3:38 “muscle recover a lot faster than connective tissue” key takeaway. Most people, even many trainers, are clueless about it, but knowing what connective tissue is (tendons, ligaments, etc.) and how they strengthen/recover is crucial if you want to prevent injuries, especially as you get older. Great review, btw, I read the book almost a decade ago, and now I want to read it again!
Any good tips/guidelines for strengthening/recovering connective tissue. Never really gave a thought to that, since I assumed it would go along with muscle strengthening 🤔. It be appreciated to know more about this.
@@juanpablotupper691 absolutely. A good way to look at connective tissue vs muscle tissue is that your connective tissue is constantly playing catch-up with your muscles (which are usually fully recovered within 36-48 hours of hard training). Connective tissue has terrible blood flow compared to your muscles which is why it recovers so slowly. What damages connective tissue, besides freak accidents, is when you train hard for too many consecutive weeks without adding a deload week in between. It can also be because you increase the resistance too much at once in one given exercise. So how do you allow your connective tissue to catch up? Several ways. *1. Deloading:* how often is highly individual, but a rule of thumb is every 4-10 weeks (depending on how you feel), spend 1 week where you reduce volume or resistance by 50% or even both if you feel banged up. Some prefer to not train at all for a week (this is more like _deconditioning_ than deloading) but I'm not a fan of that approach. You recover faster when you _move_ due to blood circulation, so sitting on your ass for a week makes no sense to me. *2. Step loading:* stay with the same weights for longer periods of time (Pavel Tsatsouline calls this “Step loading”, it might have another name). So don't increase the resistance every week. Instead, focus on truly owning the current weight/resistance you're working with, and just work on improving your technique, tempo, and endurance. Once you feel like this weight is silly light compared to when you started with it, increase resistance for the next session, and repeat. The reason this works is that by not constantly upping the weight, you give your connective tissue the much needed time to recover from microtears (which can quickly become serious injuries) without constantly being challenged by harder weights. You also put way less stress on your nervous system this way, which is good for your immune system. *3. Mobility/flexibility training:* if your muscles get stiff and inflexible, connective tissue tears and flares up easier, even at normal ranges of motion that shouldn't hurt you. It especially happens to people with huge muscles, but anyone can get stiff from bad posture and overdeveloping certain muscle groups (muscle imbalance). *4. Increase blood flow:* High rep “pump“ training, e.g. with light resistance bands is excellent both for warming up and as a session-finisher because the increased blood flow will help to flush out waste material and transport nutrients to all tissues in your body, including tendons, ligaments, bones, etc. The benefit of applying a high rep/low resistance protocol 10-20 minutes per training session is that your connective tissue easily recovers from it, and your nervous system is hardly affected by it, so it won't compromise any of your strength development in your main exercises. Your connective tissue will, of course, get stronger just like your muscles if you increase resistance, but you need to be careful about the pace you're going at or you’ll get injuries that will force you to spend months on rehabbing, instead of building skills and getting stronger. PS: yes, I've had a lot of injuries 😂 But it's been many years since I had a serious one because I follow the steps above. I hope you find it useful :-)
@@techstacker5361 wooow! Highly appreciate you wrote such a complete answer. I have somehow been following some of what you suggest intuitively but it's good to have it properly organised and explained. I believe connective tissue recovery might be overlooked as I've spent lots of time reading about calisthenics and weightlifting and unless you explicitly look for it, you don't really come across this topic and I thing one should. To make a parallel, if you read about driving you will come across things like "don't do this or that or you'll wear out the clutch prematurely", but somehow this connective and nervous system issues don't get pointed at enough. Thanks again!
I trained feet together one arm push ups for 7 years for both arms now and I bench double bodyweight in 5 months of bench press training, weighing in at a chubby 106 kilo bodyweight. Which means I am huge basically. Trick for one arm push ups, do your negatives slow and controlled. Go to failure on the weaker arm. Match the reps of that arm with your stronger arm (don't do more reps for any given set than the weaker arm with the stronger arm). I can do 34-36 reps per arm. Love this book. Made me strong in ways I never imagined possible. My lazy ass only trains push ups, squats and curls though, and straight punches for 500 reps. I can do like 7 strict pull ups. Gotta make a time commitment for pull ups.
This kind of workout, is not only physically effective, but psychologically empowering. The individual gains power over his own body via mental discipline. Excellent. But here's the thing; when doing this kind of callisthenic w/o, when the body moves thru space, "all" of the body is recruited during the moves, hence far greater progress is made in body development. This kind of stuff, in my opinion, is five times better than the usual gym stuff.
I just started CC this week. I went from sweating, swearing, and putting 110% into doing a single set of 25 wall push-ups, to being able to do a set of 50 three times. If not for this book, I would have followed this routine until god knows how long: Get motivated to work out. Do a pushup or two. Maybe three if I'm feeling like a big tough guy. Hurt my shoulders and wrists. Get discouraged, feel hopeless, engage in self pity. Give up. I can do about 7 normal push-ups without pain now. It's not much, but I'm not gonna pretend like this isn't progress. The hardest part about following the regimen is having the humility to go through each step with a tempered ego. After all, if I'm really so great that the regimen isn't necessary to follow, I wouldn't have cracked open the book in the first place. So I should shut up, keep my head down, be grateful for the opportunity to be healthy enough to exercise, and JUST DO IT.
1 set of 25 to 3 sets of 50 in one week is crazy progression. I am guessing this is your body waking up and remembering stuff. I am sure, one year later, you have realised that the next steps will see a much slower progression. I got to the progression standard for lvl 6 (diamond/close grip) pushups before I stopped training, and I remember trying the level 7 stuff, and it was...not easy!
Ironically, I came across this book while in prison. Obviously I'm in the free world now, but I enjoyed the contents of it so much that I decided to buy it to follow the progressions. Just got it in the mail last week. Here's to my new journey.
It's good to see how you wanna get stronger and I don't see any toxic replies in here but since you didn't mention I am not sure if you were a guest in the prison
Thanks for mentioning the book in your other video. Read it, made a brand new workout routine for myself after years of inactivity and after 1 week already feeling results. Wouldn't have read it without your mention. Thanks!
Professionals should do reviews like this so no one is using possible misinformation from a book. The fact that he made a video reviewing any book is not only important but of monumental importance. Thank you for the video.
@@j.westbestoftherest9102 Been doing Veterano for a few years now, one day a week is perfect. Added dips, finger push ups, and I still like to do Aussie/Horizontal pull ups. Stay strong.
I haven't read the book yet. I caught onto this from Amazon Prime tv. They have free Convict Conditioning videos on the pushup, bridge, core and squat. I love it! Just started this week. The excercises are filmed at Alcatraz. My girlfriends laugh at me but I'm determined to build my core as I've dealt with debilitating lower back pain most my life. I'm convinced it's due mainly to me neglecting my core. I am now implementing this in to my daily routine along with yoga.
@@SteveWKk thx for asking, i still cannot do bridges, i had a relapse as my back made a weird "ca-thunk" while jumping rope. so i have had to take it slow
Btw, I can really recommend the second book. I read all 4 books now, and the free Q&A pdf. The second book adds some exercises beyond the original Big Six (exercises), adding things like flags, neck and calf raises, still mainly focus on muscle building over the gymnastics incorporated in the modern calisthenics. It also dives deeper in other topics like diet, rest, stretching etc. (Then he also wrote a book on explosive calisthenics, and one on building nervous strength (so no muscle mass) vs muscle mass. This last one will have you looking more like a Bruce Lee and less like an Mr Universe. All will benefit your work out / body wisdom.
I trained Convict Conditioning programs and felt that the rep ranges are too high and sets are not enough. In my experience, CC results in too much fatigue then it's hard to train frequently. I turned into my own program from about 2 years ago and half a year ago I turned into my latest program using 3-10 reps X 4 sets, 3 days on 1 day off, basically the Big 6 types of move from CC but using some other specofic moves instead. Now I'm gaining strength and muscle much faster than before, training volume added up to 16 sets of strength in total on each training day (2 muscle groups, 2 exercises for each group, 4 sets for each exercise), and plus 30-60 minutes parkour or explosive practice in advance. So far, I think the most important key to progress is "total training volume in a period of time", so I don't go into deep fatigue now, instead I train more frequently with higher difficulty / load, more sets and less reps.
