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Jailhouse Strong
Tired of all the latest exercise “advancements” delivering no results?
For less than the cost of a day pass to any trendy chain gym, you can get Jailhouse Strong.
With innovation and dedication prisoners make incredible strength gains.
Jailhouse Strong offers functional strength training with a workout system that is based on the training habits cultivated behind bars.
Through interviews with personalities ranging from a former Mr. Olympia, who started lifting behind bars, to a co-founder of the Crips Street gang, Jailhouse Strong describes the workouts prisoners use to become lean and powerful.
Jailhouse Strong includes programs for lifting, bodyweight movements, and conditioning with unarmed combat techniques. The workouts require minimal cost, equipment, time, and space and they can be done at home, in a hotel, or just about anywhere.
Whether you are doing 10–25 or working 9-5, Jailhouse Strong can fit into your schedule because Jailhouse Strong provides the fitness habits that are crucial for getting strong and for maintaining a level of emotional balance amidst the volatile reality found on both sides of prison walls.
For less than the cost of a day pass to any trendy chain gym, you can get Jailhouse Strong.
With innovation and dedication prisoners make incredible strength gains.
Jailhouse Strong offers functional strength training with a workout system that is based on the training habits cultivated behind bars.
Through interviews with personalities ranging from a former Mr. Olympia, who started lifting behind bars, to a co-founder of the Crips Street gang, Jailhouse Strong describes the workouts prisoners use to become lean and powerful.
Jailhouse Strong includes programs for lifting, bodyweight movements, and conditioning with unarmed combat techniques. The workouts require minimal cost, equipment, time, and space and they can be done at home, in a hotel, or just about anywhere.
Whether you are doing 10–25 or working 9-5, Jailhouse Strong can fit into your schedule because Jailhouse Strong provides the fitness habits that are crucial for getting strong and for maintaining a level of emotional balance amidst the volatile reality found on both sides of prison walls.
169 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2013
594 people are currently reading
404 people want to read
About the author
Josh Bryant
59 books21 followersAlong with ISSA certifications in fitness training, nutrition, and conditioning, Josh has been awarded the prestigious title of Master of Fitness Sciences (MFS). He was also recently named the ISSA Director of Applied Strength and Power Development. In addition to being certified by the NSCA as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and by NASM as a Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES), Josh completed his Master’s degree in Exercise Science, with an emphasis in Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention at California University of Pennsylvania. He is the co-author of the elitefts™ best-selling eBook, Metroflex Gym Powerbuilding Basics.
As an athlete, Josh won many national and world titles in both powerlifting and strongman. At 22 years of age, he was the youngest person in powerlifting history to bench press 600 pounds raw. He squatted 909 pounds in the USPF, officially bench-pressed 620 pounds raw, and officially deadlifted 810 pounds raw. In 2005, he won the Atlantis Strongest Man in America competition.
As an athlete, Josh won many national and world titles in both powerlifting and strongman. At 22 years of age, he was the youngest person in powerlifting history to bench press 600 pounds raw. He squatted 909 pounds in the USPF, officially bench-pressed 620 pounds raw, and officially deadlifted 810 pounds raw. In 2005, he won the Atlantis Strongest Man in America competition.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
August 8, 2021
3.5. This book does a great job of getting you into the mindset of what it would be like to be a prisoner and how critical it is to become strong and as big as possible or die. With that in mind this book then goes over exercises and training principles that are important to achieve this goal , you’re not exactly going to look pretty but instead the goal here is to look intimidating. The book is divided up into two sections one covering bodyweight training and one covering strength training if you had access to free weights . The reason for this is because a lot of prisoners do not have access to free weight anymore. The body weight training section is where this book really excels .I learned a lot of new and creative things I never knew and I even had a chance to try some of these workouts on the road and they are brutal. On the flipside to that the section about free weights and if you have access to them is a little lackluster because it mostly follows standard powerlifting periodization that you can find anywhere. Overall I really enjoyed this book and I think over the course of 2022 I’m going to try and run a handful of these different exercise programs.
