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Recommendation for those looking to build serious functional strength and avoid injury: Convict Conditioning. Emphasis is on calisthenics (body weight training)

Recommendation for those looking to build serious functional strength and avoid injury: Convict Conditioning. Emphasis is on calisthenics (body weight training) not pumping iron. Can’t recommend it highly enough. https://www.dragondoor.com/convict-conditioning-downloadable-e-book/ https://www.dragondoor.com/convict-conditioning-downloadable...

txru 7y ago
Strongly agree with the body weight training, but also check out the bodyweightfitness subreddit [0] for good discussion and advice. They have a simple and concise starting routine [1] for people just starting out. There are also some mild critiques [2] of Convict Conditioning. It's very good for a very practical kind of strength, but you will likely not get big very fast, if that's what you're looking for. I've been doing it for two years almost continuously with no injuries. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/ https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/ [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommended_routine https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommend... [2] https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/program_reviews https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/program_r...
- mindgam3 7y ago
  Sure. My interest is primarily practical strength, and by that I mean "ability to move my own body through space in practical real world situations, as opposed to sheer brute force". The end state is more “jacked” than big. Looking jacked is certainly an ego boost, but the confidence that comes from being able to stunts like one arm pull-ups + pushups, wall walking etc is by far the biggest win for me. Not quite there on the pull-ups/pushups but getting real close after about a year of training, building on a decent base. I just think gymnastics is bad-ass in general. I’ll check out those critiques. I will say though that there is a real philosophy explained in convict conditioning about avoiding injury, proper form etc that I found extremely helpful after my first try at getting big in the gym. [edits: fixed typo, defined what I mean by "practical" to avoid offending gym rats who can crush me with their 500 pound deadlifts]
  - matwood 7y ago
    Bodyweight training is great (I often do it on rest days), but don't think that people pumping iron doing powerlifting are not 'practically' strong. When a person is dead lifting 500+ pounds or squatting 400+ they are strong anyway you slice it.
    - mindgam3 7y ago
      Seems a bit nitpicky to zero in on that one word, but okay, I added an edit. Strength is strength, I just tend to gravitate towards things that could help me in survival type situations.
      - phonypc 7y ago
        How do push-ups and pull-ups apply to survival situations?
        mindgam3 7y ago
        Lol. Skeptics out in force today. Have you ever had to hang from or climb something? Or maybe slip and fall off a ledge? The ability to pull your body weight up seems like it could come in reasonably handy in certain situations.
      - matwood 7y ago
        The reason I zeroed in on the word practical is that it is used as a way to put down people doing something different than you. Now you’ve used survival type situations as another way to put others down. Body weight things are great, but they have limits. The best results are going to come from a mix of body weight, power lifting, and conditioning. Any lifting program I have ever done included pull ups, dips, and pushups. Weighted if possible. Also, if survival is really the focus, BJJ should be first above all else :)
        mindgam3 7y ago
        Okay, that's a fair point and thanks for clarifying. To be clear, I'm not trying to put down all lifting - I agree with your point that best results come from a mix. My only problem with lifting culture is one particular subculture which emphasizes growth at all costs, steroids etc, which I find super dangerous and unhealthy. But I concede that I didn't make this clear with my original wording. Also agree about BJJ. Haven't tried it out yet but hope to start training soon.
- sridca 7y ago
  Keep in mind that r/bodyweightfitness is biased towards active population ... and sedentary population would do well to follow a high-rep program like Convict Conditioning. See https://old.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/atv610/im_surprised_this_is_not_featured_in_the_rr/#form-t1_eh405onmus https://old.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/atv610/i...
ohaideredevs 7y ago
I think Convict Conditioning is a joke compared to this site: http://beastskills.com http://beastskills.com Why? Because no one knows who the CC author is, and the model for many of the exercises is the guy from bestskills, who gives legit advice and has a well known background (gymnast). He also doesn't try to glorify bodweight exercises like CC does. Imo, CC is just ineffective - for example the towel method for a one-arm chin instead of just hanging weight on a belt. There is also nothing you will get from CC that you won't get from beastskills, with more explanations and variations.
- mindgam3 7y ago
  I mean, yeah, beastskills is legit for all the reasons you mention. But it seems like it should be possible to give a shout out to beast skills without needing to disparage CC - they’re clearly working together and share the same core principles on weight training. I can’t speak to effectiveness of towel method yet as I’ve just started it. But I did start out by adding a weight belt to pull-ups and that didn’t seem to work well after a while. I saw results when switching to the CC method, slowly working through the steps. Perhaps different methods work for different people.
  - ohaideredevs 7y ago
    Beastskills is a superior resource. CC is just a money-grabbing ploy, which is fine, but there is no reason to go with it. As far as adding weight not working for you - you are more likely not eating enough / not resting enough / don't have the right rep/set numbers, etc. The appeal of adding weight is that you can fully control progressive overload, as in, add tiny amounts of weight. Anyway, watch out for bicep tendinitis - first time in my life I had to stretch my biceps. Also, remember that it's a long journey, as in years (unless you weigh 120 lbs). Good luck!
    - mindgam3 7y ago
      Uh... if CC is a money grabbing ploy, they’re doing a terrible job of it. I have spent a total of 20 bucks for a book with a few years worth of training exercises. The ebook is available for free online with a minimal search. Same for CC 2. I’m down to hear specific critiques of CC, but accusing them of ripping people off is absurd. Everything else you say sounds reasonable. All the best on your journey, may the strongest strongman win, etc etc
sridca 7y ago
Greasing the groove is another technique to follow. https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/9zrpga/grease_the_groove_is_truly_a_miracle/ https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/9zrpga/g...
- mindgam3 7y ago
  Interesting. This goes against the philosophy of [working to failure + enough recovery] that I’ve been following so far. I’ll have to do some more research here.
  - sridca 7y ago
    Add in 48 hr fasting every week for added progress.
    - mindgam3 7y ago
      You've got to be kidding me. Fasting for two days + frequent strength workouts sounds like a 100% guaranteed recipe for catastrophically low blood sugar levels. I get hangry and stupid if I don't eat for a few hours.
      - sridca 7y ago
        I'm not. To achieve hypertrophy and strength what is needed at minimum is a sensible program combined with over-time calorie surplus. 48 hour fasting is not gonna suddenly change all that. If anything fasting increases growth hormones. In my experience it actually improves my performance (probably due to HGH increase and autophagy). Educate yourself on it instead of going by what "sounds like" or following conventional wisdom (such as "working to failure").
        sridca 7y ago
        https://idmprogram.com/difference-calorie-restriction-fasting-fasting-27/ https://idmprogram.com/difference-calorie-restriction-fastin... Lean mass % increased by 2.2% with fasting and only 0.5% with CRaP. In other words, fasting is 4 times better at preserving lean mass. So much of that old ‘fasting burns the muscle’.

