Advanced Prison Training Tactics for Muscle Gain - and Bulletproof Joints

not as generalized as the first volume, it focuses on small stuff - on cutting details more suited to the extremist, willing to put in a lot of effort, not things the average person would be likely to spend so much effort on.

I've bought both, Convict Conditioning and Convict Conditioning 2.
First I was a little concerned about the price.

But now I own the books since beginning of March.
I do my regular workout on the basis of three sources:
- Be Your Own Gym (Mark Lauren)
- Core Performance and Core Performance Essentials (Mark Verstegen)
- Convict Conditioning 1 + 2

I take the basis program out of Core Performance.
Replace all device dependend exercises with ones out of 'Be Your Own Gym' and take the major ideas of periodization out of it.
To generate brute strength Convict was the missing link. So I replaced the strength circuit of Core Performance in an intelligent manner with the exercises of Convict.

My intention was to change over to body weight training completely to fixe my back and shoulder pain this way.
I was and I am successfull - I think due to the more natural movement in some cases.

I do my workout in our garden every day.
So every device I pull out of the garage I have to put back afterwards.
Avoiding this, my kind of training now requires a minimum of equipment.

Also I wanted to have a training program for years without boring every-day-stuff.
My training now has lots of variety, it's interesting every day.

The book describes "only" six major exercises.
This six exercises are enough to transform your whole body,
The book tells why the "big six" are enough.
Each exercise has 10 steps of progression.
Each progression step has at least three levels - this means: number of reps.

The first progression step of each exercise can really be done by any human beeing no matter if you're 8 or 80.
The author tells you how to work through the exercises step by step, level by level.
He is quite clear in giving criterions to proceed to the next level.
He gives some kind of rudimental plans - this is why I fall back to other sources for means of periodization.
The 10th progession state - phuu.... well, I don't know anyone in person who is able to press out even one single rep in good shape. But I'm heading for it - the eighth or so is also not really bad.

But the most important advice in Convict is to be patient.
I fully agree.

Followed by: Just start. Stop excusing.
Do your workout regularily. Increase intensity gently.
You will get strong rather fast, if your slow and patient enough.
Otherwise you may suffer from any pain.
Be reasonable.

Last but not least the book is written in a kind of sloppy way - assume you won't put it aside as long as you haven't read the whole thing.
It's really motivating !!

So thanks to the author, whoever Paul (the Coach) Wade really is.
This stuff works. At least for me.
Hence it's worth every EURO and Cent I paid for it.

Remark:
I really hope I was able to make myself clear.
I'm not a native speaker.
So please come back if you have questions or remarks.
Thank you.

I have been following the convict conditioning principles for the past 22 weeks. I am to be considered a novice when it comes to bodyweight strength building calisthenics. My impression of this book is that it is written mostly with the advanced practioneer in mind. For that athlete that has overcome most of the rich set of challenges in the first book. However, some techniques in this book have been valuable in my journey even if I am at objectively at a very early stage.

I first ventured into the book to spice up my training program a bit. The early stages of bix six was not anywhere enough challenging for me. I was in a decent shape from practicing other sports already when entering the program. I needed to restrain myself artificially in order to fulfill the "start slow" paradigm. I managed to live by this, partly encouraged by the insight that my muscles may have been in a good shape, but my joints where not. I had aches and pains in practically every body part that is possible to bend. And that was a result from training too hard and resting too little. Restraining me not to rush progression in the bix six exercises unfortunately soon created a serious downside. I become a little bored with the exercises. They were simply not challenging enough.

In order to exorcise this boredom I started to develop my program with exercises from this second book. I started with adding finger tip pushups on the same day I did horizontal pulls. Then I added calf raises to the program on another day. After a while I also extended the finger tip work by adding hanging grip exercises. I started also slowly making progress with these movements. My extended program felt incredibly satisfying for a while. I was exploring my capacity in new ways.

However after a couple of months I began to realize that I had constructed something which eventually was not entirely sustainable. There were several reasons. I had completed the 'start slow' phase and I began to make progression in the big six movements more aggressively. Hence, I was increasingly more challenged and thus also more pleased only by training the big six. I also made some important insights that made the exercises which I didn't make progress in quickly more interesting. Particularly, varying my grip in horizontal pulls made that exercise more complete for me also in terms of lower arms. Hence, I began to feel that the extras were a bit unnecessary.

I also increasingly made progression in the extras which somewhat bloated the program. The extra movements began to require more time, which is a tough constraint in my life. The grip work includes a lot of careful warm-up steps and several low rep work sets. Each one they are not so time consuming, but they all require some preparation which in total accumulates into a fair bit of time. And particularly the calf raises are deceptively easy to add, but time they take grows proportionally with the advancements you make. Doing 4 times 70-100 proper reps takes quite a bit of time. Therefore I have recently decided to cut some of the exercises out. Grip work had to go, but I decided to keep the calf work. Surely I will revisit grip work when I advance in my training, or every now and then whenever I get more time on my hands.

As mentioned earlier, the big six was not challenging enough for me initially. However, I had developed a deep fascination with the program. Contradictory as it may seem, I was unchallenged at the same very devoted to it. I suffered somewhat through the start slow phase and of holding me back to adhere to the resting-more-is-better philosophy. I was a bit restless on my non-training days. Hence I was hungry for more and I needed some immediate gratification on these days too.