Great review! I just got the book and will be starting the programs soon after working out with weights (barbells and dumbbells in the past). I think it's important to keep the "convict" part in mind - I'd imagine possible shoulder injuries when doing handstand pushups are the last thing in mind when you are dealing with possible dangerous inmates in the yard
The book is wonderful and you will get amazing results. I was introduced to it by a Hungarian Special Forces along with Pavel and his kettlebell books. Once I stopped lifting weights and doing body weight and kettlebell I got into the best shape of my life and I have been in pretty good shape. I recommended Convict Conditioning to a man who suffered from gout really bad and overtime he got a lot better.
Unexpected book to read and actually physically use. Basic exercises are forgotten, I know I did 🤦♂️, but best take away is joint/tendon growth/recovery. I need this more now since being 53 and a climber for 7 years. 🙏👍
Once you get to the ''extreme exercise'' levels I THINK it's important to keep in mind the book is advertised as an ''inmate's fitness training system'' and more to the point:What else they gonna do in prison besides 50 Pistol Squats and another 50 One Arm Handstand Push Ups?
@@salovamrani2084 It's done against the wall. Super challenging, yet possible: /watch?v=4DEQhjiaNL4 You haven't read the book, so why diss it? It just makes you look silly.
@@epictetus9221 maybe you haven't read it? I've read the whole book and it clearly shows this exercise, the guy is straight like a string. what is shown in the video you cited is not push-ups, these are handicapped push-ups during a cramp plus climbing legs. what these guys showed is stupid shit that can't be called an exercise. You can watch this ruclips.net/video/hYnmRO37SRQ/видео.html
@@salovamrani2084 they are possible if you put your mind to it you just cant do it because your havent surpassed your mental barrier encouraging you to be able to do it
The sections according to me are based on the different muscle groups. And they align somewhat with the regular gym workouts. This way those who are familiar can relate to it. Push-ups - Chest/Tricep Pull-ups - Back/Bicep Squats - lower body Leg raises - Core Back bridges - Lower back HSPUs - Shoulders So you see shoulders are covered only in that HSPUs section.
Well, shoulders are hit during pullups (rear delts), pushups (front delts) and the HSPU covers all three heads. Plus, bridging also hit the shoulders. It doesn't hit the side delt much but you still get some.
@Striker885 any chance you’d share the document? I read the book a bit ago , can’t reread now for reasons not mentioning, but I’m looking for a summary of steps I can follow to a T. Let me know. Id use it in good faith and with gratitude for your contribution to my health
Paul Wade himself has stated that the possible progressions for these exercises is nearly unlimited (at least a lot more than the book itself shows) and refers to them as "hidden steps", so what you did with the Pistol Squat is something he would undoubtedly chuckle about and say "Yeah, this guy gets it. Good job, kid!"
Great review! Convict Conditioning was one of the first fitness stuff I readed, my program is quite different today but it was a good source of insights about bodyweight training as a beginner. Well also I know how to deal with fitness in prison now, just in case lol
This book really changed my life. I used to get these unnatural pains (like shin splints) in my arms while doing bicep curls with weights. I switched to all-bodyweight with this book and never looked back. The way it is laid out is super easy to follow for people who want to just cut through the BS and follow a simple guide.
@@Afgnwrlrd either a grind-style workout from Red Delta project (customizable) or even the reddit recommended routine. The latter has too many different lifts, IMO, but still much quicker than CC
i just found out about the book last week. the real bang for your buck when it comes to this book is the anecdotes paul wade provides. like the stuff he says about people who developed brute strength through calisthenics has a lot of "big if true" energy. so many lifters complain about joint pain, it would be nice to develop muscle never having that. he makes it sound like muscle developed from calisthenics is a lot more durable and long lasting. idk, i found the storytelling really good, if not hypermasculine
@@junichiroyamashita at the time of posting that, yes. i trained every day for 10 straight days. the streak was actually 22 days long before i broke it
@@junichiroyamashita i got results, but it's inconclusive whether or not i could have taken rest days at the time and gotten the same results. note that i was definitely a beginner to training consistently. i would just say that if you're up to it, you should work out. i just wouldn't go more than 4 days without working out, because a break that long has made me feel significant enough deficits in performance
Hey man, Very good review on this book. I forgot that I had this book and just getting into it again and can't wait to incorporate it again. And I agree with you about handstand situation lol. Have a good one 👌
Agreed. It works, for sure, but some progressions and such are probably unrealistic for most people. For example, I’m pretty strong and worked up to the handstand push-ups, that was good enough.
The book review was great, and on the topic of reviews could you review the books of the Red Delta Project, been reading his book “ Smart Bodyweight Training “ and man is it good. He also made a book about isometrics and it looks very interesting.
I own most of his books, fitness independence is a great read for beginners and grind style calisthenics is also great. Smart bodyweight training is very interesting
I have all of his books - he is one of the best for growth with health & fitness bc he is always preaching an effective diet should REDUCE stress not induce it - the same with exercise routines and all kind of movements. Matt is a really great guy! =)
Cool review, man. I also quit on the uneven basketball pistol squat. However, I came back to it later and realized it really improved my hip and leg strength. The move made my knees feel unbreakable. I now think the uneven squat is a move worth training aside from achieving the pistol squat.
@a wHey dude. The uneven squat is step 7 in Convict Conditioning 1. It's great for strengthening the knees. Just make sure to take your time with it and build up to it with close squats. Don't rush it.
So I started this program around 9 years ago and was blown away by how functionally strong I became. I didn't test it on bench press or any crap like that, but I did have to move around a year into the program and I found myself carrying furniture that I normally would have tried to do with a second person. Unfortunately, during that move, I broke open a hernia I was unaware I had (from working in crawl spaces and attics, not from the routine) and I stopped the program shortly afterwards. Fast forward to today, after a cancer surgery and finally getting the hernia fixed after 9 years, I'm a month into the program and feeling fantastic about it. My question to anyone in the know that might be reading this comment, I'm 53 and I've lost 35 pounds in the last 6 months. My main focus is on Convict Conditioning, but I am vain and single so I'm throwing in some weight work to improve those useless, vanity cuts on my physique. My question is, will incorporating dumbbells and some Universal machines impede my free weight work out "growth" (it's relatively low impact, compared to the Convict routine) or will they come together in perfect harmony, side by side on my piano of life (I'm old, sue me)? I didn't start from scratch, so I'm into the second progression of each movement, abd I feel like my joints and ligaments are adapting quite nicely to the combination of workouts, but I'm looking for feedback.
I’d say if you want to burn off a little bit weight or notice a difference and want to add a dumbbells, I would go with the low weight high rep. I think that is why they add such high rep that need endurance, but I wish you luck on your workouts. God bless you and I hope you have a good rest of your day
Ho letto il libro e mi trovo d'accordo su quanto affermato Mi colpisce il fatto che non vi sia una parte dedicata stretching vista anche la flessibilità richiesta da alcuni esercizi
Nice one arm push-ups. I achieved pistols, but never could really do step 8 of the one-arm push-up sequence. I agree you have to modify and adjust some of the steps, but overall the program worked for me.
My main issue with the book is that Step 1 of the Squat progression is likely more dangerous for a beginner than Step 2. Specifically, the balance required to shoulder stand squat and the level of upper-body and core strength required to do it correctly with good form is way beyond beginner level, IMO. I gave it a skip to Step 2 and would recommend others to do the same. Literally the book has the disclaimer that not doing it correctly will put pressure (read: injure) your neck but what beginner is going to be able to do that? lol.
I did the step 1 of the squats against a wall. I couldn’t do them correctly without my core and hands suffering. And understanding that this was more of a leg chain workout, doing them against the wall was a fair approach.