txru 7y ago

Strongly agree with the body weight training, but also check out the bodyweightfitness subreddit [0] for good discussion and advice. They have a simple and concise starting routine [1] for people just starting out. There are also some mild critiques [2] of Convict Conditioning. It's very good for a very practical kind of strength, but you will likely not get big very fast, if that's what you're looking for. I've been doing it for two years almost continuously with no injuries. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/ https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/ [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommended_routine https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommend... [2] https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/program_reviews https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/program_r...

mindgam3 7y ago
Sure. My interest is primarily practical strength, and by that I mean "ability to move my own body through space in practical real world situations, as opposed to sheer brute force". The end state is more “jacked” than big. Looking jacked is certainly an ego boost, but the confidence that comes from being able to stunts like one arm pull-ups + pushups, wall walking etc is by far the biggest win for me. Not quite there on the pull-ups/pushups but getting real close after about a year of training, building on a decent base. I just think gymnastics is bad-ass in general. I’ll check out those critiques. I will say though that there is a real philosophy explained in convict conditioning about avoiding injury, proper form etc that I found extremely helpful after my first try at getting big in the gym. [edits: fixed typo, defined what I mean by "practical" to avoid offending gym rats who can crush me with their 500 pound deadlifts]
- matwood 7y ago
  Bodyweight training is great (I often do it on rest days), but don't think that people pumping iron doing powerlifting are not 'practically' strong. When a person is dead lifting 500+ pounds or squatting 400+ they are strong anyway you slice it.
  - mindgam3 7y ago
    Seems a bit nitpicky to zero in on that one word, but okay, I added an edit. Strength is strength, I just tend to gravitate towards things that could help me in survival type situations.
    - phonypc 7y ago
      How do push-ups and pull-ups apply to survival situations?
      - mindgam3 7y ago
        Lol. Skeptics out in force today. Have you ever had to hang from or climb something? Or maybe slip and fall off a ledge? The ability to pull your body weight up seems like it could come in reasonably handy in certain situations.
    - matwood 7y ago
      The reason I zeroed in on the word practical is that it is used as a way to put down people doing something different than you. Now you’ve used survival type situations as another way to put others down. Body weight things are great, but they have limits. The best results are going to come from a mix of body weight, power lifting, and conditioning. Any lifting program I have ever done included pull ups, dips, and pushups. Weighted if possible. Also, if survival is really the focus, BJJ should be first above all else :)
      - mindgam3 7y ago
        Okay, that's a fair point and thanks for clarifying. To be clear, I'm not trying to put down all lifting - I agree with your point that best results come from a mix. My only problem with lifting culture is one particular subculture which emphasizes growth at all costs, steroids etc, which I find super dangerous and unhealthy. But I concede that I didn't make this clear with my original wording. Also agree about BJJ. Haven't tried it out yet but hope to start training soon.
sridca 7y ago
Keep in mind that r/bodyweightfitness is biased towards active population ... and sedentary population would do well to follow a high-rep program like Convict Conditioning. See https://old.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/atv610/im_surprised_this_is_not_featured_in_the_rr/#form-t1_eh405onmus https://old.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/atv610/i...

