Here are a few basic prison workout exercises:
Upper Body
Handstand pushups
Handstand holds
Pushups (and pushup variations)
Hindu Pushups
Pullups (my all-time favorite)
Pullup Variations
Dips (use a bench with feet on a chair but this move can be rough on the shoulders)
Muscle Ups
Lower Body
Lunges (and lunge variations)
Prisoner Squats (no pun intended)
Jump Squats
Split Squats
Skater Squats
Pistol Squat
Wall Squat (sit & hold)
Squat Jumps
Glute Ham Raises (cellmate can hold feet)
Core/Abs
Hanging Leg Raise (for abs)
L-Sit
Back Bridge
Single Leg Hip Thrust
Scorpions
Mountain Climbers
Plank Variations
Handwalking/handcrawling/bearcrawls
Crab walks/tiger walks
Cardio
Shadow Boxing (and Kickboxing)
Jump rope (use shadow technique since they may not allow ropes)
Run sprints
Giant Killers
For Bad Mofo’s Only
Tai Chi
Yoga/Meditation
Squats with cellmate on back
Pushups with cellmate on back
Climb stairs carrying cellmate on back
Sprint carrying cellmate on back
Bedlifts (yes you deadlift your bed)
Fight in the yard (optional)
This is far from a complete list (you can see more advanced bodyweight exercises in this video), but I
can’t possibly cover all of the various bodyweight exercises in just one post. This is simply a ‘starter kit’
that was designed to show you the basic premise of the prison workout.