Convict Conditioning - Paul Wade

150 OOBVICT OOBDITIOBIlfG
A six-pack from hell consists of:
• An incredibly powerful midsection-highly trained not just in the central abdomen, but in all
the muscles of the waist; the obliques, transversus, psoas, intercostals and serratus. A dynamite
midsection that actually makes 'the whole body stronger.
• A supremely functional, flexible waist and hips that add power not only to the spine, but
which can lift the legs up with incredible explosive force during jumping, kicking, climbing or
any other gymnastic or athletic motions.
• A stomach wall so thick and well-trained that it can fend off blows to the breadbasket-muscles
so strong that they will actually hurt an attacker to punch or kick!
• A lean gut that supports the internal organs so perfectly that even important functions like
respiration and digestion become permanently efficient and healthy.
• Thick, scarily well-developed abdominal muscles that look more like bricks on a building
than cute "fitness model" abs.
These are the qualities the convicts I know are looking for from their training. If you are only
interested in six little, square abs that look like they belong to a young boy or a swimmer, skip this
chapter and go back to the infomercials and guy's fitness magazines. If you want a six-pack from
hell, keep reading.
Crunches and Other
Modern Madness
If you really crave a midsection like the one I described above, the first thing you're going to
have to do is forget everything you've learned about modern abdominal training methods. It
might surprise you for example that the "ultimate" modern ab exercise-the one touted in all the
gyms and muscle magazines-was never intended to develop the stomach muscles at all. This
exercise is the crunch and all its variations;' the reverse crunch, the twisting crunch, the incline
crunch, etc.
Back before steroids, lifters all trained to develop six-packs from hell. They wanted thick,
strong, masculine waists. The old school strongmen had better abs than any modern bodybuilders,
but their whole waists were strong, and functional too. This ideal actually dates back to
ancient Greece-the athletes of the era all did lots of powerful twisting motions like javelin and
discus hurling, actions which built the oblique muscles on the side of the waist. The waists on classical
statues aren't waspish little things; look at them and you'll see a cool, stocky, muscular look
instead. More like a solid bull mastiff than a shivering greyhound.