For about two months now, I have been practising yoga only as my form of exercise (mainly Ashtanga Vinyasa). Thankfully, my practice has improved but I have been getting antsy recently to get back to some strength training. So I picked up “Convict Conditioning” by Paul ‘Coach’ Wade and took a read. In general, I like his ideas (although some say convicts don’t really work out like this, but hey, that’s called ‘branding’!).
I have always been attracted to calisthenics, mainly because I feel they will complement my yoga practice. Wade’s “Convict Conditioning” follows this mould, featuring six exercises and a programming progression (some of which I do not entirely agree with). Technique and tempo are emphasised in the programming and hopefully those who choose to put the conditioning programme into practice will take heed. The “Big Six” are:
- Push Ups
- Squats
- Pull Ups
- Bridge
- Hanging Leg Raises
- Handstand Push Ups
Of course, the exercises start pretty easy (e.g. squats begins at shoulder stand squats) and then progressively gets difficult (squats ends with one-leg squats / pistol squats). It looks pretty challenging but there are lots of good reviews and results reported online, so I will give this a go, at least until December (in addition to my usual yoga practice).
I wonder if I will be able to do one-hand handstand push ups and one-arm pull ups by the end of this year. Wish me luck!
So have you tried convict conditioning?