At the request of subscribers, issue 216 of the underground is dedicated to the training of Charles Bronson, a cruel and notorious prisoner in England. At the time of publication of the article, Bronson was 65 years old, of which he spent 30 years in solitary confinement. His portfolio includes 120 prisons, 11 hostages and an attack on 20 guards. Why is this character interesting to us?
The fact is that Bronson, due to cramped conditions, has a specific training program. The basis of his training is exercises with his own weight (push-ups, squats, pull-ups, hanging leg raises, etc.). During walks, he uses other prisoners as projectiles (squats or runs with them on top of himself). According to eyewitnesses, at his advanced age, Bronson demonstrates amazing miracles of physical strength and speed. For example, he bends prison bars with his bare hands or can beat several armed guards at once. In 2014 (at 62 years old), after watching a football match, Bronson became very upset after Arsenal's victory, and to let off steam he started a riot in prison. A dozen guards in full gear came out to subdue the criminal, to which he stripped naked, covered himself in oil (to make it difficult to grab) and attacked the guards, causing injuries to many of them.
Benefits of warming up using only your body weight
You can do them anywhere. Don't have time to go to the gym? Do you travel a lot? Arrested for 5-10 years? You can do this workout anywhere: bedroom, office, suite or solitary confinement.
It's free. Don't have money for a gym membership or to buy your own equipment? This is not a reason not to exercise. With a few simple exercises, you can train all muscle groups for free.
Strength + cardio exercises in one workout. By increasing the tempo and decreasing the rest between sets and exercises, you can increase the intensity of your workout.
This workout will only take 30 minutes.
Creator's story
Paul Wade spent 19 years behind bars in America's harshest prisons - Angola and Marion prisons. In prison, he had to adapt to the harsh prisoner survival system, namely to become stronger and more resilient. In the places where this person was sent, there were no gyms or any minimal facilities for training. Paul also had to spend a lot of time in solitary confinement, where he had nothing but his body. Thus was born his bodyweight training system, which developed not only strength and endurance, but also flexibility. After his release, Paul continued to pursue his sports work in earnest. In prison he was given the nickname “coach”, and in the wild he himself began to train people and teach the basics of his approach to sports and elements of philosophy. Wade's workouts are suitable for people of any age, gender and size. The main thing, according to the author, is a methodical approach and competent execution of exercises, which he talks about in detail in his books “Training Zone” and “Training for Prisoners.” Uyed studied with special forces soldiers, Navy SEALs, street fighting professionals and yogis - everyone with whom his prison life brought him together.
Charles Bronson exercises
Circuit training outdoors! 8 basic exercises from Charles Bronson!
There are 6 basic exercises that involve the entire body. However, by slightly modifying each exercise, you can create over 50 different exercises from the 6 basic ones. If you were locked up for life, I'm sure you could come up with 50 more variations.
Push ups
According to a book he wrote in prison, Bronson does 2,000 push-ups a day. If you start doing 10 push-ups a day, and add 5 every day, you can reach this level in just over a year.
Push-up variations
Push-ups work several muscle groups, including the chest muscles, anterior deltoids, and triceps. Physical exercises can easily be modified to increase difficulty and work different muscle groups.
Narrow / Wide hand position
You can engage different muscle groups simply by adjusting the placement of your hands. A narrow arm position works the triceps, while a wider arm position develops the chest muscles.
Indian push-up
This is a dynamic full-body movement that develops strength and flexibility in the chest, shoulders, back, hips and triceps.
Get into a standing position with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Bend over and place your hands on the floor, keeping your arms and legs straight. You should look like an inverted "V". Your buttocks are at the top of the "V" and your head is pointing towards the ground.
To perform an Indian push-up, you need to make a sort of hovering motion. Move your head down and forward, bending your elbows. As your head approaches the ground, continue moving your torso forward, arching your back and lowering your hips. Your hips will now be next to your hands. Make sure your back is well stretched. Return to starting position and repeat.
One-arm push-up
You'll reach "beast mode" status when you can do one-armed push-ups.
Pull-ups
The pull-up is a highly effective exercise that works a number of muscle groups, including the latissimus muscle (the “wing” muscle on the back), biceps, pectoral muscles and forearms.
