{"id":49500,"date":"2020-01-31T08:25:23","date_gmt":"2020-01-31T14:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=49500"},"modified":"2026-02-26T12:59:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T18:59:23","slug":"the-prisoner-workout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/health-fitness\/fitness\/the-prisoner-workout\/","title":{"rendered":"The Prisoner Workout: Killer Bodyweight Exercises for Small Spaces"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

With our archives now 3,500+ articles deep, we\u2019ve decided to republish a classic piece each Friday to help our newer readers discover some of the best, evergreen gems from the past. This article was originally published in August 2015. <\/em><\/p>\n

Besides a few brief stints of freedom, notorious British criminal and troublemaker Charles Salvador (better known as Charles Bronson) has been serving time since 1974. During these decades behind bars, and often confined to isolation, Bronson has become a fitness fanatic, creating workout programs that require only his bodyweight and a few odd objects. His extreme regimen has given him near-superhuman strength — he claims to be able to do 172 push-ups in 60 seconds, pick up a pool table by himself, and bend a steel prison cell door with his bare hands. He\u2019s set many prison fitness records as well, including one for most push-ups in an hour: 1,727.<\/p>\n

Now, it\u2019d be easy to take Bronson\u2019s claims with a grain of salt. The man is not only a convicted criminal, but his violent, loose-cannon behavior has earned him the label of \u201cBritain\u2019s most notorious prisoner.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Bronson is hardly the only inmate who\u2019s managed to gain impressive strength without access to barbells, nutritious food, or supplements. Prisoners all over the world have created highly effective strength-building routines they can perform in the tiny space of their cell or with limited equipment in the jail yard. For men who are locked up, being strong and looking strong isn\u2019t just about aesthetics and personal development; the appearance of size and prowess acts as a deterrent to attack and can be necessary for survival.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The Benefits of Bodyweight Workouts<\/span><\/h3>\n

You can do them anywhere.<\/strong> Don\u2019t have time to make it to the gym? Travel a lot? Locked up for 5-10 years? Great! You can do the prisoner workout anywhere . . . bedroom, office, hotel room, or solitary confinement.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s free.<\/strong> Don\u2019t have the money for a gym membership or purchasing your own equipment? That\u2019s not an excuse for not exercising. With a few simple bodyweight exercises, you can create a full-body workout that\u2019s completely free.<\/p>\n

Strength+cardio in a single workout.<\/strong> 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\u2019ll be done with your exercise for the day.<\/p>\n

The Exercises<\/span><\/h3>\n

Below I\u2019ve highlighted six main bodyweight exercises that work the entire body. However, with a little tweaking of each exercise, you can create over 50 different exercises from just these six basic movements. If you\u2019re locked up for life, I\u2019m sure you could come up with another 50 variations.<\/p>\n

Push-ups<\/h3>\n

According to the book he wrote in prison, Solitary Fitness<\/em><\/a>, Bronson performs 2,000 push-ups a day. If you start doing 10 push-ups a day and add 5 more each day, in a little over a year, you can get up to that level.<\/p>\n

Push-up Variations
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The perfect pushup<\/a> works multiple muscle groups including the chest, anterior deltoid, and triceps. And the great thing about it is that the exercise can be easily modified to increase difficultly and work different muscle groups.<\/p>\n

Narrow\/Wide Hand Placement. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration,<\/p>\n

Hindu Push-up.<\/strong> This is a dynamic full-body movement that will build strength and flexibility in your chest, shoulders, back, hips, and triceps.<\/p>\n

Get in position by standing with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Bend down and place your hands on the floor while keeping your arms and legs straight. You should look like an upside down human \u201cv\u201d with your butt being the point of the \u201cv\u201d and your head pointing down to the ground.<\/p>\n

To perform the Hindu push-up, you\u2019re going to make sort of a swooping motion with your body. Bring your head down and forward by bending your elbows. When your head gets close to the ground, continue moving your torso forward by arching your back and lowering your hips. Your hips will now be near your hands. Make sure to get a good stretch in your back. Return to the starting position and repeat.<\/p>\n

Handstand Push-up<\/strong>. If you want a killer shoulder workout, look no further than the handstand push-up. To perform the handstand push-up, assume a handstand position<\/a>. Slowly bend your elbows and lower your inverted body towards the ground. In order to maintain balance, you\u2019re going to have to call on your core and other smaller stabilizing muscles. If you can\u2019t do a stand-alone handstand, use a wall to assist you.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration,<\/p>\n

One-Armed Push-up.<\/strong> You\u2019ll have achieved top-dog, alpha-male-prisoner, beast-mode status when you can perform multiple one-handed push-ups.<\/p>\n

For 30+ more push-up variations, check out this post.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Pull-ups<\/h3>\n

Pull-ups are a highly effective exercise that works a whole host of muscle groups, including the latissimus dorsi (the \u201cwing\u201d muscles on your back), biceps, traps, pecs, and forearms.<\/p>\n

Better still, they can be done anywhere there\u2019s a place to hang from. You can buy a pull-up bar that fits in your doorframe for $30<\/a>. If you don\u2019t have access to that, monkey bars<\/a> or even a tree limb at a park will work. What if you\u2019re in a hotel? If the doorframe is wide enough, you could do some pull-ups from there — though, they\u2019ll be more like finger pull-ups. Prison? I\u2019m sure you can find a bar somewhere to use. There are lots of bars in there, I hear, though I guess more of the vertical than horizontal variety.<\/p>\n

