Paul Wade - Convict Conditioning -

Prison Time Pay Off – Story behind Paul Wade Convict Conditioning

No one wants to go to jail or spend time in prison. You’re locked up 24 hours a day for the duration of your sentence. And that could be a few days, months, years, or for life depending on your crime.

And while your basic needs are met while you’re locked up (in the United States), it’s no country club. You’re served cafeteria-style food, often share a cell with another inmate, shower with other prisoners, and have limited opportunities to get any exercise. And then there’s the constant threat of violence, gangs, and the unofficial rules of conduct for inmates. If you don’t want to become a victim while you’re locked up you’ve got to keep a low profile, and use your time to slowly and silently become the toughest, strongest badass behind bars.

Training to Survive

That’s what Paul Wade did while he spent more than two decades behind bars for being a big-time heroin dealer. Instead of wasting away during his incarceration, succumbing to the harsh realities of prison life, or becoming angry and violent, he focused all his efforts and all his energy on building powerful strength using six basic bodyweight moves.

He had to. At 22 years old, he was a rail-thin 150 pounds. And he learned early on that the only way to survive was to be strong enough to take down any prisoner who wanted to exploit him. When he met a gritty ex-Navy SEAL in the notorious San Quentin prison who was pushing 70 years old and had the strength of an armored tank, Paul Wade wanted to know more. And that’s how the Paul Wade Convict Conditioning program was born.

Mentored by a Master

While inside the Big House, he learned the techniques to build a powerful body from this seasoned military veteran. But it wasn’t easy. Even the six basic exercises of squats, pull-ups, leg raises, bridges, and handstand push-ups, were a challenge at first.

His mentor, filled with wisdom garnered in hand-to-hand combat and war-time survival skills, encouraged him to keep trying. Day after day, he absorbed the teachings from his mentor. In time, he developed superior muscle strength and a new level of confidence. And he established a level of respect among his inmates that kept him out of harm’s way on the inside.

He also learned to eat and enjoy the healthy food options served in the prison cafeteria. And he came to understand that even the best gains in lean muscle tissue and strength require adequate rest. So instead of performing those Big Six exercises for hours every day, he learned to build a workout strategy that included training the right muscle groups together and controlling the amount of time he spent exercising. And he realized a Paul Wade Convict Conditioning Program could be his ticket to freedom when his sentence came to an end.

Time for Change After Time Served

When Paul Wade was released from the notorious San Quentin prison after serving time for his crime, he emerged from his ordeal a changed man. And he wasn’t about to go back to his life of crime. Paul Wade left the U.S. and moved to a suburb of London, England. And he turned his prison experience into a form of fitness unmatched by any other bodyweight training program. That’s where he launched the Paul Wade Convict Conditioning Program.

He’s published two books based on the progressive bodyweight training exercises he mastered while in prison. Convict Conditioning: How to Bust Free of All Weakness Using the Lost Secrets of Supreme Survival Strength and Convict Conditioning 2: Advanced Prison Training Tactics for Muscle Gain, Fat Loss, and Bulletproof Joints)

He partnered with bodyweight training master Al Kavaldo to create advanced workouts based on a progressive training strategy to designed to help build muscle strength, slowly and safely. He’s even working on a third book (Convict Conditioning 3) that combines progressive calisthenics, speed, power, and reflex training, to help people develop incredible muscle strength. And he’s a featured coach on the site BreakingMuscle.com.

Still in Survival Mode

When he got out of prison, he vowed to be different than the shady, drug-dealing punk of a man he used to be. After all, he had a lot of time to think about how to change the course of his life. Instead of becoming a repeat offender and heading back to prison, he dedicated his life to helping other people build supreme muscle strength using their own body. And his journey has inspired a following of fans to join him as he imparts the wisdom he learned from his own mentor to others.

Yet he’s still in survival mode, even though the Paul Wade Convict Conditioning Program has made him a fitness legend. Like his days in prison, he still makes an effort to keep a low profile and avoid attention. And you can’t blame him. He had to live that way to survive for nearly two decades. In his defense, a fitness models featured in one of his books said:

“I never met Paul face to face, but I’d be surprised to hear that he’s not a real person. I corresponded with him back and forth with him in countless emails.

Paul Wade is the real deal. His prison experience changed his life. There’s no doubt he witnessed incredible violence locked up with some of the toughest criminals in America. And in order to survive, he had to develop a plan to build the kind of muscle strength and power that other prisoners would respect. His mentor showed him how to use his own body to achieve that goal, and he learned from others along the way to create the Paul Wade Convict Conditioning Program.

“The system is based on the way some of the toughest inmates train behind bars,” Paul Wade said during an interview with the Edmonton Sun Newspaper. “…They have frightening strength and athleticism. I’ve seen inmates snap handcuffs and break hardwood nightsticks with their bare hands.”

Paul Wade won’t be going back to prison. His new-found freedom and success as a bodyweight training evangelist has pulled him out of the depths of hell and given him a new life. And every single day, another one of his disciples steps forward to share their story about the Paul Wade Convict Conditioning Program.

“Paul Wade, you are a freaking monster in my eyes, a legend,” says Jordan Oakman. “Thank you for going to hell and coming back with this badass knowledge.”