What's even better is that they can be made anywhere you can hang them. What to do if you are in a hotel? You can do pull-ups on the door frame if it's wide enough, although it will be more like doing finger pull-ups.
Pull-up options
Just like the push-up, the pull-up can be modified to target different muscle groups or make the exercise more challenging.
Keep your head up
Move your hand to a chin-up position and your biceps will work harder and your lats will work differently.
Cross arm pull-up
One hand grips the horizontal bar over the other hand.
Pulling up the saboteur
Grab the horizontal bar with your hands from different sides. raise your head on one side of the bar for one repetition, and then on the other side of the bar.
Narrow / Wide handle
You can vary your grip width to target different muscle groups. Try doing pull-ups with your hands very close or as far apart as you can.
Pull-ups on a towel
Hang two towels on the horizontal bar and grab one in each hand. Pull yourself up. Great for developing grip strength.
One-handed pull-up
You'll reach beast mode status when you can do multiple one-armed pull-ups.
Squats
The squat is one of the most basic yet effective athletic movements. In one exercise you work your quads, glutes, hips and inner thighs.
Squat Variations
Prisoner Squats
These squats are performed with your hands behind your head.
Add weight
If you don't have access to a barbell, you can find objects to place on your shoulders or hold in front of your chest. Just squat with the appropriate weight.
Jump squats
Perform the squat as usual, but when you reach the bottom, jump up as high as you can. When your feet hit the ground, immediately dive into the next squat and jump again.
Pistol Squat
This is a full squat on one leg. The leg that is not squatting is straightened forward during the exercise. When you're at the bottom of a squat, you look like a pistol, hence the name. It may take you several months to do this.
There are entire routines that will help you perform this herculean feat, but there is one exercise that will help you move directly to pistol squats.
Simply place a pole or some other strong object in front of you and squat on one leg. Use the pole to pull yourself up. Eventually, you will be able to do this squat without any aids.
Dives
During diving, the triceps, pectoral muscles, shoulders, and forearms work. Prisoners simply place their hands on a chair and their feet on the floor or bed.
Hanging Leg Raise
Not only does it work your abs, obliques, and rib muscles, but it also works your quads, hamstrings, forearms, and shoulder muscles.
Hanging Leg Raise Variations
Straight leg raises
Raise your legs straight, bending your hips until they are fully flexed and your knees are significantly higher than your hips.
Leg raises with bent knees
If you can't do straight leg raises, you can modify them by bending your knees and lifting them toward your chest.
Full straight leg raise
Do the straight leg raise as usual, but instead of stopping when your legs rise above your hips, continue the exercise until your toes touch the bar.
Straight leg raise with towel
Hang two towels over the bar and hold one in each hand. Perform straight leg raises while holding towels.
"Wiper"
Perform a straight leg raise, and when your legs are in the top position, tighten your abs and turn your legs to one side. Turn the other way. This is one exercise.
One-arm straight leg raise
You have achieved "beast mode" status if you can perform several one-armed straight leg raises and hold the top position for several seconds.
Burpee
Burpees are a full body exercise. This simple movement tests both your strength and aerobic capacity.
Burpee Variations
To perform a basic Burpee, follow these instructions:
- Start in a squat position with your hands on the floor in front of you.
- Move your legs back into a push-up position.
- Immediately return your legs to the squat.
- Jump up as high as possible from a squat position.
Burpee with push-ups
Do a regular burpee, but after your legs are in the push-up position, go ahead and do a full push-up.
Burpee with Indian push-up
Instead of a simple push-up, do an Indian push-up.
Burpee + pull-up
Stand under the horizontal bar so that you can jump to it. Do a regular burpee, but as you jump up, grab the bar and do a pull-up. Repeat. Did you hear that? It was the sound of your dying soul.
The most frostbitten criminal in the country
Our hero, whose real name is Michael Gordon Peterson, was born on December 6, 1952 in a decent and wealthy family. Since childhood, Bronson has been violent and enjoys the attention and admiration of others. At 22, he robbed a post office and received his first 7 years, which could be reduced to 4 years due to good behavior. However, in prison, Charles gained a “second wind” and the meaning of life appeared. He began to regularly commit crimes, thereby increasing his sentence. Either he will take an art teacher hostage, or Iraqi terrorists, or he will beat up the guards. His demands from the authorities could be “a helicopter and an inflatable doll,” or “an Uzi, cartridges, a sandwich and a helicopter to Cuba.” In some situations, the prisoner forced Iraqi terrorists to tickle his heels and call him “my general.” In other situations, he threatened the prison administration that he would soon begin to “eat the hostages alive,” or began to slash himself with a razor and throw himself at the hostages and guards. Soon all of England knew about him.
