!

OK, time for a confession . . . . .

I don't like warming up before I exercise.

Two reasons: First, I only have a limited amount of time, and warming up consumes a good bit of it. Second, I only have a limited amount of strength and energy . . . and warming up consumes a good bit of it.

But every good bodyweight exercise program I have found recommends warming up, and with many good reasons. Convict Conditioning is no different.

I won't go into the details of why you should warm up. I just want to say this – when I started this program and didn't do the warm up first . . . . I hurt myself.

It was the push-up progression – I was full of zeal and pumping them up, feeling strong, heading for a new personal best, when suddenly . . . . POP. I don't know what went pop, something behind my shoulder. I felt it. I heard it. (Cringe.) It hurt for days, a couple of weeks even. Had to stop working the push-ups. Negative progress.

I do bodyweight exercise with some other men, and each one, at one time or another, has experienced a similar injury, for a similar reason.

One of the best parts of Convict Conditioning is the explanation of how the progressions, which start with incredibly easy exercises, help develop not only the muscles but the joints, ligaments and tendons. It helps make the body work together as a whole. From my personal experience, the warm-ups are an essential part of the program. They don't take that much time – easier versions of the step you are working on, one set of 20, then a harder one, one set of 15, then on to the work sets.

But the work sets are TOUGH. Bodyweight exercises made very hard – just as difficult as lifting a great big heavy barbell. If you lift heavy, you need to warm up. It's worth the extra time to avoid the injury.

If you don't have Convict Conditioning yet, click = = = = = = > HERE!

Convict Conditioning: 3%

When I first read Convict Conditioning I found that it held the answers I needed to gain strength and build muscle using only bodyweight exercises. There are six Big Moves that build the chest, back, abs, posterior chain, legs, and shoulders, and they are very intelligently designed. Using logical progressions you can go from hardly able to move your own bodyweight horizontally to being able to lift your whole bodyweight vertically with one arm! That's a big gain – and such gains don't come easily.

If you've researched fitness and exercise, you know there are lots of programs and opinions. When you find something, you have to make a decision – am I going to follow this program, or just dabble in it? And just for clarity here, to follow this program means to stick with it until the end – because there is a definite goal for each Move – the Master Step (one-arm push-ups, full one-leg squats, full one-arm pull-ups, hanging straight leg raises, stand~to-stand bridges, and one-arm handstand push-ups).

According to the Convict Conditioning Super FAQ (39 pages of extra great stuff to go along with CC, which you can get free HERE), on page 9 there's a guess that only 3% of the readers of the book will actually follow the program to the end. Only 3%!! Everyone else will read the book and then let it gather dust while they stay weak – or move on to something else. There's a lot of challenge to sticking with something to until you reach the goal, especially something as extreme as all six Master Steps!. I want to be one of the 3%! The path is laid out – all I have to do is have the fortitude to follow it. The program WORKS, and I'd be a fool to change it or give up on it.

So this is my commitment, posted for all to see. Who will join me? I'll keep you posted on my progress!

If you don't have Convict Conditioning yet, click HERE!

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Hi and welcome! I don't know how you found me, but thanks for reading!

I want to chronicle my exercise and fitness journey and progress, for my own record and for anyone else to learn from. And if others join the journey and have something to share, I hope you'll post a comment.

I'm 46 years old, 6' 4” tall, and weigh 185 pounds. In my younger days, I was never over 195 when in great shape. A couple of years ago, I discovered I had crept up to 225 in poor shape and decided, for the wife's sake, to make a change. I made some simple diet changes and lost 40 pounds, without any kind of exercise. (That's right, no exercise. I'll write about that another time.)

Now I was thin but still in poor shape. In my younger days, I used to hit the gym – weights, machines, etc. This time, I wanted something simple, inexpensive, and effective that I could do at home. The obvious answer – bodyweight exercises.

I did a lot of Internet searching and reading. There's a tremendous amount of info out there, if you invest the time. I'm going share the best with you, so you can save some of your time.

First off, bodyweight exercises have been around as long as bodyweight has, so in a sense, it's not “rocket science.” But on the other hand, just because you know some exercises doesn't mean you know how to use them effectively to gain muscle strength and/or size, or how to increase your conditioning. There are a lot of variables involved – you've probably heard of them, set, reps, progression, training to failure (or not), density, volume, zillions more. Most of this has been perfected to a science (even if there are conflicting schools of thought) in the weightlifting arena – BUT NOT WITH BODYWEIGHT EXERCISE! That made the search longer and harder. Sure I can do push-ups, but how many, how often, how hard, what kind, etc?

Anyway, long story short, there are a few folks out there who really make the bodyweight exercise stuff clear and lay out a USABLE plan for making progress in strength, size, and conditioning.

Since the start of my journey, I've mostly used programs written by Craig Ballantyne called Turbulence Training. Starting from sedentary, he's got exercise programs for every fitness level, very easy to use and stick to, and he's got more online daily resources of information and encouragement than ANYBODY else.

But for a focused strength building program, I've currently settled on Convict Conditioning. It's a book written by an ex-con about how to get strong in prison using bodyweight exercises. It is very thorough and well-constructed, showing valid bodyweight progressions from simple beginner exercises through the more advanced ones, giving exact details of exercises, sets, reps, etc. --and room to wiggle, if things are too hard. (And now there's a sequel of sorts, Convict Conditioing 2.)

Future posts (coming soon) will detail my experience with Convict Conditioning – using this bodyweight exercise system to gain strength and muscle. It's a fantastic system, and I highly recommend that you CLICK HERE and get yourself a copy, so you can follow along. I've got some good tips and advice from what I've learned to make your bodyweight exercise fitness journey more productive . . . coming soon!