F.A.Q. By Paul Wade

13
CONVICT CONDITIONING: THE SUPER F.A.Q.
In the Convict Conditioning system, there’s only one exception to this “exhausting and infrequent”
rule—consolidation training. If (despite hard training and “putting strength in the bank”)
you find you move up to a nearly impossible step, consolidation work involves frequent, daily,
low-rep, non-exhausting attempts at the movement. This is an advanced prison strategy that
builds confidence, co-ordination, and trains the nervous system to leap the chasm and get a handle
on the new feat without burning out the muscles. Unfortunately—as with any nervous adaptation—improvement
happens quickly, and as a result the Law of Diminishing Returns is amplified.
For this reason, inmates tend to only use consolidation for short bursts, to get the most out
of it.
Inevitably, some people have likened the consolidation work used in jails to the grease the
groove approach employed by Hardstyle practitioners. But (as far as I can see) the two are different,
in both motive and application. Whereas grease the groove is a long-term strength methodology
based on training strength as a skill, consolidation work is a short-term tactic designed to
allow an athlete to “feel out” an intimidating or unusual bodyweight technique. Both methods are
built on neurological/psychological adaptation, but GTG is potentially forever, while consolidation
training is just a sneaky ploy to allow an athlete to “unlock” a new, advanced technique as
quickly as possible, so that they can stash it in their training arsenal and get back to the business
of building muscle. Another difference is that GTG can be employed in a variety of rep ranges,
depending on your goals. Consolidation training, on the other hand, is only ever used for fairly
low reps—if you could already get lots of reps on a particular movement, you wouldn’t need to
consolidate. You’d just work it hard and stick to regular CC-style progression.
The bottom line: If you want to see a big jump in muscle size over the shortest time possible, you
need to fatigue your muscles over a brief period, and then rest and grow. There’s no other way.
This is true whether you are using bodyweight training, barbells and dumbbells, high-tech
machines or sandbags. It doesn’t make any difference. Daily consolidation work on a tricky technique
can help train the nervous system, but it won’t make you any bigger and it has a fast rate of
diminishing returns, so use it sparingly.
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