What about the inmates?
Now that I got your attention please help me figure this out, if supplements are so important as some claim then why on earth are inmates in prison not only huge but most of the time ripped and strong. I asked this question on the forums and after 40 views no one wants to step up and answer, someone please help me out here. I thought about this because I was watching the show lock up on MSNBC and noticed how ripped these guys were and as I thought about it it is common in any prison. It seems to me that the key is consistency and diet and since prisons are ran by the state they have to by law have good diets, no creatine in a jar, no flax, not even whey powder and for sure not any hydroxy cut to cut up with.
So imho supplements are not needed, in fact a good diet and hitting the weights hard is all needed. They may get someone there faster but for sure not something you HAVE to have.
Also after digging some stuff up and talking to some people I also notice that people not only can get big in prison but very fast, now we can say yea because they work out every single day, well so do most of us, right? I would say they are like the guys in my gym who make sure they live by the big 3, Squat, Bench and Deads, King Compounds rather than machines, I am not debunking machines but for size compounds, free weights are KING, I have been told this over and over and now I finally get it.
If anyone reads this that a) has been in prison, b) knows someone in prison who is getting built there, c) works at a prison, please reply or send me a message with your opinion on this.
June 6, 2007 at 9:13 pm
hey, Im not being a smartass…. but what else do you think there is to do in prison?
I’ve been to Ionia Max Security Prison, in MI, a handfull of times (For school…. not sentencing) and you’ll find inmates that workout all the time whether it be in the yard, with the weights or in their cells. Some of this is to fight off sheer boredom… some of this is because they truly do start to care about their bodies… and unfortunately, there is a group of these guys that do it to become better at what got them their in the first place.
Also, as far as diets are concerned they do in fact have a healthy diet, alot of the time beans are served on a daily basis because they are 1)cheap and 2)very very plentiful.
Alot of prisons do not have machines too, so yo’re correct imo about the freeweights workin for ya:) I gotta find the vid for you about a prison power-lifting league… it’s actually pretty neat.
Really good point you bring up though man, very thought provoking!
June 6, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Yea thanks and I know I will get flack some people but it is what it is, these guys eat well, not fancy but good and workout everyday and usually from what I can gather only have free weights focusing on compounds, so maybe that is the way to go. My point is I guess let’s get back to basics … good food and hitting the weights hard and never forgetting about compounds.
June 6, 2007 at 9:22 pm
Also you make a good point if this is mostly what these guys do then we can say the theory about over working the muscles is bs too, right? I would need to know more like how long do they work out for a day and so on, or do they follow a routine, if so what? If they have a routine and workout like some guys out of prison why are they getting bigger faster, has to be diet, not sure. By all means I am not claiming to know the answer, in fact I post this to get the answers, just something am curently trying to figure out.
June 6, 2007 at 9:41 pm
There’s another thing you’re not factoring in. Rest.
Inmates have nothing else to do so a large amount of their time is spent recuperating. They can train as much as they want, but with the crappy meals they get and comissary, the only thing their body can do is grow in response to it. Its not like these guys work a 9 to 5 or anything.
Supplements are just that. Supplements. Everyone knows or should know this.
And not all inmates in prison blow up like crazy just because they start training.
June 6, 2007 at 9:42 pm
very interesting read on your take about prison. I know 2 guys that did time. One went in all flabby with no muscle and 5 years later is body builder status. the other guy used to work out a little but came out 8 months later swollen man. It was odd. I will ask him what was the difference.
June 6, 2007 at 10:04 pm
good points miked512, I am wandering how many hours a day do they actualy work out though, this would bring some insight into the overtraining theories. Also you said not all inmates blow up which is true.
fatmanunleashed: yea find out, good stuff, like your site too btw and thanks for adding me, will do the same.