In 2001, Bronson decided to become a Muslim after marrying a Muslim woman, Saira, whom he met via the Internet (she fell in love with him). Ali Charolz Ahmet for 4 years . After the divorce, he returned to his traditional name, Charles Bronson. After 26 years of imprisonment, upon release he participated in fist fights for money. Charles's triumph was short-lived: two months later he committed an armed robbery (this time it was earrings for a girl he liked) and returned to his familiar environment - prison.
We recommend Underground 64. The Spell of Deed
Fitness in solitary confinement (isolator)
This is the name of the book that Charles Bronson published in 2007. By that time he was a well-known criminal in Great Britain. In this work, the author talks about his training philosophy and gives specific programs as examples. The motto of the book is “Fitness, Health and Resilience” . Bronson talks about the two ways he takes care of his body:
- body training (methods and programs)
- body care (nutrition, cleansing, etc.)
The methods of caring for the body described by the author are sometimes very strange. For example, he suggests sitting on a glass filled to the brim with water and “sucking” water through the anus with your ass in order to “clean out your pipes.” In his opinion, such “active enema” is very useful and cleanses the body of toxins. How do you like the technique?
Bronson devotes great attention to rituals. We are talking about things that need to be done at a certain time. Charles believes that this helps a lot in setting up your body to work clearly and in a timely manner, like clockwork. For example, he writes that “I always work better when I shit!”, so it’s important to learn to eat and “shit” at the same time. In general, he recommends doing all important things according to plan (eating, shitting, training, etc.). Routine is good, it's like a ritual. Helps your body and psyche be healthy.
I wiped my ass with jocks
Despite the fact that Bronson regularly engages in strength training, he believes that jocks are criminals and scammers, not him, because they deceive people. They say the muscles of bodybuilders are inflated with steroids and are worth nothing in terms of functionality. This is the deception of people who, seeing large muscles, assume greater physical capabilities, but this is not so. Bronson says he saw a lot of bodybuilders in magazines, but he always laughed at them and used the magazines as toilet paper. He calls Arnold Schwarzenegger a “pumped-up weirdo.” Bronson does not understand how it is possible to set your arm at 52 cm as a goal, and after achieving it, set the goal at 53 cm. In his opinion, this is strange and pointless. Moreover, to achieve such “strange goals”, bodybuilders use anabolic steroids, which will destroy the body, rather than strengthen it.
I took a jock magazine, laughed and used it like toilet paper - it's a scam and a scam, and they still call me a CRIME! All this nonsense about protein shakes, pills, diets is just nonsense and a multi-million dollar business. Steroids... who needs them? Why, for what purpose?
Bronson against anabolic steroids, sports nutrition and special equipment . You need to use the environment, not special exercise equipment, regular food, not sports supplements. Charles says that a person should strive to develop maximum strength while maintaining maximum speed, rather than engage in traditional bodybuilding.
“Samson didn’t take steroids, and Hercules didn’t need expensive running shoes - they had a mind! You don’t need a fancy gym or expensive sports equipment to become as strong as me!”
Deck of Pain
This is supposedly a favorite workout among prisoners, as they usually have a deck of cards at hand.
Take a standard 52 card deck. Assign one of the exercises (or one of the variations) to each of the four suits. So you'll end up with something like:
- Clubs: Push-ups
- Peaks: Pull-ups
- Diamonds: Squats
- Worms: Hanging Leg Raises.
Start pulling out cards. The suit tells you which exercise to do, and the number indicates the number of repetitions.
Finish with ten burpees to get you in a good mood.
Leg Raise
Grab the bar with a wide grip. Bend at the hips and keep your knees straight, lift your legs until they are perpendicular to your torso.