Convict Conditioning by Paul Wade taught me how to do progressive bodyweight training. Those who train with weights only never understand that bodyweight training can be progressive. They belive that if you do pushups, you have to do them with just the load you do them in their basic form. They don't think of single arm pushups, and the progression towards that. So they think bodyweight training is endurance training. Paul Wades book teaches you how to really train with bodyweight. But when you know the principles, you can do it your own way. I, for example, do most of my training in gymnastic rings. Thats gives me even more opportunities to make it progressive. So, yes read the book, even if you won't do exactly what it tells you!
Book is awesome, I followed quiet some time but later I got 'Get Strong' by same author which I put in better place. It really a great help for beginner.
Thanks for the info my friend! I'll have to check the book out! I personally haven't ever heard of it before but am always looking to learn! Thanks again!
Also feet together for the one handed push up. The book specifically speaks about this. Its important to read and follow directions. You may have a different perspective if you read the book again and takes some notes
I love this program and i always return to it. With modifications though. But the whole 6 day regimen and the 6 main movements is quite genious i think
This is a good review. The 10 steps are a framework, but options to progress and regress between those take some research, instinct and creativity like Ryan demonstrated.
Its a bomb program. I trained One arm push up (feet together) for 3-4 years everyday. First set is maxed out. Then sub sequent sets throughout the Day, staying far away from failure or even fatigue... While obviously my form is only as good as seen in the DVDs.... I got to 45 reps each arm NON STOP before I ever joined a gym. Slow eccentric and concentrics.... I benched 170 kilos the first day I ever joined a gym. At 97 kilo bodyweight. Still couldn't do any One arm pull up though, I was doing sets of 25 reps of neck to bar pull ups..... After 3 months of heavy benching I got to a 200 kilo bench, power lifting form. People thought I was doing gym for a long time.... Whereas all I ever did was easy sets of OAPU everyday and occasionally (twice a week) a set till failure. Heavy curls and heavy unilateral upright rows. That's it. Took me 30 minutes a day. Match the reps of your stronger arm with that of the reps of your weaker arm. To eradicate muscle imbalances. Its life changing and very much adviced.
I never count reps I only focus on blood flow if I feel I got my blood flowing good that's enough and I resume doing more as soon as I start to feel cold or blood slowing down again and end up doing a lot of exercise all throughout the day and night (I am insomniac).
@@brucebanner3566 Sorry brother. 😅😅 Didn't do any pistols. However I can do 200 reps of atg bodyweight squats before failure, non stop, no resting while standing, not even for a second. And I got HUGE FUCKING LEGS BRO. Here is a more practical advice I would like to impart on you with bodyweight training, not that one arm push ups are bad in ANYWAY AT ALL. Infact they are the best thing in the whole exercise world. If you are trying to get jacked with lean dense muscle tissue with calisthenics, focus on this instead. Keep working towards 200 non stop (my kinda non stop which I already explained) full rom push ups, 200 non stop full rom squats, and 50 non stop full rom pull ups, keep eating in a 10 percent caloric surplus while you are at it.... When you can do all this, it means whatever bodyweight you are, it is mostly muscle and very little bodyfat, which means you will be muscular with optimal body composition as well as having optimal endurance and cardio. Then, while you can do it, keep eating more to get your bodyweight up while maintaining these max numbers. These max rep numbers ensure you have elite level pressing and pulling and squatting strength, I shit you not, because all the guys I have seen that can do it all bench double bodyweight, all of them are ultra jacked as well. Now imagine having elite relative strength and supreme body composition while youbare 250lbs or heavier???? Yeah, just the act of getting heavier keeps your relative strength AND YOUR ABSOLUTE STRENGTH GOING UP. Absolute strength the key determiner of hypertrophy.
@@mayukhsen8195 Hi man! Did you manage to gain a lot of muscle while doing this? I've always been told that doing endurance training doesn't give you any muscle, it just makes you more defined. I don't understand, you do 200 reps at once and then throughout the day you do eccentric and concentric right? And the tempo during the descent and ascent you are at how many seconds?
Since I'm following the CC program I'll add my few words on it and book itself. The style, you may like or not, but IMHO it gets pretentious when it comes to all that convict narrative and religious about body weight training, although some things may have been changed in translation (I have non-english edition). Sometimes it gets inconsistent, as it tries to promote perfect form and full range of motion only to give half reps as next progressions. Generally i find this program "fine", I'm making progressions, but at the same time i know i could make them faster with better program. Had to make some adjustments for different reasons. My actual criticism of the program: - Squat path: shoulder-stand squat as a first exercise is IMHO a joke, i get the point to get the movement mechanics with low load, but shoulder-stand is not a rookie position - Handstand push-up path: I don't find headstand as it's presented safe to get used to with inverted position, especially if you haven't build up enough strength yet. Neck is not used to support that kind of weight, so risk/benefit ratio is not good here. Sirsasana is much safer position to get used to with inverted position. - half reps, are IMHO waste of time. - It's suggesting 2-3 series and "saving reps for next training", i gave it a try, but the changed to doing 6 series of each, as at least for me it gives much better results in terms of being able to do more reps on next session.
Honestly, when it comes to calisthenics I don't care about levers or human flags. I just want to be strong but don't ever intend on progressing onto handstands etc. Maybe this book suits my needs more
Same. I've always been more into the basics done well. I have focused on getting better at them over time and working toward mastery. My personal opinion... for this just looking to be healthy, fit, and have an awesome physique, focusing on basics should be the primary goal. Way too many are too quick to dismiss them, rush their progressions, and then try to jump into some fancy stuff.
I love this book alone for the motivation aspect of doing simple bodyweight movements and losing this mindset "i need many differen exercises" hell no I CAN but I don't need to! Also I like to re-read from time to time the first few pages of each moves. He desrcibes those movements very cool like "sixpack of hell" :D and the 2nd book is also very good (for me) bc of the forearm section. Towel hang are a must have for me now! Love it! =)
When I do pistol squats I too always fall over so I hold a 8kg dumbbell out in front of me as a counterbalance but then one could argue I'm not just lifting my weight but it works for me
The one handed hand stand push up is the hardest of all the steps. Thats why its the last exercise in the book. The rep ranges are not high or difficult if you follow the book to the fullest. If you read the assisted one legged squat with the basketball in the book, it says you can use assistance if you find it to difficult, a chair or coffee table etc to assist with the difficulty. This book is not just for beginners, its good for any athlete on the planet regardless of level. The high rep range he speaks about is needed IF YOU FOLLOW THE BOOKS DIRECTIONS. The one arm hand stand push up is not extreme If you follow directions. This book has heavily to do with gymnastics its a solid base for any kind of workout. This book can become completely unsafe if you do not follow the book to its final measures. In order to do free hand standing pushup you should begin with the steps wade created. All the information you need for a base in gymnastics is in this book. BOTTOM LINE IS READ THE BOOK AND FOLLOW SIMPLE DIRECTIONS TO A T!!!
Lol, why would someone want to do that many reps? Because they can, to build muscle and endurance. If people are turned off by stuff in the book they aren’t paying attention to what the book is for. Also you mention getting shoulder injuries. Part of the book is about not getting injured and building bulletproof joints. People get injured when their form is off. If you keep a good strong form you will not get injured.
Hey, Ryan, You did it again: AN AWESOME VIDEO!!! It's great to see that you are very objective about this book. Personally, I don't follow it verbatim. I had to adapt some of the progressions, as Al Kavadlo point out about his opinion on the book. Could you please make a video review on Matt Furey's Combat Conditioning? Thanks for sharing! Best Regards 😊
6:10 you should do a review on Mike Tyson's workouts. He didn't use weights (apart from shrugs). He did 500 pushups, 500 crunches, 500 dips, 500 shrugs, 500 squats PER DAY. Plus hours on the heavy bag. Either 10 rounds of 50 or 5 rounds of 100.
Can you also do a review on Complete Calisthenics by Ashley Kalym? I think it's one of the, as the title says, complete books when it comes to calisthenics and the way to progress from basic strength to advanced skills. Interested in hearing what's your opinion!
