F.A.Q. By Paul Wade

31
CONVICT CONDITIONING: THE SUPER F.A.Q.
What are your thoughts on gymnastics
training?
I have a huge amount of respect for gymnasts and their art-form. I’ve heard several people use
mention Convict Conditioning in the same breath as gymnastics, but the kind of progressive calisthenics
I learned while inside prison is very different from gymnastics. Both disciplines are derived
from a larger, more ancient corpus of bodyweight techniques, but they are built around different
goals. Progressive calisthenics is a stripped-down solo training method designed to build as much
raw power and muscle as possible, using increasingly difficult compound bodyweight techniques.
Gymnastics, on the other hand, is a regulated sport where athletes are judged on the presentation
and difficulty of a series of bodily movements.
These different purposes result in substantially different training approaches. Progressive calisthenics
is about building maximum strength and performance through developing the muscles and
their tendons. Although gymnasts are often muscular and are ferociously strong, strength is not
the end-goal of a gymnast; execution of perfect movements is what it’s all about. Likewise, lots of
bulk is unnecessary in gymnastics, and gymnasts tend to work their nervous systems rather than
zoning in on the muscular system per se.
Prison strength trainees tend to favor relatively low skill movements. They would rather devote
their energy to building monstrous muscle and power, rather than drain that energy worrying
about factors like balance, grace, or flexibility. The handstand pushup is a good example. Most
prison athletes like to find a wall (or ideally, a corner) to train in, to help eliminate the balance factor.
Gymnasts are the opposite; they need to learn this movement free, balanced, and in transition
from all positions. Although plyometrics and even isometrics are employed from time to time, the
majority of Convict Conditioning training should be performed at a smooth, regular speed. In
contrast, gymnastic movements vary widely from high speed, to slow, to static.
These are just a handful of basic differences, but I could list a lot more. Maybe the essential distinction
to remember is that gymnastics is a much more complex pursuit than progressive calisthenics.
Sporting gymnastics contains many sub-disciplines, from artistic gymnastics to rhythmic
work and acrobatics. It comprises hundreds of techniques. By contrast, Convict Conditioning is
about the basics; it’s built around just six types of movements. To perform to a high level in progressive
calisthenics, the most equipment you need is a softball, a basketball, some books and a
place to hang from. When physical culturists began formulating “modern” gymnastics in the seventeenth
century, they based the art around the vaulting horse—which in itself was a nod to the
bodyweight training of ancient warriors, who needed to fight from horseback. Since that time,
more and more apparatus events have been incorporated into gymnastics, including the parallel
bars, the balance beam, the horizontal bar, the rings, the uneven bars, and so on.
I’m not suggesting that one discipline is better than the other. I’m just pointing out some of the
differences between the two. I know as much as any man alive about prison bodyweight training,
but I’m not an expert on gymnastics and I don’t pretend to be. Luckily, the strength world is
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