May 28, 2020
Good read.
Great supplemental information for a strong mind and body. While you are sitting on the couch eating Fritos, bad people are building there bodies as weapons so they can take your possessions and hurt the people you love... what are you going to do about that?
Great supplemental information for a strong mind and body. While you are sitting on the couch eating Fritos, bad people are building there bodies as weapons so they can take your possessions and hurt the people you love... what are you going to do about that?
August 30, 2018
I feel like some of the criticisms of this book miss the point. I don't think Josh Bryant was trying to revolutionise strength or hypertrophy training. He was simply presenting the methods that actual prisoners have used in the past to get strong and ripped with minimal equipment. That's just cool within itself. While most of it was generic bodyweight exercises, some of the rep schemes were interesting such as the pyramid, reverse pyramid, Juarez Valley Method, and Total Repetition Method.
August 18, 2014
Poorly written and full of routines that are common knowledge around many gyms, this book purports to put together routines that prisoners do in prison. The notion is that these exercises will make the reader "Jailhouse strong!"
For example, the author calls one routine the "Jaihouse method", and puts into parentheses the words "reverse pyramid". Who hasn't heard of the reverse pyramid method? We used that in the Marine Corps to prep ourselves for pull ups. Sorry, but taking classical training methods and tagging the title of the book on to them doesn't make them special or unusual.
That said, for the novice there might be some good information in here. Let'd hope they don't think it's unique. It isn't.
What bothered me most about the book was the ten pages and three or so pictures devoted to learning how to defend oneself inside of a prison. The book talks about the "52 Hands" method of fighting, which is indeed a legitimate fighting style…but why devote a measly ten pages to the subject when an entire book itself would struggle to do justice to it?
This book was written for people who want to be badasses, and aren't…so they jump on the title.
For example, the author calls one routine the "Jaihouse method", and puts into parentheses the words "reverse pyramid". Who hasn't heard of the reverse pyramid method? We used that in the Marine Corps to prep ourselves for pull ups. Sorry, but taking classical training methods and tagging the title of the book on to them doesn't make them special or unusual.
That said, for the novice there might be some good information in here. Let'd hope they don't think it's unique. It isn't.
What bothered me most about the book was the ten pages and three or so pictures devoted to learning how to defend oneself inside of a prison. The book talks about the "52 Hands" method of fighting, which is indeed a legitimate fighting style…but why devote a measly ten pages to the subject when an entire book itself would struggle to do justice to it?
This book was written for people who want to be badasses, and aren't…so they jump on the title.
April 30, 2020
This book does exactly what it came here to do: make the tough, tougher. And I’m here for it.
If you do not have a “tough guy” or “alpha male” personality, this might not be for you. But if you do, you’ll love it, relate to it, and refer back to it.
If you do not have a “tough guy” or “alpha male” personality, this might not be for you. But if you do, you’ll love it, relate to it, and refer back to it.
July 21, 2020
Better than a late night fitness commercials! Stories, characters, and fitness information is perfect. Could cancel your gym membership potentially, there is alot here but at worst it does show you how to train simply and outstanding results.
September 15, 2020
Josh Bryant takes us on a deep-dive into strength training programs developed in prisons and the culture which shaped them. This is education straight from the State Pen, not Penn State so it’s loaded with raw explanations of what works without much worry as to why it works.
September 17, 2015
Great title, no content.
March 8, 2017
Straight to the point
A no bs guide to achieving success. It's a short read that contains mounds of motivation. Take the advice in this book and run with it.
A no bs guide to achieving success. It's a short read that contains mounds of motivation. Take the advice in this book and run with it.
July 26, 2018
Great book!!
This is the BIBLE for getting strong!! It is easy to follow. Great job!! Would like to know more about the warriors in the book.
This is the BIBLE for getting strong!! It is easy to follow. Great job!! Would like to know more about the warriors in the book.
