Praise for Paul Wade’s Convict Conditioning 2
"Coach" Paul Wade has outdone himself. His first book Convict Conditioning is to my mind THE BEST book ever written on bodyweight conditioning. Hands down. Now, with the sequel Convict Conditioning 2, Coach Wade takes us even deeper into the subtle nuances of training with the ultimate resistance tool: our bodies.
In plain English, but with an amazing
understanding of anatomy, physiology, kinesiology and, go figure,
psychology, Coach Wade explains very simply how to work the smaller but
just as important areas of the body such as the hands and forearms, neck
and calves and obliques in serious functional ways.
His minimalist approach to exercise belies
the complexity of his system and the deep insight into exactly how the
body works and the best way to get from A to Z in the shortest time
possible.
I got the best advice on how to strengthen
the hard-to-reach extensors of the hand right away from this exercise
Master I have ever seen. It's so simple but so completely functional.
I can't believe no one else has thought of it yet. Just glad he figured it out for me.
Paul teaches us how to strengthen our
bodies with the simplest of movements, while at the same time balancing
our structures in the same way: simple exercises that work the whole
body.
And just as simply as he did with his first
book. His novel approach to stretching and mobility training is
brilliant and fresh as well as his take on recovery and healing from
injury. Sprinkled throughout the entire book are too-many-to-count
insights and advice from a man who has come to his knowledge the hard
way and knows exactly of what he speaks.
This book is, as was his first, an amazing
journey into the history of physical culture disguised as a book on
calisthenics. But the thing that Coach Wade does better than any before
him is his unbelievable progressions on EVERY EXERCISE and stretch! He
breaks things down and tells us EXACTLY how to proceed to get to
whatever level of strength and development we want. AND gives us the
exact metrics we need to know when to go to the next level.
Adding in completely practical and
immediately useful insights into nutrition and the mindset necessary to
deal not only with training but with life, makes this book a classic
that will stand the test of time.
"I’ve been lifting weights for over 50
years and have trained in the martial arts since 1965. I’ve read
voraciously on both subjects, and written dozens of magazine articles
and many books on the subjects. This book and Wade’s first, Convict Conditioning, are by far the most commonsense, information-packed, and result producing I’ve read. These books will truly change your life.
Paul Wade is a new and powerful voice in
the strength and fitness arena, one that is commonsense, inspiring, and
in your face. His approach to maximizing your body’s potential is not
the same old hackneyed material you find in every book and magazine
piece that pictures steroid-bloated models screaming as they curl
weights. Wade’s stuff has been proven effective by hard men who don’t
tolerate fluff. It will work for you, too—guaranteed.
As an ex-cop, I’ve gone mano-y-mano with ex-cons that had clearly trained as Paul Wade suggests in his two Convict Conditioning
books. While these guys didn’t look like steroid-fueled bodybuilders
(actually, there were a couple who did), all were incredibly lean, hard
and powerful. Wade blows many commonly held beliefs about conditioning,
strengthening, and eating out of the water and replaces them with
result-producing information that won’t cost you a dime."
—Loren W. Christensen, author of Fighting the Pain Resistant Attacker, and many other titles
"Convict Conditioning is one of the most influential books I ever got my hands on. Convict Conditioning 2
took my training and outlook on the power of bodyweight training to the
10th degree—from strengthening the smallest muscles in a maximal
manner, all the way to using bodyweight training as a means of healing
injuries that pile up from over 22 years of aggressive lifting.
I've used both Convict Conditioning and Convict Conditioning 2
on myself and with my athletes. Without either of these books I can
easily say that these boys would not be the BEASTS they are today.
Without a doubt Convict Conditioning 2 will blow you away and inspire
and educate you to take bodyweight training to a whole NEW level."
—Zach Even-Esh, Underground Strength Coach
"The overriding principle of Convict Conditioning 2
is ‘little equipment-big rewards’. For the athlete in the throwing and
fighting arts, the section on Lateral Chain Training, Capturing the
Flag, is a unique and perhaps singular approach to training the obliques
and the whole family of side muscles. This section stood out to me as
ground breaking and well worth the time and energy by anyone to review
and attempt to complete.
Literally, this is a new approach to lateral
chain training that is well beyond sidebends and suitcase deadlifts.
The author’s review of passive stretching
reflects the experience of many of us in the field. But, his solution
might be the reason I am going to recommend this work for everyone: The
Trifecta. This section covers what the author calls The Functional Triad
and gives a series of simple progressions to three holds that promise
to oil your joints. It's yoga for the strength athlete and supports the
material one would find, for example, in Pavel's Loaded Stretching.
I didn't expect to like this book, but I
come away from it practically insisting that everyone read it. It is a
strongman book mixed with yoga mixed with street smarts. I wanted to
hate it, but I love it."
—Dan John, author of
Don’t Let Go and co-author of
Easy Strength
—TABLE OF CONTENTS—
Foreword
The Many Roads to Strength by Brooks Kubik III
Opening Salvo: Chewing Bubblegum and Kicking Ass V
1. Introduction: Put Yourself Behind Bars VII
PART I: SHOTGUN MUSCLE
Hands and Forearms
2: Iron Hands and Forearms: Ultimate Strength 1—with Just Two Techniques
3: The Hang Progressions: A Vice-Like Bodyweight Grip Course 15
4: Advanced Grip Torture: Explosive Power + Titanium Fingers 39
5: Fingertip Pushups: Keeping Hand Strength Balanced 47
6: Forearms into Firearms: Hand Strength 57
A Summary and a Challenge
Lateral Chain
7: Lateral Chain Training: Capturing the Flag 63
8: The Clutch Flag: In Eight Easy Steps 71
9: The Press Flag: In Eight Not-So-Easy Steps 89
Neck and Calves
10. Bulldog Neck: Bulletproof Your Weakest Link 113
11. Calf Training: Ultimate Lower Legs—No Machines Necessary 131
PART II: BULLETPROOF JOINTS
12. Tension-Flexibility: The Lost Art of Joint Training 149
13: Stretching—the Prison Take: Flexibility, Mobility, Control 163
14. The Trifecta: Your "Secret Weapon" for Mobilizing Stiff, Battle-Scarred Physiques—for Life 173
15: The Bridge Hold Progressions: The Ultimate Prehab/Rehab Technique189
16: The L-Hold Progressions: Cure Bad Hips and Low Back—Inside-Out 211
17: Twist Progressions: Unleash Your Functional Triad 225
PART III: WISDOM FROM CELLBLOCK G
18. Doing Time Right: Living the Straight Edge 225
19. The Prison Diet: Nutrition and Fat Loss Behind Bars 237
20. Mendin’ Up: The 8 Laws of Healing 253
21. The Mind: Escaping the True Prison 271
!BONUS CHAPTER!
Pumpin’ Iron in Prison: Myths, Muscle and Misconceptions 285
This is a new feature I have started on my blog. As often as I can, I will be posting one of the 198 Appendices of the Companion Bible.
It is an amazing study and reference tool,
and I thought that it might be helpful and
interesting to preview some of the resources
available in it. This Bible was compiled by one of the
great scholars of the past, Dr. E.W. Bullinger. You can check out some of his other books here. If you would like to access the entire Companion Bible in an online edition, it is available here. Hope you find this interesting and inspiring.