The reason for handstand pushups, besides the obvious (targeting shoulders and upper pecks) is to grow the traps. Traps and neck are "go muscles". The program is all about "go muscles" as opposed to "show muscles". Its Convict Conditioning. Not Beach Body.
Do you think it's a good idea to do a workout which contains one exercises for each chest, back, legs and core, while alternating on days, for example pullups and push ups on day A and rows and dips on day B?
Thanks for the honest review! :) The thing that put me off about Paul Wade was that I can't see what he looks like! The program looked like it made sense to me but it would be nice to see what progress he has made (assuming he does his own program lol) Also good to see you using an old working iPad instead of just getting a new one! :D
So what I get out of this video is I need to do one arm hand stand push ups. I'm already injured as can be anyways from martial arts lol, have to work out constantly to keep myself in the delirium state, otherwise the pain comes back.
Okay, so you say you didn't follow it verbatim, and give the example of pistol progressions What about the only two exercises per day thing? I'm curious if you can actually devote that little time to strengthening, and still actually progress kind of looking at convict conditioning versus your own program, which of course is full body 3 times a week
I am liking this book a lot, mainly on ebook. I do push-pull-legs-hinge and additionally cardia (a Greek word for cardio). But thanks to the convicts I also do burpees workout if and by all means I need a workout in. Thanks for the commentary. But thanks to convicts too kindly interviewed and made this book a reality. Shouts to you and the author.
Ryan, I have a small room in my apartment. If you had to pick between the parallettes or dip bars, which would you pick? Or is it important to have both?
L C it depends on your goals. If you fancy doing handstands on your pbars soon then I’d go with parallettes because they’re low to the ground and much safer for being inverted. But if handstands aren’t on your agenda any time soon, or you absolutely must do dips, then go for the dip station. A lot of the exercises cross over between the two pieces of equipment but I just do not recommend doing handstands on dip stations. Too risky!
LC forgot to mention - one other upside of the dip station is body weight rows (horizontal pulls from underneath) so that’s another advantage over parallettes. But again, it all comes down to your current training goals. End goal should be to have both tho (you can get collapsible dip stations so your small apartment isn’t an issue)
I'm now trying the Solitary Confinement Routine because I kind of want a bit more volume. I'm wondering what opinions can be on this system with any kind of training style? (As in Day 1 and 4 are pills and squats, Day 2 and 5 are horizontal pushes and abs, Day 3 and 6 are vertical push and hinge)
When I was in fire camp.( prison program ) I met a guy that was a machine. every morning after breakfast he would do a burpee-lunge routine around the race track. He said that gave him core strength and endurance. I did it and it was really helpful but what are your thoughts on it my routine was every other day Monday Wednesday Friday
Me myself started with this book and I achieved pretty good results. This book gives you system that is easy to understand and to change some of training for your needs, so the book is great. As to Paul Wade - I have a very strong suspicion that "he" is just a fiction character, maybe even the group of authors are standing behind this name, maybe they just wanted to tell us an interesting story along with introducing us to calisthenics. Anyway, whoever it was, they did it almost perfectly, if you ask me
Great book review, thanks! Thoughts on the 2010 book "YOU ARE YOUR OWN GYM" by Mark Lauren? I think it is an interesting read, useful resource. As a whole-food vegan since '90, his nutrition advice was NOT well received, but otherwise it's a good book.
Because combining hand stand and regular push-ups wouldn’t really work in his system of progression. Yes they’re both push, but they “act” differently enough that they need their own focus.
Hi Ryan! I would like to take a question please. can I do only these four exercises that appears in the 1:48 image of the video ?? do only series and repetitions that I can handle complementing if I can with walking / running? thanks in advance!
Yes, absolutely. That’s exactly how I got started. This video explains the routine ruclips.net/video/ay15dc2cvm0/видео.html and there’s also a link in that video to the no equipment version of it that includes back bridges.
No, definitely not. You focus on the current step you’re on only until you can hit the recommended target reps, then you advance to the next progression for that movement. So your workout might be one push up progression, one squat progression, one bridge progression (multiple sets of each, of course). I hope that makes sense.
@@MinusTheGym Bet bro. lm not home so l cant look at the book right now but when l am l will look at it go back to your comment to see lf l understand, any doubt’s l have l will reply here again. Thank you🙏
Hey MinusTheGym (sorry, I don't know your name :)), I know the question is probably a bit difficult to answer from a distance, but I can't get past step 3 of the push-up series in this book. I've been following the push-up, pull-up, and bridges series for about 8 to 10 months now and with steps 1 and 2 I made really quick progress, but as for the kneeling push-ups it seam's I'm totally stuck at a plateau. Do you have any advice or an idea about what I could possibly be doing wrong? Oh yeah, and I'm doing the workout 3x/week. Thanks in advance. - Sebastian
3:38 “muscle recover a lot faster than connective tissue” key takeaway. Most people, even many trainers, are clueless about it, but knowing what connective tissue is (tendons, ligaments, etc.) and how they strengthen/recover is crucial if you want to prevent injuries, especially as you get older. Great review, btw, I read the book almost a decade ago, and now I want to read it again!
Any good tips/guidelines for strengthening/recovering connective tissue. Never really gave a thought to that, since I assumed it would go along with muscle strengthening 🤔. It be appreciated to know more about this.
@@juanpablotupper691 absolutely. A good way to look at connective tissue vs muscle tissue is that your connective tissue is constantly playing catch-up with your muscles (which are usually fully recovered within 36-48 hours of hard training). Connective tissue has terrible blood flow compared to your muscles which is why it recovers so slowly. What damages connective tissue, besides freak accidents, is when you train hard for too many consecutive weeks without adding a deload week in between. It can also be because you increase the resistance too much at once in one given exercise.
So how do you allow your connective tissue to catch up? Several ways.
*1. Deloading:* how often is highly individual, but a rule of thumb is every 4-10 weeks (depending on how you feel), spend 1 week where you reduce volume or resistance by 50% or even both if you feel banged up. Some prefer to not train at all for a week (this is more like _deconditioning_ than deloading) but I'm not a fan of that approach. You recover faster when you _move_ due to blood circulation, so sitting on your ass for a week makes no sense to me.
*2. Step loading:* stay with the same weights for longer periods of time (Pavel Tsatsouline calls this “Step loading”, it might have another name). So don't increase the resistance every week. Instead, focus on truly owning the current weight/resistance you're working with, and just work on improving your technique, tempo, and endurance. Once you feel like this weight is silly light compared to when you started with it, increase resistance for the next session, and repeat. The reason this works is that by not constantly upping the weight, you give your connective tissue the much needed time to recover from microtears (which can quickly become serious injuries) without constantly being challenged by harder weights. You also put way less stress on your nervous system this way, which is good for your immune system.
*3. Mobility/flexibility training:* if your muscles get stiff and inflexible, connective tissue tears and flares up easier, even at normal ranges of motion that shouldn't hurt you. It especially happens to people with huge muscles, but anyone can get stiff from bad posture and overdeveloping certain muscle groups (muscle imbalance).
*4. Increase blood flow:* High rep “pump“ training, e.g. with light resistance bands is excellent both for warming up and as a session-finisher because the increased blood flow will help to flush out waste material and transport nutrients to all tissues in your body, including tendons, ligaments, bones, etc. The benefit of applying a high rep/low resistance protocol 10-20 minutes per training session is that your connective tissue easily recovers from it, and your nervous system is hardly affected by it, so it won't compromise any of your strength development in your main exercises.
Your connective tissue will, of course, get stronger just like your muscles if you increase resistance, but you need to be careful about the pace you're going at or you’ll get injuries that will force you to spend months on rehabbing, instead of building skills and getting stronger.
