And yes, they have leg days.

When I was in basic training we had many cadences (songs that we march to), I memorized  some, forgot many, but  through it all one lyric in particular stuck in my mind, “Go to war or go to jail…” The lyric of course was referring to a time when the draft was implemented and  that was the reality for many young men. While my situation wasn’t nearly as harsh, I remembered it because often times I could see the parallel. Not owning your own time or body, doing everything on someone else’s clock, the lifeless beige concrete walls, peanut butter as currency, and spending a majority of my time around roughnecks.

With that being said I believe that men have a certain dark allure to prison. To cut your steel against other men, to go through the worst and survive. No posturing or flexing like in civilian life, you will be tested; will you leave as “top dog” or a “punk”? (Okay, maybe I’m over exaggerating here… I’m sure no one really enjoys prison). Well a big part of that answer will depend on your know-how and SIZE. It’s no secret that size and brute strength are important attributes to men, and especially to men in prison. If you’ve ever seen a movie about lock up or had an uncle come out of prison it becomes quite evident that prison can produce some massive monsters. But how? Sure they have a lot of free time but it’s not like they can go to the freezer and take out an extra steak when they’re bulking. Just exactly how do those prisoners get so swole? well we have some theories on this…the last one is a bit of a stretch but I think it’s plausible. Let’s run through it.

Rest

(Note: Sleeping in prison does not look like this – we know)

There’s a reason why they call it doing time, because there’s a lot of it. As we all know, proper rest is one of the building blocks of gaining muscle. While prisoners definitely have their share of stress (don’t drop the soap, just don’t) they’re definitely not worrying about picking up the kids at 3 or the office presentation. They can do a heavy workout and then get 8 hrs of sleep, rest again, and wake up fresh for a new set. Some real muscle recovery is possible.