Pull-up Variations
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just like the push-up, pull-ups can be modified to work different muscles groups or to make the exercise more difficult.<\/p>\n

Chin-up.<\/strong> Shift your hand into a chin-up position, and you\u2019ll work your biceps more and train your lats in a different way.<\/p>\n

Mixed Grip Pull-up.<\/strong> One hand grips the bar overhand and the other underhand.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration<\/p>\n

Commando Pull-up.<\/strong> You may remember Rocky doing these babies during his epic training montage.<\/a> Take an underhand grip with one hand and an overhand grip with the other. Pull your head to one side of the bar for one rep, and then to the other side of the bar on the next rep.<\/p>\n

Narrow\/Wide Grip.<\/strong> You can adjust your grip width to focus on different muscle groups. Try doing pull-ups with your hands right next to each other or as far apart from each other as you can.<\/p>\n

Towel Pull-ups.<\/strong> Hang two towels from your bar and grip one in each hand. Pull yourself up. Great for grip strength<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Typewriter Pull-up.<\/strong> Grab the bar with an overhand grip slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Pull yourself up until your sternum is at the bar. Now, move your body toward one hand, taking some of the weight off the opposite hand. Keep your sternum at the bar. Return your body to the center and repeat on the opposite side. Return to the center and lower your body under control. That is one rep.<\/p>\n

One-handed Pull-up.<\/strong> You\u2019ll have achieved top-dog, alpha-male-prisoner, beast-mode status when you can perform multiple one-handed pull-ups.<\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t do more than one stinking pull-up, see our “do more than one pull-up” workout<\/a>. It\u2019ll have you cranking out pull-ups for reps in no time.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Squats<\/h3>\n

The squat is one of the most basic yet effective athletic movements. In just one exercise, you work your quads, hamstrings, glutes, hips, and inner thighs.<\/p>\n

Squat Variations
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prisoner Squat.<\/strong> 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\u2019s one rep.<\/p>\n

Add Weight.<\/strong> While you might not have access to a barbell, you can find odd objects in your environment that you can hoist up on your shoulders or hold in front of your chest. Once you\u2019ve got your desired weight, simply squat.<\/p>\n

Squat Jumps.<\/strong> A plyometric version of the squat to build explosiveness. Perform a prisoner squat as you normally would, but when you reach the bottom of the squat explode up and jump off the ground as high as you can. When your feet are back on the ground, immediately sink into another squat and jump again. Great for HIIT.<\/p>\n

\"Pistol<\/p>\n

Pistol Squat.<\/strong> You\u2019ll have achieved top-dog, alpha-male-prisoner, beast-mode status when you can perform multiple pistol squats. A pistol squat is a one-legged full squat. The leg that you\u2019re not squatting with sticks out right in front of you when you\u2019re in the squat position. When you\u2019re at the bottom of the squat, you sort of look like a pistol, hence the name. It\u2019s a beast to do and will take months to work up to.<\/p>\n

There are entire routines to help you accomplish this Herculean feat (and perhaps we\u2019ll hit on it in the future), but one of the best exercises to help you segue into a pistol squat is to perform the assisted variety. Simply grab a pole or some other sturdy object in front of you and lower yourself into a one-legged squat position and use the pole to help pull yourself up. Eventually, you can take off these training wheels and do a freestanding one.<\/p>\n

Dips<\/h3>\n

\"Illustration,<\/p>\n

dip<\/a>s work the triceps, pecs, shoulders, forearms, and core, and you don\u2019t need a fancy dip rig to do them. Prisoners will put their hands on a chair with their feet on the floor or propped up on the bed. You can make them more difficult by placing weighted objects in your lap.<\/p>\n

Hanging Leg Raises<\/h3>\n

This 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.<\/p>\n

Hanging Leg Raise Variations
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Illustration,<\/p>\n

Straight Leg Raises.<\/strong> Grab and hang from a bar with a slightly wider than shoulder-width overhand grip. Keeping your knees straight, raise legs by flexing hips until they are completely flexed, or knees are well above hips. Return until hips are extended downward.<\/p>\n

Bent Knee Leg Raises.<\/strong> If you can\u2019t do a straight leg raise, you can modify it by bending your knees and raising them into your chest.<\/p>\n

Full Straight Leg Raise.<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

Towel Straight Leg Raises.<\/strong> Place two towels over the bar and grip one in each hand. Perform a straight leg raise while holding onto the towels.<\/p>\n

Hanging Windshield Wiper.<\/strong> 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\u2019s one rep.<\/p>\n

One-Arm Straight Leg Raise.<\/strong> You\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n

Burpees<\/h3>\n

The burpee is the ultimate full-body exercise. There\u2019s a reason football teams, CrossFit practitioners, and elite military forces use the burpee in their workouts. Just one simple movement tests both your strength and aerobic capacities.<\/p>\n

Burpee Variations
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Basic Burpee.<\/strong> To perform a basic burpee, just follow these instructions:<\/p>\n