PS: yes, I've had a lot of injuries 😂 But it's been many years since I had a serious one because I follow the steps above. I hope you find it useful :-)
@@techstacker5361 wooow! Highly appreciate you wrote such a complete answer. I have somehow been following some of what you suggest intuitively but it's good to have it properly organised and explained. I believe connective tissue recovery might be overlooked as I've spent lots of time reading about calisthenics and weightlifting and unless you explicitly look for it, you don't really come across this topic and I thing one should. To make a parallel, if you read about driving you will come across things like "don't do this or that or you'll wear out the clutch prematurely", but somehow this connective and nervous system issues don't get pointed at enough.
Thanks again!
I am injured from fighting (got my wrist bent) how do I recover it?
@@techstacker5361 Thanks for the comment dude
I trained feet together one arm push ups for 7 years for both arms now and I bench double bodyweight in 5 months of bench press training, weighing in at a chubby 106 kilo bodyweight.
Which means I am huge basically.
Trick for one arm push ups, do your negatives slow and controlled. Go to failure on the weaker arm. Match the reps of that arm with your stronger arm (don't do more reps for any given set than the weaker arm with the stronger arm).
I can do 34-36 reps per arm. Love this book. Made me strong in ways I never imagined possible.
My lazy ass only trains push ups, squats and curls though, and straight punches for 500 reps. I can do like 7 strict pull ups. Gotta make a time commitment for pull ups.
Pros and cons is a great title for a prison fitness book. I call dibs
That's awesome! I love it! Genius!!!!
Woah! That’s cool
😂
This kind of workout, is not only physically effective, but psychologically empowering. The individual gains power over his own body via mental discipline. Excellent.
But here's the thing; when doing this kind of callisthenic w/o, when the body moves thru space, "all" of the body is recruited during the moves, hence far greater progress is made in body development.
This kind of stuff, in my opinion, is five times better than the usual gym stuff.
Thanks convict conditioning is my all time favorite bodyweight fitness book.
Can you make a review of the book "Overcoming the gravity" as well? Your recommendation for the book made me curious about it.
Is that good?
I just started CC this week. I went from sweating, swearing, and putting 110% into doing a single set of 25 wall push-ups, to being able to do a set of 50 three times. If not for this book, I would have followed this routine until god knows how long: Get motivated to work out. Do a pushup or two. Maybe three if I'm feeling like a big tough guy. Hurt my shoulders and wrists. Get discouraged, feel hopeless, engage in self pity. Give up. I can do about 7 normal push-ups without pain now. It's not much, but I'm not gonna pretend like this isn't progress.
The hardest part about following the regimen is having the humility to go through each step with a tempered ego. After all, if I'm really so great that the regimen isn't necessary to follow, I wouldn't have cracked open the book in the first place. So I should shut up, keep my head down, be grateful for the opportunity to be healthy enough to exercise, and JUST DO IT.
Could you tell me how your weekly workout plan looks like following this book
Keep up the hard work ! You motivated me to try it !
1 set of 25 to 3 sets of 50 in one week is crazy progression. I am guessing this is your body waking up and remembering stuff. I am sure, one year later, you have realised that the next steps will see a much slower progression. I got to the progression standard for lvl 6 (diamond/close grip) pushups before I stopped training, and I remember trying the level 7 stuff, and it was...not easy!
Ironically, I came across this book while in prison. Obviously I'm in the free world now, but I enjoyed the contents of it so much that I decided to buy it to follow the progressions. Just got it in the mail last week. Here's to my new journey.
Good luck on your life dude
Glad you're out homie. Keep grinding 💪🏻
It's good to see how you wanna get stronger and I don't see any toxic replies in here but since you didn't mention I am not sure if you were a guest in the prison
Hey man! Glad you’re out and on this new journey. Here’s to you man! :)
@@jacksterling9258 Thanks bro!
First book I ever read on fitness, loved it and worked from it.
Thanks for mentioning the book in your other video. Read it, made a brand new workout routine for myself after years of inactivity and after 1 week already feeling results. Wouldn't have read it without your mention. Thanks!
Professionals should do reviews like this so no one is using possible misinformation from a book. The fact that he made a video reviewing any book is not only important but of monumental importance. Thank you for the video.
Being doing it for 5 years, great program
Yep I hear you. This book is a great base program. You don't need much else . Just pair it with the second book and you are golden.
@@alexg7669 Veterano program plus shotgun muscles from Convict Conditioning 2. Done.
@@j.westbestoftherest9102 haha so many times I've got funny looks just hanging off park equipment practicing my hangs.
@@j.westbestoftherest9102 Been doing Veterano for a few years now, one day a week is perfect. Added dips, finger push ups, and I still like to do Aussie/Horizontal pull ups. Stay strong.
results ?
I'm a chap who will be 50 this year, and I bought this book on the recommendation of my wife :-). Looking forward to getting into the exercises!
What do you think about it so far?
New to your channel and thank you for introducing me to this awesome book
The real deal for "complete beginners" and the only one I found so far.
I haven't read the book yet. I caught onto this from Amazon Prime tv. They have free Convict Conditioning videos on the pushup, bridge, core and squat. I love it! Just started this week. The excercises are filmed at Alcatraz. My girlfriends laugh at me but I'm determined to build my core as I've dealt with debilitating lower back pain most my life. I'm convinced it's due mainly to me neglecting my core. I am now implementing this in to my daily routine along with yoga.
i am just starting now as well, i am awful at it, but my back does feel better
Hows the back feeling now dude?
@@SteveWKk thx for asking, i still cannot do bridges, i had a relapse as my back made a weird "ca-thunk" while jumping rope. so i have had to take it slow
You have multiple girlfriends? Sigh, I need to work out more.
@@FringeWizard2 🤣.
Literally last week I checked your channel to see if you had reviewed the book. Thanks for giving your thoughts
Btw, I can really recommend the second book. I read all 4 books now, and the free Q&A pdf. The second book adds some exercises beyond the original Big Six (exercises), adding things like flags, neck and calf raises, still mainly focus on muscle building over the gymnastics incorporated in the modern calisthenics. It also dives deeper in other topics like diet, rest, stretching etc. (Then he also wrote a book on explosive calisthenics, and one on building nervous strength (so no muscle mass) vs muscle mass. This last one will have you looking more like a Bruce Lee and less like an Mr Universe. All will benefit your work out / body wisdom.
I trained Convict Conditioning programs and felt that the rep ranges are too high and sets are not enough. In my experience, CC results in too much fatigue then it's hard to train frequently.
I turned into my own program from about 2 years ago and half a year ago I turned into my latest program using 3-10 reps X 4 sets, 3 days on 1 day off, basically the Big 6 types of move from CC but using some other specofic moves instead.
Now I'm gaining strength and muscle much faster than before, training volume added up to 16 sets of strength in total on each training day (2 muscle groups, 2 exercises for each group, 4 sets for each exercise), and plus 30-60 minutes parkour or explosive practice in advance.
So far, I think the most important key to progress is "total training volume in a period of time", so I don't go into deep fatigue now, instead I train more frequently with higher difficulty / load, more sets and less reps.
Great review! I just got the book and will be starting the programs soon after working out with weights (barbells and dumbbells in the past). I think it's important to keep the "convict" part in mind - I'd imagine possible shoulder injuries when doing handstand pushups are the last thing in mind when you are dealing with possible dangerous inmates in the yard
Any updates?
The book is wonderful and you will get amazing results. I was introduced to it by a Hungarian Special Forces along with Pavel and his kettlebell books. Once I stopped lifting weights and doing body weight and kettlebell I got into the best shape of my life and I have been in pretty good shape. I recommended Convict Conditioning to a man who suffered from gout really bad and overtime he got a lot better.
Yep, I absolutely believe that!
Unexpected book to read and actually physically use. Basic exercises are forgotten, I know I did 🤦♂️, but best take away is joint/tendon growth/recovery. I need this more now since being 53 and a climber for 7 years. 🙏👍
Thank you for the very objective and complete review. 👊
Once you get to the ''extreme exercise'' levels I THINK it's important to keep in mind the book is advertised as an ''inmate's fitness training system'' and more to the point:What else they gonna do in prison besides 50 Pistol Squats and another 50 One Arm Handstand Push Ups?