June 6, 2007 at 10:16 pm
I used to work in a prison as a Correctional Officer up until about 6 months ago. I was at an evaluation facility so the inamtes rotated through every 3-6 months, thus I got to see a larger number than I would’ve at a permanent facility. The myth about prisoners and their superior physiques is just that…a myth. When I began my job there, I too held this misconception, but within a week I realized that the guys in there were in no better shape than the average on the outside. I am by no means a specimen, but I am bigger than 95% of the guys that came through there.
Everyone has a natural potential, and without supplements it will take longer to reach this peak, and it will be impossible to overcome it. I will agree though, that with the low-calorie diets (supper was done by 530 pm), the free weight compound lifts, and the enormous amount of rest, it is easy to get ripped. Also remember, these guys aren’t superhuman…they don’t overwork their muscles. They are simply more consistent than those of us with the distractions of life on the outside.
Don’t kid yourself though…supplements are absolutely necessary. Why throw away possible gains b/c you refuse to pay $35 for a tub of whey and some creatine?
June 6, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Thanks for you reply koch39 and your firsthand experience, I am not throwing out my creatine or whey, to damn expensive, lol, just started thinking about this and looking for opinions and yours has brought up some good points. Also even though many people go to the gym alot they slack off I am sure or have to, birthdays, holidays, girlfriends, etc, where these guys either hit the weights or do nothing so they like you say are more consistent and good point on the low calories and lot of rest like miked512 said…more rest … more recovery..good stuff guys
March 31, 2008 at 5:34 pm
i did 62 months in a fed FCI in Texas and i can tell you that I worked out as much as I wanted. We had a great weigth stack, a track and the food they gave was nothing but clean. Now you had to work your ass off to get enough food but it is straight perfect. Don’t fool yourself because you can get any sort of suplement in prison, you have to hustle to get it and the guards bring it in. When I went into the joint I was 260 flabby, smoked 2 packs a day, and drank every day. I could not even bench press the freaking bar 10 times, when i got out i was at 200 of toned muscle, and my max on the bench press was 315 for 5 reps. yeah it sucks being down in the joint but I did a crime and had to pay for it, while I was there I made the most of my time and got in shape. Now that I’m out I’ve hit the supplements Creatine, Whey Protein, and BCAA, and they help with the recovery and allow me to go harder, i’m gaining more with sups. On the rest part in prison you don’t do anyting all you do is workout and lay around on your bunk, watch tv. There are some opportunity to work jobs but they are not more than 3-4 hours a day tops…
January 1, 2009 at 7:35 pm
January 1, 2009 at 7:44 pm
I went to a county jail for a bunch of drug charges. Thank god that I had stacked more than enough money to buy a good lawyer or I was going to do around five years DOC time. I was sentenced to a county jail for four months in the end. Shorty after going inside I got a job working in the kitchen where we were basically priveledged to as much food as i pleased. One reason many people build muscle in jail is because they are on a perfect routine. I woke up every morning at 3 AM and worked until 8AM,then an 11AM-2PM shift, then a 3-7PM. Every day the majority of the dudes in my block worked out between 2 and 3. After 3 months I went for 160 lbs. - to a swolled/ cut 190 lbs. Everyone who worked out got big as hell due to the amount of time we had as well as our food priveledges. those who layed around and didnt work out got at as hell. by the way all we did were pushup variations, pullup variations on stairs and squat variations. I never thought I would say this but in my perspective these conditions shit on an gym or weight routine.
February 22, 2009 at 2:55 pm
As a personal trainer and sports nutrition consultant I came here looking for more info to support my answer when someone recently asked my why the guys in jail get are ripped by working out all day long doing a bunch of squats, pull ups and push ups. I agree with most of the facts the rest of respondents have said - a perfect diet, lots of sleep and a consistent strength routine. What we eat is often not given the attention it should as to how our bodies appear and function. Basically if you are eating the right amount of calories and performing the right strength routine, with enough rest, I believe you do not need supplements to get ripped. Seems simple but most things are, and seems we are always looking for another answer.