For this reason the `trifecta' joint training program is the second valuable addition to my training. I soon added it to all my non strenght-training days. I started by adding twist holds. I expanded the program by adding bridges and L-holds a few weeks later. Together with my strength training I now have some exercises for every day of the week. In fact, I have come to cherish the trifecta just as much as the big six. This addition has been very beneficial. It doesn't exhaust me at all. It has surely removed some of my joint aches. And I am definitely more patient on my resting days. I rest easy.

A third insight this book has provided me with is on the topic of diet. Weight is a concern in bodyweight exercises. The lighter you are the easier the progress. I am not overweight by any means, but any fat is dead weight. So the most recent addition to my training life style is being a bit more aware of what I eat. I have started to follow the very basic principle thought in the book. Three balanced meals a day is enough for a grown man. Coffee in between meals is ok, but I stopping taking it with milk. No more snacks or fruits. That was very tempting in the afternoon or in the evening. I also removed my habit of drinking juice at breakfast, and avoid any other kind of drink than water with meals. Hopefully this will pay off. I believe I already notice some results.

In summary, this book contains more advanced guidelines, out of which I have explored only three. Some of these concepts I have managed to incorporate into my life style. And some I have experienced a little difficulty with doing so. A majority of the contents of this book remains yet to be attempted. E.g. I plan, or perhaps dream is a more appropriate word, to someday commence human flag hold training as described in the book. I am a novice of bodyweight training. But for the reasons of spicing up the program, joint training and diet concepts, I feel that this book has already been beneficial to the stage where I am at. Therefore I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone, no matter how advanced they are, that wish to expand their repertoire of bodyweight training techniques.

I was a huge fan of the first Convict Conditioning book, but I was skeptical as to what the angle or necessity for a sequel was. More bought this out of curiosity than anything. I've read it front to back and have to say that I was not at all disappointed. This is perfect for those looking to take their CC routine to the next level as a good supplemental workout, or for anyone looking for equipment-free grip/neck/calf work. The flag progressions for working the lateral chain are something I look forward to tackling in the future when I've built my strength base a bit more, but the progressions as always seem very straightforward and accessible. The Trifecta he offers in this book are also priceless, as well as the rest of his section on active stretching. Can't recommend this book enough if you train calisthenics, ESPECIALLY if you follow his main book.

Throw most of the other books away......except for vol 1 in this series, cancell your gym membership..stop silly jogging(unless injured).This book contains all you need for functional supernormal strength....buy this book..get a notebook to record your progress and get to work.it is packed with systematic practical useable information..and i am a former olympic coach.

I have read the original Convict Conditioning by Paul Wade and was very impressed. I implemented the routines and have had great success so far.

Personally I found Convict Conditioning 2 just as good as the first. I have already incorporated the grip progression, the human flag progression, the calf progression and the trifecta into my routine. I am holding off on the neck progression until I am more advanced in my bridge progression.

The information from part 3 and the bonus chapter is interesting but will have little to no impact on my current diet/lifestyle.

Bottom Line: In my humble opinion section 1 & 2 of the book make it worth the price for anyone who is a fan of the original Convict Conditioning.

P.S. Yes I would buy a 3rd book on Survival athletics & dynamics (as mentioned in the book).

3/5/13 update: Soon after writing this review I discontinued the exercises from CC2. As advised in the book, I am waiting until I've mastered pushups, pull ups, squats, and leg raises from CC1 before I start. You have to be very strong to handle many of the exercises in this book and I am certain I will reach that level of strength from the routines provide in CC1.

3/25/2015 update: I really got serious with the human flag training over the past 3 months and have reached the point where I can do the tucked version (but I’m not perfectly horizontal, just a bit lower) and hold it for 8-10 seconds. My grip strength is fantastic. I am currently doing 1 arm bar hangs for 10-20 second holds along with plenty of finger tip push-ups.

11/30/2015 Quick Update: Human flags are coming along nicely. I am very close to a full human flag, I just need to raise my body up by about 6 more inches.

6/10/2016 update: Due to a shoulder injury (not related to working out) I had to take a break from human flag training. I should be back to working towards a full flag soon. I am installing a fence poll in my basement just to have better access year round to train.

Have just finished CC2 and I was starting to implement the strategies before I finished the book. The book is a great reference for people who want functional, injury free fitness.

I have read CC1 which I also loved. Either book can stand alone but it would make sense to read CC1 first. CC1 is all about strength building. CC2 has, among other things, valuable information on flexibility and injury prevention and recovery.

Personally, I found the prison life anecdotes fascinating and provide a context for the training techniques. Clearly in prison you need to be strong and also able to recover quickly if you are injured. These books teach you both.

I bought the Kindle edition of each book but I liked them so much I think I will buy the hardcover versions in due course so that I can have them on my book shelf.

Bring on CC3. Can't wait.

I purchased the first book and was very happy with the purchase. In it, the author teaches a bunch of body weight exercises that work as intended. They are great for gaining strength and fitness, especially if you don't have access to a gym.

After reading through the first book, I was excited to read the second. It was complete garbage. There were fewer, less useful exercises that the author fully admits that the original set of exercises somewhat cover.

What really turned me off is the amount of false information. The first book, he constantly reminds the reader that he is not an expert in any field of science. In this book, he doles out nutritional and physiological information like he has a phd in every health science. The thing is, it's almost all wrong. It was blatantly obvious to me who only has a bachelors degree that covered subjects such as nutrition, physiology, biomechanics, etc. On top of that, he goes on to say that some information is wrong...information that has been proven time and time again, written about in peer-reviewed medical journals, and can be found in any college textbook.

His incorrect facts and lack of useful exercises made this a waste of $40. Too bad pdfs aren't returnable.