This is interesting: another “prison” training. Take a deck of cards (52 cards). Assign each suit its own exercise (hearts - push-ups, diamonds - squats, etc.). Each number is the number of approaches, a card with a figure indicates 10 approaches, an ace - 11 approaches. Throw out the cards at random and do this exercise as many times as you get. Let's say you get the seven of hearts and you do seven push-ups. Then a ten of clubs - and you do 10 pull-ups. Etc.
Juarez Valley Method
Inmates at the Juarez Valley prison in Mexico, one of the most dangerous prisons in the world, use the following training regimen.
Choose an exercise. You only need to do one thing according to the scheme. Let's say, for example, you can do push-ups.
The repetition scheme looks like this:
- Set 1: 20 reps
- Set 2: 1 rep
- Set 3: 19 reps
- Set 4: 2 reps
- Set 5: 18 reps
- Set 6: 3 reps
- Set 7: 17 reps
- Set 8: 4 reps
- Set 9: 16 reps
- Set 10: 5 reps
- Set 11: 15 reps
- Set 12: 6 reps
- Set 13: 14 reps
- Set 14: 7 reps
- Set 15: 13 reps
- Set 16: 8 reps
- Set 17: 12 reps
- Set 18: 9 reps
- Set 19: 11 reps
- Set 20: 10 reps.
According to this scheme, you need to do 210 repetitions.
Before each approach, take 5-10 steps to rest. Goal: Complete this circuit as quickly as you can.
One exercise a day
When Ryan Ferguson was in a Missouri prison from 2004 to 2013 after being wrongly convicted of murder, he focused on just one exercise a day. The goal is to achieve 500 reps per hour. It doesn't matter how many sets you do, just try to get to 500 reps in 60 minutes.
Sport attracts more and more supporters, and areas of development of physical strength are becoming more diverse and interesting. There are several options for training: with the so-called “iron”, that is, weights in the form of dumbbells, barbells and exercise machines, and exercises with your own weight. An American athlete with a criminal past, Paul Wade, made a major contribution to the development of the latter system.
Driving along the ditch
Instead of doing the maximum number of repetitions in a given period of time, you can move along a groove, completing a certain number of repetitions throughout the day. You can do 10 push-ups every half hour. So in 12 hours a day you will perform 240 push-ups.
I'm moving through the groove with pull-ups. I have a pull-up bar hanging in the doorway of my closet. Anytime I walk past him and do 5 pull-ups. The amount of reps I'm able to accumulate throughout the day always surprises me.
Diet in prison
Prisoners in different countries are offered different rations, usually corresponding to the national food culture.
In the vastness of the CIS countries, food for offenders is usually quite simple and without any frills. For breakfast, prisoners receive oatmeal or pearl barley porridge with water. Lunch consists of soup (the so-called gruel), porridge interspersed with meat and compote or tea. An evening meal usually involves porridge with fish. Each meal also includes a ration of bread, but usually bread is made from the cheapest flour, so this product has practically no taste. In other countries, the food of prisoners is also not very varied, but an important difference from our prison menu is the presence of a large amount of meat and vegetables in the diet. In Asia, prisons offer fish, rice, and vegetable salads—a set of foods traditional for the region. In Western European countries, prisoners are fed beef or chicken, beans and salads. The food for prisoners in the United States is also not much different, for example, lunch in Philadelphia prisons consists of mashed potatoes with gravy and two small pieces of beef.
If you have money and connections in any prison in the world, you can eat much better, ordering possible delicacies, including even restaurant food. Typically, products are purchased through the prison store or ordered through relatives and friends.
It is obvious that ordinary prisoners in prisons cannot maintain a normal sports nutrition regimen - this is due to a lack of protein and vitamins, which are necessary for building muscles. Prison food mainly consists of carbohydrate foods, which provide the necessary energy supply.
How often should you train with your own weight?
— In fitness, the optimal frequency is three workouts per week. In the theory of physical culture methodology, it is believed that the volume of training and intensity are inversely proportional to each other. That is, the more often you train, the less intense and less voluminous your workouts should be. For example, if you train 3 times a week for an hour and want to maintain this level of impact on the muscles, but you no longer have the opportunity to devote an hour to training, then you can train 5 times a week for 30-35 minutes, recommends Sergey Privalov.
At the same time, he notes that it is advisable not to perform the same exercises the next day, but to alternate the load on different muscles. This is necessary to ensure their recovery and varied exposure.
