Resources vs Resourcefulness: Prison Workouts Taught Me the Difference

Resources vs Resourcefulness

Working out in prison taught me the difference.

I was fortunate to have a gym when I was in prison.

Unfortunately, it was in a steel Quonset hut with no air or heat and dilapidated equipment.

Doing pushups on ice when you’re indoors is surreal.

I had to get creative.

I found a plastic milk crate and an old climbing rope in the gym.

I filled the crate with weights and tied the rope to it; I’d pull it along the floor to me and then push it back — and repeat.

I did bear crawls across the parking lot.

I hung mats against the wall and called it a punching bag.

I used rocks to track my circuits; each time I’d finish one, I’d throw a rock into the woods — very rewarding.

The stone wall or picnic tables were my plyo boxes for vertical jumps.

The cool CO brought a truck tire from the junkyard for me to flip (not a CrossFit tire, an 18-wheeler tire).

I also used it for agility drills.

I hid a yoga mat in my cube and practiced where and when I could.