I'll maybe surprise you. One arm handstand push ups isn't possible
This book is a commercial shit
@@salovamrani2084 It's done against the wall. Super challenging, yet possible: /watch?v=4DEQhjiaNL4
You haven't read the book, so why diss it? It just makes you look silly.
@@epictetus9221 maybe you haven't read it? I've read the whole book and it clearly shows this exercise, the guy is straight like a string. what is shown in the video you cited is not push-ups, these are handicapped push-ups during a cramp plus climbing legs. what these guys showed is stupid shit that can't be called an exercise.
You can watch this
ruclips.net/video/hYnmRO37SRQ/видео.html
@@salovamrani2084 they are possible if you put your mind to it you just cant do it because your havent surpassed your mental barrier encouraging you to be able to do it
Hey Ryan love your work, thanks from México City!
The sections according to me are based on the different muscle groups. And they align somewhat with the regular gym workouts. This way those who are familiar can relate to it.
Push-ups - Chest/Tricep
Pull-ups - Back/Bicep
Squats - lower body
Leg raises - Core
Back bridges - Lower back
HSPUs - Shoulders
So you see shoulders are covered only in that HSPUs section.
Well, shoulders are hit during pullups (rear delts), pushups (front delts) and the HSPU covers all three heads. Plus, bridging also hit the shoulders. It doesn't hit the side delt much but you still get some.
It works. I produced a 4 sheet table of all exercises, reps and sets and I never have been the biggest, strongest and leanest in my life. 5 ⭐
@Striker885 any chance you’d share the document? I read the book a bit ago , can’t reread now for reasons not mentioning, but I’m looking for a summary of steps I can follow to a T. Let me know. Id use it in good faith and with gratitude for your contribution to my health
Paul Wade himself has stated that the possible progressions for these exercises is nearly unlimited (at least a lot more than the book itself shows) and refers to them as "hidden steps", so what you did with the Pistol Squat is something he would undoubtedly chuckle about and say "Yeah, this guy gets it. Good job, kid!"
Great review! Convict Conditioning was one of the first fitness stuff I readed, my program is quite different today but it was a good source of insights about bodyweight training as a beginner. Well also I know how to deal with fitness in prison now, just in case lol
You better believe it. Outstanding book.!!!!!!!
This book really changed my life. I used to get these unnatural pains (like shin splints) in my arms while doing bicep curls with weights. I switched to all-bodyweight with this book and never looked back. The way it is laid out is super easy to follow for people who want to just cut through the BS and follow a simple guide.
I've been using its program since lockdown started. Seems to work well.
It's waaaay to slow.
@@trevbarlow9719 What do you like instead?
@@Afgnwrlrd either a grind-style workout from Red Delta project (customizable) or even the reddit recommended routine. The latter has too many different lifts, IMO, but still much quicker than CC
Thumbed up for Con Air. LOL.
Amazon has another book by Paul Wade: C-Mass Calisthenics Mass: How to Maximize Muscle Growth Using Bodyweight-Only Training.
i just found out about the book last week. the real bang for your buck when it comes to this book is the anecdotes paul wade provides. like the stuff he says about people who developed brute strength through calisthenics has a lot of "big if true" energy. so many lifters complain about joint pain, it would be nice to develop muscle never having that. he makes it sound like muscle developed from calisthenics is a lot more durable and long lasting. idk, i found the storytelling really good, if not hypermasculine
@Feldgrau Fox good luck! i started 3 weeks ago and today is my 10th consecutive day. already seeing results with these simple movements
@@SasserReturns did you train everyday?
@@junichiroyamashita at the time of posting that, yes. i trained every day for 10 straight days. the streak was actually 22 days long before i broke it
@@SasserReturns did it give results? Or was it counterproductive.
@@junichiroyamashita i got results, but it's inconclusive whether or not i could have taken rest days at the time and gotten the same results. note that i was definitely a beginner to training consistently. i would just say that if you're up to it, you should work out. i just wouldn't go more than 4 days without working out, because a break that long has made me feel significant enough deficits in performance
Hey man,
Very good review on this book. I forgot that I had this book and just getting into it again and can't wait to incorporate it again. And I agree with you about handstand situation lol. Have a good one 👌
Agreed. It works, for sure, but some progressions and such are probably unrealistic for most people. For example, I’m pretty strong and worked up to the handstand push-ups, that was good enough.
Great review, Ryan.
Great to also see you back...... Hat-less, my friend💪😎 ha. ,🤔
The book review was great, and on the topic of reviews could you review the books of the Red Delta Project, been reading his book “ Smart Bodyweight Training “ and man is it good. He also made a book about isometrics and it looks very interesting.
HYPE GOD I haven't read any of Matt's books yet but I'll check them out. Thanks for the recommendation!
Minus The Gym dudes content is amazing and his motto “ Be fit live free “ is just an amazing mantra everyone should do.
@@brainymeathead9206 by name hype god by nature. :)
I own most of his books, fitness independence is a great read for beginners and grind style calisthenics is also great. Smart bodyweight training is very interesting
I have all of his books - he is one of the best for growth with health & fitness bc he is always preaching an effective diet should REDUCE stress not induce it - the same with exercise routines and all kind of movements.
Matt is a really great guy! =)
Cool review, man. I also quit on the uneven basketball pistol squat. However, I came back to it later and realized it really improved my hip and leg strength. The move made my knees feel unbreakable. I now think the uneven squat is a move worth training aside from achieving the pistol squat.
@a wHey dude. The uneven squat is step 7 in Convict Conditioning 1. It's great for strengthening the knees. Just make sure to take your time with it and build up to it with close squats. Don't rush it.
So I started this program around 9 years ago and was blown away by how functionally strong I became. I didn't test it on bench press or any crap like that, but I did have to move around a year into the program and I found myself carrying furniture that I normally would have tried to do with a second person. Unfortunately, during that move, I broke open a hernia I was unaware I had (from working in crawl spaces and attics, not from the routine) and I stopped the program shortly afterwards.
Fast forward to today, after a cancer surgery and finally getting the hernia fixed after 9 years, I'm a month into the program and feeling fantastic about it. My question to anyone in the know that might be reading this comment, I'm 53 and I've lost 35 pounds in the last 6 months. My main focus is on Convict Conditioning, but I am vain and single so I'm throwing in some weight work to improve those useless, vanity cuts on my physique. My question is, will incorporating dumbbells and some Universal machines impede my free weight work out "growth" (it's relatively low impact, compared to the Convict routine) or will they come together in perfect harmony, side by side on my piano of life (I'm old, sue me)? I didn't start from scratch, so I'm into the second progression of each movement, abd I feel like my joints and ligaments are adapting quite nicely to the combination of workouts, but I'm looking for feedback.
I’d say if you want to burn off a little bit weight or notice a difference and want to add a dumbbells, I would go with the low weight high rep. I think that is why they add such high rep that need endurance, but I wish you luck on your workouts. God bless you and I hope you have a good rest of your day
Ho letto il libro e mi trovo d'accordo su quanto affermato
Mi colpisce il fatto che non vi sia una parte dedicata stretching vista anche la flessibilità richiesta da alcuni esercizi
Nice one arm push-ups. I achieved pistols, but never could really do step 8 of the one-arm push-up sequence. I agree you have to modify and adjust some of the steps, but overall the program worked for me.
good review. i'm glad i bought complete calisthenics, i want to be able to do the gymnastic moves.
My main issue with the book is that Step 1 of the Squat progression is likely more dangerous for a beginner than Step 2. Specifically, the balance required to shoulder stand squat and the level of upper-body and core strength required to do it correctly with good form is way beyond beginner level, IMO. I gave it a skip to Step 2 and would recommend others to do the same. Literally the book has the disclaimer that not doing it correctly will put pressure (read: injure) your neck but what beginner is going to be able to do that? lol.
I did the step 1 of the squats against a wall. I couldn’t do them correctly without my core and hands suffering. And understanding that this was more of a leg chain workout, doing them against the wall was a fair approach.
I agree. The step 1 of the squat progression is the red flag for me. The mindset behind the book is still quite cool.
