Disclaimer: The content displayed in the article is directly copied from boldanddetermined.com (which was closed down) to be available for those who are lookign for it. I added more content on it regarding the Nofap Part.

We’ve all seen pictures or videos of prisoners and marveled at their excellent physical development. While no one is jealous of their predicament, many of them have bodies that make most regular men envious. One question often posed is “How do prisoners get so big?” Afterall, they eat a terrible, nutrition deprived diet, they probably don’t take any supplements, some of them don’t have weights to lift, they exercise seemingly non-stop. In fact, everything they do in regards to weight training goes against the conventional advice of eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, don’t lift more than 3 or 4 days per week, drink water non-stop, take supplements, rest when you’re outside of the gym, bodyweight exercises don’t add muscle, exercise one muscle per session only once per week, and don’t exercise for more than 45 minutes a day.

This is another example of why conventional advice is always wrong.

Prisoners follow none of the conventional magazine advice an have the bodies to show for it. This is how they do it:

1) They have to get big and strong. When they go in they will no doubt be one of the weakest, smallest guys around. In an ocean of sharks they are the seals. They HAVE to get bigger, it’s not an option. They set their mind to it and they do it with a single minded determination. Weaklings get picked on, the strong ones don’t. What the mind can believe, the body can achieve.

2) They have high testosterone. Guys who go to prison normally have higher testosterone than average, then they are placed in an environment drowning in testosterone and their own testosterone count shoots through the roof. You’ve got to have high T just to survive, to be on the lookout everyday, willing to fight or kill at the drop of a dime. Testosterone is the building block of muscle and these guys are loaded with it.

3) They workout routinely. Prisoners always talk about routine and how important it is to them. Everything is on a schedule for them and they no doubt wait and look forward to the time they can lift. Routine is how anyone gets muscular, inside prison or out. Even the most normal of men who follow a strict lifting program over a period of years will get very, very muscular and strong. How many free men are able to dedicate themselves to the gym for a period of 10 years or more?

San Quentin. Even in 1947 prisoners were getting jacked.

4) They lift heavy. With a yard full of monsters watching you, you not only have to appear strong you have to BE strong, so these guys lift heavy, heavy, heavy. Progressive heavier lifting over a routine period of years will get anyone strong, muscular, and jacked.


5) They use conditioning exercises to get strong and ripped. Stuck in their cells they’ve got nothing but time for burpees and other bodyweight exercises that get the heart pumping and the fat melting. Endless pushups, hand-stand pushups, sit-ups, dips, and pull-ups will create big, broad shoulders, huge chest, thick arms, 6 pack abs, wide back, and a v-taper that the most dedicated of gym rats would be jealous of.

‘Armed and Dangerous’

6) They get enough sleep. They go to sleep and wake up at the same time every single day. Regular sleep is when the muscles recover and rebuild.


7) They eat at the same time every day. Their bodies know when to expect it’s flow of nutrients. Regular eating is extremely important for building and maintaining a world class physique. Even though these guys eat terribly nutrient void food, the body knows what to expect and can utilize what it is given. In addition to the free meals they receive everyday, which can total over 3,000 calories per day, they can buy foods like tuna and protein powder from the commissary giving them extra protein and nutrients.


8) They have low stress. They don’t have the testosterone sapping stress of paying bills, working jobs, nagging wife, unemployment, child support, and other minutia. The kind of stress they do have, surviving,  increases their testosterone.


9) Steroids – Prisons are notorious drug hotspots and that certainly includes steroids. Many criminals are in jail on drug charges, meaning they are no strangers to drugs. People who already use drugs are a whole lot more likely to use steroids than any regular Joe.

Prisoners are able to dedicate themselves, not just for a few months but for years, to getting jacked. They are provided all the food and sleep that they need. They lift to get strong as well as big. They exercise for a couple of hours everyday. They have no stress that we in the outside world have.

If any free man was able to dedicate himself the way prisoners are dedicated he would be able to turn himself into a muscular monster, just like these guys.

About the Author

Mastermind Study Notes is a group of talented authors and writers who are experienced and well-versed across different fields. The group is led by, Motasem Hamdan, who is a Cybersecurity content creator and YouTuber.

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