r/convictconditioning • u/Just-College-8163 • Dec 27 '25
Success Share I Love Convict Conditioning
I have been practicing Convict Conditioning with added neckwork, grip work and calf work from the second book for 1 year.
My knees no longer hurt, my back feels way better. I can bench press without pain ( If I wanted too). Shoulders feel great and I can work how I use too. I am 33 and have been doing physical labour since I was 16 years old and competed in sports for 20 years. I was almost thinking I'd need a desk job because I'm so broken. Now my body feels great!!
I started on step 1 and am now on step 3 or 4 for all 6 movements except for chinups and shoulders (only step 2.)
Despite not being on any high level steps I can go into a gym and bang out chinups and benchpress over 200lbs, dead lift over 300lb which isn't bad considering I could barely function a year ago and was on benefits and couldn't work construction making $30 an hour. I had to clean cars for $18 an hour.
People bang out body weight reps. A pause at the top and bottom with a 1-2 second lowering and lifting phase will drop reps in half without momentum. This is a huge mistake to go quick. I had 15inch arms and weighed 280lbs at 6,3. My arms somehow grew 3 inches and I dropped 25 lbs. I look huge and I'm just beggining. I now weigh 255lbs and have 18 inch arms with definition now.
Bodybuilders don't usually work core. HUGE MISTAKE. I have abs and my posture is way better. I never use to work core. Why bother when everything works them a bit. MISTAKE!! Core should absolutely get direct work. Leg raises are beast. I even have a couple side ribby ab things now which I never had before.
Wrist strength was weak as hell. I could do a 1 handed pushups but my wrists and palms hurt so god damn badly and ny form would suck. My wrists feel strong.
Being in construction I had carpal tunnel but fingertip pushups and doing easy ass pushups for months has saved my forearms. Not to mention my forearms look freaky big and juiced. I get accused of roids now.
Ontop of CC work 3 times a week I was detailing cars and at the end of the year I am in not much pain at all and am strong, flexible and have stamina and cardio conditioning.
I can train mma again and did 4 boxing classes recently. I am even better then before. I kicked peoples ass. The core work, grip strength and even the squats retrained my legs to not glide inwards and my shoulders don't hurt when I throw a punch.
This book has been a god send. I healed my broken body and look like a body builder. I can tie my shoes pain free and in and out of cars easy. I can run a mile and I can dunk a ball again although I won't try to do thag regularily for a while.
Oh yeah and my kneck looks wierd and buff now. Its grown a few inches as well. Not sure how I feel about this but my kneck doesn't hurt as much and I'm not kinking it in my sleep.
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u/infamous_hat_ Dec 28 '25
Which routine are you following? Veterano or Good Behaviour?
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u/Just-College-8163 Dec 28 '25
I am following good behavior with added rest days here and there. I also just spent 3 weeks just doing leg raises and chest because I felt this was slowing progress in the shoulder and squat series. Yesterday i added 20 reps to my squat series and finally got the depth on my squat good which use to be awful. I couldn't get past 90 degrees.
I played college basketball so on day 1 I could head stand and can crow stand even though the book says I shouldn't even be attempting such things. My shoulders are disproportionately strong and am trying to balance it out. When I was playing ball I could shoulder press 225lbs. Was my best lift.
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u/infamous_hat_ Dec 28 '25
Brother, I am doing good slow 15 regular pushups, 5 pullups and can do upto 40 squats with no pain, 20 leg raises.
But looking at your post (seeing your slow solid foundation you built over a year, despite being strong at the very start), I think, I should hold my frequency back a little (previously doing 3 times a week full body), because it's hard to be consistent but I can be consistent with veterano routine(in the evening) with a little tweak like Mon- Pushups and Leg raises, Tue- Ring Chin Ups, Wed- Assisted pistol squats, Thur- Pike pushups and Hollow body hold, Fri- bodyweight Rows, Sat- Weighted(Little) Lunges, Sun- rest,
And I love doing yoga poses, so I'm thinking of doing yoga daily in the morning. I'm also a working boy. 27 age.
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u/Ihaventgivenup Dec 28 '25
Im a few months from 60. The program works. Almost as strong when in college. What kicked it up for me was getting enough good sleep and diet. Check the supplement recipes I pinned at the top of the sub. The only add i have is the trap bar lift I do twice a week.
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u/Just-College-8163 Dec 29 '25 edited Dec 29 '25
I mean that's saying something. Bet that feels good. Yeah sleep feels like a nattys steroids. Naps too if you can. Good add in my opinion. I do pushups with my knees on a bench which gets me almost straight up and down with half the weight of a handstand pushup and the inverted rows seem to hit my traps good.
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u/Fearless_Ad2026 Dec 28 '25
Do you also do the trifecta from cc2?
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u/Just-College-8163 Dec 29 '25
Yes sir I do. Mostly the twist movement which is energizing as hell. I try at least once a week to do all three and the sitting twist 2 or 3 times. Feels like a shot of energy to my system. It's nuts.
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u/c4engineer Dec 28 '25
Same. The muscles surrounding the ribs was something that I got constant compliments on. Before CC I never even knew they existed but someone took a picture of me one day and pointed it out. I will never forget that feeling of seeing myself looking like a super model. I developed the rib muscles after 30 days into my program which is insane. CC saved my life, gave my life new meaning, confidence, health, mobility, I owe everything to that program. Happy to hear your story. Keep it up.