Convict Conditioning by Paul Wade taught me how to do progressive bodyweight training.
Those who train with weights only never understand that bodyweight training can be progressive.
They belive that if you do pushups, you have to do them with just the load you do them in their basic form.
They don't think of single arm pushups, and the progression towards that. So they think bodyweight training is endurance training.
Paul Wades book teaches you how to really train with bodyweight.
But when you know the principles, you can do it your own way.
I, for example, do most of my training in gymnastic rings. Thats gives me even more opportunities to make it progressive.
So, yes read the book, even if you won't do exactly what it tells you!
Book is awesome, I followed quiet some time but later I got 'Get Strong' by same author which I put in better place. It really a great help for beginner.
Get Strong was not written by Paul Wade
Thanks for the info my friend! I'll have to check the book out! I personally haven't ever heard of it before but am always looking to learn! Thanks again!
Hope you enjoy it!
Also feet together for the one handed push up. The book specifically speaks about this. Its important to read and follow directions. You may have a different perspective if you read the book again and takes some notes
Recently started reading the book. So for works great for me!
I love this program and i always return to it. With modifications though. But the whole 6 day regimen and the 6 main movements is quite genious i think
This is a good review. The 10 steps are a framework, but options to progress and regress between those take some research, instinct and creativity like Ryan demonstrated.
Totally agree with your review
great book, works like a charm
Its a bomb program. I trained One arm push up (feet together) for 3-4 years everyday. First set is maxed out. Then sub sequent sets throughout the Day, staying far away from failure or even fatigue...
While obviously my form is only as good as seen in the DVDs....
I got to 45 reps each arm NON STOP before I ever joined a gym. Slow eccentric and concentrics....
I benched 170 kilos the first day I ever joined a gym. At 97 kilo bodyweight. Still couldn't do any One arm pull up though, I was doing sets of 25 reps of neck to bar pull ups.....
After 3 months of heavy benching I got to a 200 kilo bench, power lifting form.
People thought I was doing gym for a long time....
Whereas all I ever did was easy sets of OAPU everyday and occasionally (twice a week) a set till failure. Heavy curls and heavy unilateral upright rows. That's it. Took me 30 minutes a day. Match the reps of your stronger arm with that of the reps of your weaker arm. To eradicate muscle imbalances.
Its life changing and very much adviced.
I never count reps I only focus on blood flow if I feel I got my blood flowing good that's enough and I resume doing more as soon as I start to feel cold or blood slowing down again and end up doing a lot of exercise all throughout the day and night (I am insomniac).
Does it help you build up stronger legs?
@@brucebanner3566 Sorry brother. 😅😅 Didn't do any pistols.
However I can do 200 reps of atg bodyweight squats before failure, non stop, no resting while standing, not even for a second.
And I got HUGE FUCKING LEGS BRO.
Here is a more practical advice I would like to impart on you with bodyweight training, not that one arm push ups are bad in ANYWAY AT ALL. Infact they are the best thing in the whole exercise world.
If you are trying to get jacked with lean dense muscle tissue with calisthenics, focus on this instead.
Keep working towards 200 non stop (my kinda non stop which I already explained) full rom push ups, 200 non stop full rom squats, and 50 non stop full rom pull ups, keep eating in a 10 percent caloric surplus while you are at it....
When you can do all this, it means whatever bodyweight you are, it is mostly muscle and very little bodyfat, which means you will be muscular with optimal body composition as well as having optimal endurance and cardio.
Then, while you can do it, keep eating more to get your bodyweight up while maintaining these max numbers.
These max rep numbers ensure you have elite level pressing and pulling and squatting strength, I shit you not, because all the guys I have seen that can do it all bench double bodyweight, all of them are ultra jacked as well.
Now imagine having elite relative strength and supreme body composition while youbare 250lbs or heavier???? Yeah, just the act of getting heavier keeps your relative strength AND YOUR ABSOLUTE STRENGTH GOING UP.
Absolute strength the key determiner of hypertrophy.
@@mayukhsen8195 can u pass instagram?
@@mayukhsen8195 Hi man! Did you manage to gain a lot of muscle while doing this? I've always been told that doing endurance training doesn't give you any muscle, it just makes you more defined.
I don't understand, you do 200 reps at once and then throughout the day you do eccentric and concentric right? And the tempo during the descent and ascent you are at how many seconds?
First build strenght body with CC 1 and after doing this go for skills with it :) this is how i do ! Always 2-3 sets with intensity reps and set
Since I'm following the CC program I'll add my few words on it and book itself. The style, you may like or not, but IMHO it gets pretentious when it comes to all that convict narrative and religious about body weight training, although some things may have been changed in translation (I have non-english edition). Sometimes it gets inconsistent, as it tries to promote perfect form and full range of motion only to give half reps as next progressions. Generally i find this program "fine", I'm making progressions, but at the same time i know i could make them faster with better program. Had to make some adjustments for different reasons.
My actual criticism of the program:
- Squat path: shoulder-stand squat as a first exercise is IMHO a joke, i get the point to get the movement mechanics with low load, but shoulder-stand is not a rookie position
- Handstand push-up path: I don't find headstand as it's presented safe to get used to with inverted position, especially if you haven't build up enough strength yet. Neck is not used to support that kind of weight, so risk/benefit ratio is not good here. Sirsasana is much safer position to get used to with inverted position.
- half reps, are IMHO waste of time.
- It's suggesting 2-3 series and "saving reps for next training", i gave it a try, but the changed to doing 6 series of each, as at least for me it gives much better results in terms of being able to do more reps on next session.
Honestly, when it comes to calisthenics I don't care about levers or human flags. I just want to be strong but don't ever intend on progressing onto handstands etc.
Maybe this book suits my needs more
Simon Riley yeah, based on what you said it sounds right up your alley
Same. I've always been more into the basics done well. I have focused on getting better at them over time and working toward mastery. My personal opinion... for this just looking to be healthy, fit, and have an awesome physique, focusing on basics should be the primary goal. Way too many are too quick to dismiss them, rush their progressions, and then try to jump into some fancy stuff.
I dig the reviews !
I love this book alone for the motivation aspect of doing simple bodyweight movements and losing this mindset "i need many differen exercises" hell no I CAN but I don't need to!
Also I like to re-read from time to time the first few pages of each moves. He desrcibes those movements very cool like "sixpack of hell" :D
and the 2nd book is also very good (for me) bc of the forearm section. Towel hang are a must have for me now! Love it! =)
When I do pistol squats I too always fall over so I hold a 8kg dumbbell out in front of me as a counterbalance but then one could argue I'm not just lifting my weight but it works for me
I started doing pistol squats a few weeks ago with some extra weight and made much better progress that way.
The fact that he is anonymous makes me even more eager to read the book.
Any opinions on partial reps' motion workouts promoted by the superb Jesse Pawlak?
The one handed hand stand push up is the hardest of all the steps. Thats why its the last exercise in the book. The rep ranges are not high or difficult if you follow the book to the fullest. If you read the assisted one legged squat with the basketball in the book, it says you can use assistance if you find it to difficult, a chair or coffee table etc to assist with the difficulty. This book is not just for beginners, its good for any athlete on the planet regardless of level. The high rep range he speaks about is needed IF YOU FOLLOW THE BOOKS DIRECTIONS. The one arm hand stand push up is not extreme If you follow directions. This book has heavily to do with gymnastics its a solid base for any kind of workout. This book can become completely unsafe if you do not follow the book to its final measures. In order to do free hand standing pushup you should begin with the steps wade created. All the information you need for a base in gymnastics is in this book. BOTTOM LINE IS READ THE BOOK AND FOLLOW SIMPLE DIRECTIONS TO A T!!!
Lol, why would someone want to do that many reps? Because they can, to build muscle and endurance. If people are turned off by stuff in the book they aren’t paying attention to what the book is for. Also you mention getting shoulder injuries. Part of the book is about not getting injured and building bulletproof joints. People get injured when their form is off. If you keep a good strong form you will not get injured.