May 2, 2020
Jailhouse Strong is part convict biographies, part bashing routines and exercises that aren't part of the Jailhouse Strong regimen, and part actual fitness routines.
In the world of competitive physiques, tan-in-a-can, and neon banana hammocks, a thick neck is not considered aesthetically pleasing. But, when it comes to an intimidating physique, the first thing people look at is the neck!
The book is poorly organized; exercises are listed in fitness plans before they are introduced, and the book goes back and forth between biographies and routines. If I had a nickle for every time a convict's muscles were referred to as 'marble slabs', I could recoup the cost of this book. Spelling and grammatical errors abound, and the book's advice is internally inconsistent.
"When you're incarcerated, you are confined to getting rest. The major thing is guys get lots of rest."
Rest is important in a physical training program...
According to Garry, it is not uncommon to see guys in extended lockdown doing 1,000 push-ups and sit-ups every day. Although these kinds of daily routines fly counter to most scientific studies that advocate the importance of rest and recuperation in a physical training program, the inmates at Angola are proof of the benefits of this type of training.
...unless you're an inmate at Angola. Got it.
While there are a number of dangers related to overtraining, undertraining is generally more of a problem than overtraining! In a world where eight-minute workouts are seen as a legitimate way to enhance physical prowess, this should not be shocking.
Okay, so eight-minute workouts aren't legit?
The Jailhouse Strong Baker's Dozen routine is a great place to start with a four-count burpee. It is a total of 91 burpees, with your goal being to make it in under 8 minutes.
Wait...
Further, there is a strange dichotomy between barbell exercises and bodyweight exercises. The book claims that many convicts get big while in prison, and the book also claims that barbell lifting will get you big, but I don't believe the book outright claims that bodyweight exercises will get you big - just HEAVILY implies it. There are pictures of convicts and ex-convicts who are jacked - but it is also mentioned that they were in prison back when prisoners had access to barbells. Being able to bench press 500lbs is mentioned multiple times as proof that prisoners can get strong on the inside - implied is the fact that this is only possible when said prisoners had access to barbells and free weights. The book leaves the reader to connect the dots that the bodyweight routines provided will get results like the pictures of guys in the biography sections - which is false, and which is why the book never outright claims it, but if someone happened to take that message away...? I find this underhanded and shady, which automatically dropped the book to one star, whatever else I thought of it - which wasn't much to begin with.
I'm unsure of this book's intended audience. It's not for convicts, because it introduces and defines 'prison terms' several times, which presumably a convict would already know. It's not for regular people, because it hedges regular exercise vernacular with caveats about 'fitness nerds' and 'getting scientific'.
To get a little scientific, all of the different muscles and movements involved in burpees cause the exercise to be classified as a compound, multi-joint movement.
Best I can tell, the book is for the author - it was an excuse for the author to interview his heroes and make fun of anyone who does bicep curls. I would have expected something featured on the Art of Manliness podcast to be more polished.
In the world of competitive physiques, tan-in-a-can, and neon banana hammocks, a thick neck is not considered aesthetically pleasing. But, when it comes to an intimidating physique, the first thing people look at is the neck!
The book is poorly organized; exercises are listed in fitness plans before they are introduced, and the book goes back and forth between biographies and routines. If I had a nickle for every time a convict's muscles were referred to as 'marble slabs', I could recoup the cost of this book. Spelling and grammatical errors abound, and the book's advice is internally inconsistent.
"When you're incarcerated, you are confined to getting rest. The major thing is guys get lots of rest."
Rest is important in a physical training program...
According to Garry, it is not uncommon to see guys in extended lockdown doing 1,000 push-ups and sit-ups every day. Although these kinds of daily routines fly counter to most scientific studies that advocate the importance of rest and recuperation in a physical training program, the inmates at Angola are proof of the benefits of this type of training.
...unless you're an inmate at Angola. Got it.