ohaideredevs 7y ago

I think Convict Conditioning is a joke compared to this site: http://beastskills.com http://beastskills.com Why? Because no one knows who the CC author is, and the model for many of the exercises is the guy from bestskills, who gives legit advice and has a well known background (gymnast). He also doesn't try to glorify bodweight exercises like CC does. Imo, CC is just ineffective - for example the towel method for a one-arm chin instead of just hanging weight on a belt. There is also nothing you will get from CC that you won't get from beastskills, with more explanations and variations.

mindgam3 7y ago
I mean, yeah, beastskills is legit for all the reasons you mention. But it seems like it should be possible to give a shout out to beast skills without needing to disparage CC - they’re clearly working together and share the same core principles on weight training. I can’t speak to effectiveness of towel method yet as I’ve just started it. But I did start out by adding a weight belt to pull-ups and that didn’t seem to work well after a while. I saw results when switching to the CC method, slowly working through the steps. Perhaps different methods work for different people.
- ohaideredevs 7y ago
  Beastskills is a superior resource. CC is just a money-grabbing ploy, which is fine, but there is no reason to go with it. As far as adding weight not working for you - you are more likely not eating enough / not resting enough / don't have the right rep/set numbers, etc. The appeal of adding weight is that you can fully control progressive overload, as in, add tiny amounts of weight. Anyway, watch out for bicep tendinitis - first time in my life I had to stretch my biceps. Also, remember that it's a long journey, as in years (unless you weigh 120 lbs). Good luck!
  - mindgam3 7y ago
    Uh... if CC is a money grabbing ploy, they’re doing a terrible job of it. I have spent a total of 20 bucks for a book with a few years worth of training exercises. The ebook is available for free online with a minimal search. Same for CC 2. I’m down to hear specific critiques of CC, but accusing them of ripping people off is absurd. Everything else you say sounds reasonable. All the best on your journey, may the strongest strongman win, etc etc

sridca 7y ago

Greasing the groove is another technique to follow. https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/9zrpga/grease_the_groove_is_truly_a_miracle/ https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/9zrpga/g...

mindgam3 7y ago
Interesting. This goes against the philosophy of [working to failure + enough recovery] that I’ve been following so far. I’ll have to do some more research here.
- sridca 7y ago
  Add in 48 hr fasting every week for added progress.
  - mindgam3 7y ago
    You've got to be kidding me. Fasting for two days + frequent strength workouts sounds like a 100% guaranteed recipe for catastrophically low blood sugar levels. I get hangry and stupid if I don't eat for a few hours.
    - sridca 7y ago
      I'm not. To achieve hypertrophy and strength what is needed at minimum is a sensible program combined with over-time calorie surplus. 48 hour fasting is not gonna suddenly change all that. If anything fasting increases growth hormones. In my experience it actually improves my performance (probably due to HGH increase and autophagy). Educate yourself on it instead of going by what "sounds like" or following conventional wisdom (such as "working to failure").
      - sridca 7y ago
        https://idmprogram.com/difference-calorie-restriction-fasting-fasting-27/ https://idmprogram.com/difference-calorie-restriction-fastin... Lean mass % increased by 2.2% with fasting and only 0.5% with CRaP. In other words, fasting is 4 times better at preserving lean mass. So much of that old ‘fasting burns the muscle’.