Good advice 👍
Thank you! 😀
Hey, Ryan, You did it again: AN AWESOME VIDEO!!! It's great to see that you are very objective about this book. Personally, I don't follow it verbatim. I had to adapt some of the progressions, as Al Kavadlo point out about his opinion on the book. Could you please make a video review on Matt Furey's Combat Conditioning? Thanks for sharing! Best Regards 😊
Eduardo Rodriguez thanks! I haven’t read Combat Conditioning but I’ve seen others recommending it. I’ll check it out.
6:10 you should do a review on Mike Tyson's workouts. He didn't use weights (apart from shrugs). He did 500 pushups, 500 crunches, 500 dips, 500 shrugs, 500 squats PER DAY. Plus hours on the heavy bag. Either 10 rounds of 50 or 5 rounds of 100.
I've read somewhere that he was not natural that's why he can handle such high volume...
Great review but as you found out you do what you have to for you. Improvise, adapt and overcome
I bought the book complete calisthenics. It's good but later I found overcoming gravity and wished I would've purchased that. I will some day.
Can you also do a review on Complete Calisthenics by Ashley Kalym? I think it's one of the, as the title says, complete books when it comes to calisthenics and the way to progress from basic strength to advanced skills. Interested in hearing what's your opinion!
Cornelius Boon I haven’t used that book yet but I’ll check it out. Thanks!
How about "Combat Conditioning" by Matt Furey?
Some of your comments indicate you didn't actually read the whole book
No. of reps if one is in jail has got to be an area of focus that we don't have the same appetite for out here in the "free" world.
Yeah. Have you seen Charlie Bronson (the prisoner from UK) fitness book? He did +1000 push ups a day
Agreed!
Great video!!!
Can you also make a review of the book overcoming gravity?
The reason for handstand pushups, besides the obvious (targeting shoulders and upper pecks) is to grow the traps.
Traps and neck are "go muscles". The program is all about "go muscles" as opposed to "show muscles".
Its Convict Conditioning. Not Beach Body.
Do you think it's a good idea to do a workout which contains one exercises for each chest, back, legs and core, while alternating on days, for example pullups and push ups on day A and rows and dips on day B?
Nope
Thank you
Thanks for the honest review! :)
The thing that put me off about Paul Wade was that I can't see what he looks like! The program looked like it made sense to me but it would be nice to see what progress he has made (assuming he does his own program lol)
Also good to see you using an old working iPad instead of just getting a new one! :D
So what I get out of this video is I need to do one arm hand stand push ups. I'm already injured as can be anyways from martial arts lol, have to work out constantly to keep myself in the delirium state, otherwise the pain comes back.
Okay, so you say you didn't follow it verbatim, and give the example of pistol progressions
What about the only two exercises per day thing?
I'm curious if you can actually devote that little time to strengthening, and still actually progress
kind of looking at convict conditioning versus your own program, which of course is full body 3 times a week
There are many different regimes for different levels in the book. read it!
@@epictetus9221 if I hadn't read it, I wouldn't know about the two exercises two times a week for the beginning level
@@artwebb6939 You can pick whatever level suits for you.
@@epictetus9221 i understand that
That wasn't my question
Tbh for lack of a response I've moved on
This question was posted a long time ago
@@artwebb6939 Sure. Hope you're still training!
I am liking this book a lot, mainly on ebook. I do push-pull-legs-hinge and additionally cardia (a Greek word for cardio). But thanks to the convicts I also do burpees workout if and by all means I need a workout in. Thanks for the commentary. But thanks to convicts too kindly interviewed and made this book a reality. Shouts to you and the author.
Ryan, I have a small room in my apartment. If you had to pick between the parallettes or dip bars, which would you pick? Or is it important to have both?
L C it depends on your goals. If you fancy doing handstands on your pbars soon then I’d go with parallettes because they’re low to the ground and much safer for being inverted. But if handstands aren’t on your agenda any time soon, or you absolutely must do dips, then go for the dip station. A lot of the exercises cross over between the two pieces of equipment but I just do not recommend doing handstands on dip stations. Too risky!
LC forgot to mention - one other upside of the dip station is body weight rows (horizontal pulls from underneath) so that’s another advantage over parallettes. But again, it all comes down to your current training goals. End goal should be to have both tho (you can get collapsible dip stations so your small apartment isn’t an issue)
I'm now trying the Solitary Confinement Routine because I kind of want a bit more volume. I'm wondering what opinions can be on this system with any kind of training style? (As in Day 1 and 4 are pills and squats, Day 2 and 5 are horizontal pushes and abs, Day 3 and 6 are vertical push and hinge)
When I was in fire camp.( prison program ) I met a guy that was a machine. every morning after breakfast he would do a burpee-lunge routine around the race track. He said that gave him core strength and endurance. I did it and it was really helpful but what are your thoughts on it my routine was every other day Monday Wednesday Friday
It really bloody works. It's the only thing that works for me. But I do top half 1 day so . Pull ups press up nd shoulders
Next day bottom half. Bottom of back squats nd leg raises.
Nd am only on push ups on my knees
Me myself started with this book and I achieved pretty good results. This book gives you system that is easy to understand and to change some of training for your needs, so the book is great.
As to Paul Wade - I have a very strong suspicion that "he" is just a fiction character, maybe even the group of authors are standing behind this name, maybe they just wanted to tell us an interesting story along with introducing us to calisthenics. Anyway, whoever it was, they did it almost perfectly, if you ask me
Great book review, thanks! Thoughts on the 2010 book "YOU ARE YOUR OWN GYM" by Mark Lauren? I think it is an interesting read, useful resource. As a whole-food vegan since '90, his nutrition advice was NOT well received, but otherwise it's a good book.
Because combining hand stand and regular push-ups wouldn’t really work in his system of progression. Yes they’re both push, but they “act” differently enough that they need their own focus.
Great review, Ryan. Thanks for the video. I've got Overcoming Gravity too and it's amazing. Hope you share your thoughts about it anytime too.
Are you supposed to start at step 1 wall pushes even if you can do proper push ups? How long are you supposed to spend at easier stages?
He says free standing hspu come after you gain the strength to do it against a wall, says it takes strength as much as balance to start free standing
Hi Ryan! I would like to take a question please. can I do only these four exercises that appears in the 1:48 image of the video ?? do only series and repetitions that I can handle complementing if I can with walking / running? thanks in advance!
Yes, absolutely. That’s exactly how I got started. This video explains the routine ruclips.net/video/ay15dc2cvm0/видео.html and there’s also a link in that video to the no equipment version of it that includes back bridges.
@@MinusTheGym Thank you Very Much!
Which book did you prefer Convict Conditioning or Overcoming Gravity? I train at a gym but try to incorporate BW stuff as much as I can. thanks!
so for the book, when it shows the pushup series progression chart (steps 1-10) are we doing all those steps 1-10 in one full workout session ?
No, definitely not. You focus on the current step you’re on only until you can hit the recommended target reps, then you advance to the next progression for that movement. So your workout might be one push up progression, one squat progression, one bridge progression (multiple sets of each, of course). I hope that makes sense.
@@MinusTheGym Bet bro. lm not home so l cant look at the book right now but when l am l will look at it go back to your comment to see lf l understand, any doubt’s l have l will reply here again. Thank you🙏
Any updates?
I had the same problem with pistol progression. Then I left the routine 😅
please can you recommend the best book for a beginner in clathenics
Hey MinusTheGym (sorry, I don't know your name :)), I know the question is probably a bit difficult to answer from a distance, but I can't get past step 3 of the push-up series in this book. I've been following the push-up, pull-up, and bridges series for about 8 to 10 months now and with steps 1 and 2 I made really quick progress, but as for the kneeling push-ups it seam's I'm totally stuck at a plateau. Do you have any advice or an idea about what I could possibly be doing wrong? Oh yeah, and I'm doing the workout 3x/week. Thanks in advance. - Sebastian
Do you recommend any book that will tell me what calisthenic exercises work what muscles so I can create a well balanced workout regimen?