While there are a number of dangers related to overtraining, undertraining is generally more of a problem than overtraining! In a world where eight-minute workouts are seen as a legitimate way to enhance physical prowess, this should not be shocking.
Okay, so eight-minute workouts aren't legit?
The Jailhouse Strong Baker's Dozen routine is a great place to start with a four-count burpee. It is a total of 91 burpees, with your goal being to make it in under 8 minutes.
Wait...
Further, there is a strange dichotomy between barbell exercises and bodyweight exercises. The book claims that many convicts get big while in prison, and the book also claims that barbell lifting will get you big, but I don't believe the book outright claims that bodyweight exercises will get you big - just HEAVILY implies it. There are pictures of convicts and ex-convicts who are jacked - but it is also mentioned that they were in prison back when prisoners had access to barbells. Being able to bench press 500lbs is mentioned multiple times as proof that prisoners can get strong on the inside - implied is the fact that this is only possible when said prisoners had access to barbells and free weights. The book leaves the reader to connect the dots that the bodyweight routines provided will get results like the pictures of guys in the biography sections - which is false, and which is why the book never outright claims it, but if someone happened to take that message away...? I find this underhanded and shady, which automatically dropped the book to one star, whatever else I thought of it - which wasn't much to begin with.
I'm unsure of this book's intended audience. It's not for convicts, because it introduces and defines 'prison terms' several times, which presumably a convict would already know. It's not for regular people, because it hedges regular exercise vernacular with caveats about 'fitness nerds' and 'getting scientific'.
To get a little scientific, all of the different muscles and movements involved in burpees cause the exercise to be classified as a compound, multi-joint movement.
Best I can tell, the book is for the author - it was an excuse for the author to interview his heroes and make fun of anyone who does bicep curls. I would have expected something featured on the Art of Manliness podcast to be more polished.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2019
Not Great
This book is filled with workout routines that require minimal to no weight equipment (like you would experience in prison). It started off well. It was interesting to read about inmates who have excelled in powerlifting and understand why/how they gained strength and size under less than ideal training conditions (stressing the importance of sleep and routine in diet). It quickly changed into pages and pages of prison-type workout routines, which is not what I was expecting.
This book is filled with workout routines that require minimal to no weight equipment (like you would experience in prison). It started off well. It was interesting to read about inmates who have excelled in powerlifting and understand why/how they gained strength and size under less than ideal training conditions (stressing the importance of sleep and routine in diet). It quickly changed into pages and pages of prison-type workout routines, which is not what I was expecting.
May 5, 2020
I heard this author on a podcast and I really liked him. I didn't really connect that well with the book as I'm probably not going to be in prison any time soon and I'm also not looking to become a body builder or join the crips or anything like that. That said, there were a lot of great ideas for exercising at home in limited space which I really liked.
May 16, 2021
This is a must for every young person who wishes to have a strong, durable, muscular and useful physique.
This is a guide I wish was around 25yrs ago when I was wasting time and money reading those ridiculous muscle mags.
The advice, stories and programs will undoubtedly help you achieve the hard physique you desire if you're willing to put in the work
This is a guide I wish was around 25yrs ago when I was wasting time and money reading those ridiculous muscle mags.
The advice, stories and programs will undoubtedly help you achieve the hard physique you desire if you're willing to put in the work
December 19, 2025
I can doubt the advice, especially with the brilliant bodyweight orientated workouts. The deck of cards idea (I will certainly implement). I found the advice about getting closer to God hilarious and some of the additional snippets about fighting. Not that they were wrong, just that the contrast from the prison thought exposed appeared very strange.
July 25, 2019
Good Fundamentals
This book offers some solid fundamentals, and in an exercise culture always looking for the next flashy routine or diet or Shake Weight, that's a good thing. Advanced athletes may find it too basic.
This book offers some solid fundamentals, and in an exercise culture always looking for the next flashy routine or diet or Shake Weight, that's a good thing. Advanced athletes may find it too basic.
April 2, 2021
Gotta check this out! A must-read for anyone who works out.
The OG book in the jailhouse Strong series, it has a comprehensive lists of workouts, strikes, anecdotes and it really opened my eyes towards more methods of training.
The OG book in the jailhouse Strong series, it has a comprehensive lists of workouts, strikes, anecdotes and it really opened my eyes towards more methods of training.
June 15, 2019
Great book
Great read filled with useful exercises. Only problem I have is the book not including tip for proper form and technique for some exercises
Great read filled with useful exercises. Only problem I have is the book not including tip for proper form and technique for some exercises
November 24, 2019
I would like to read this book so bad.
March 8, 2020
Cool book with great workouts!
This book has a great mix of stories, personal anecdote, and workouts attached. It got me excited to do some pushups!
This book has a great mix of stories, personal anecdote, and workouts attached. It got me excited to do some pushups!
March 18, 2020
Crazy awesome workout plans for those with and without access to a gym.
May 23, 2020
I love the mentality behind the book and thank the programs in here look pretty good. Star rating is because this is certainly not for everyone
May 30, 2020
Not as expected!
Good read, doesn’t exceed my expectations. I was hoping for more details on routines for different workouts. Overall not bad.
Good read, doesn’t exceed my expectations. I was hoping for more details on routines for different workouts. Overall not bad.
June 12, 2020
Me tomaría más tiempo escribir una reseña que volver a leer este libro 🤔
October 27, 2020
I enjoyed the history of physical training in prison and its necessity, but found the writing to be repetitive in parts. Would benefit from more structure our specific training programs.
April 1, 2021
There are many training systems that get bandied around purportedly revealing the secrets of an archetypal group well known for being big/strong/fit, many of them turn out to be a bit disappointing or simply a skin on something fairly typical.
Jailhouse Strong is actually very satisfying, it’s complete in its context, enjoyable to read & therefore extremely likeable. The language, font.. everything reminded me of those old school bodybuilding magazines that fired me up as a kid.
There’s a variety of programs to try out, both bodyweight programs that could be your lockdown protocol & proper gym based programs. I don’t think anyone drawn to the idea would have a reason to be disappointed even if some elements of the advice don’t quite match modern science based approaches. But that’s totally not the point and you’d be a pedant to take issue with that.
Keen now to check out some of their other books.
Jailhouse Strong is actually very satisfying, it’s complete in its context, enjoyable to read & therefore extremely likeable. The language, font.. everything reminded me of those old school bodybuilding magazines that fired me up as a kid.
There’s a variety of programs to try out, both bodyweight programs that could be your lockdown protocol & proper gym based programs. I don’t think anyone drawn to the idea would have a reason to be disappointed even if some elements of the advice don’t quite match modern science based approaches. But that’s totally not the point and you’d be a pedant to take issue with that.
Keen now to check out some of their other books.
January 19, 2022
This was a fun read and answered some curiosities I had
January 25, 2022
Great Read
A lot more intense than the other books they’ve written, but suppose it has to be. Wish I had read it earlier, during lockdown would of been a great help!
A lot more intense than the other books they’ve written, but suppose it has to be. Wish I had read it earlier, during lockdown would of been a great help!
November 6, 2025
Really quick read. Actually enjoyed this one! Great thoughts on mindset and visualization.
It’s too bad he quoted Art Briles and Bill Cosby…
It’s too bad he quoted Art Briles and Bill Cosby…
April 21, 2024
本書《監獄重訓》的附圖以及動作說明挺明確的，前、中間部分實用性不錯
直到以嚇阻他人為出發點訓練脖子什麼的，這對於大多人的日常只能降低落枕傷害吧！
再講到徒手搏鬥（自保）就更超過了
直到以嚇阻他人為出發點訓練脖子什麼的，這對於大多人的日常只能降低落枕傷害吧！
再講到徒手搏鬥（自保）就更超過了
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews