Ex-con who turned his life around by devising his own cell workout routine reveals secrets to staying in shape using just your body weight

YOU don’t need pricey equipment, special clobber or even much space to get in shape – just a prison cell will do.

That’s proved by ex-con LJ Flanders, who devised his own workout routine using just his body weight while in London’s Pentonville jail.

8

Fellow prisoners soon started asking him to design individual cell workouts for them too, and LJ realised the idea could work as a book. That book, which he planned out during his 15 months inside, is published today.

LJ, 27, said: “At first I was locked up for 22 hours a day. My lifeline was exercise, it was the only way I knew to fill my time.

“At first all I could think of was press-ups and sit-ups but there’s only so much of that you can do before you get bored. So I started experimenting.”

East Londoner LJ, who was jailed for grievous bodily harm after getting into a fight, now runs fitness workshops for jail inmates based on his cell workout plan.

He added: “You don’t have to be banged up to do a cell workout.

“You can do it in your front room.”

Shoulder press wall slide

8

Step 1: Stand with your back flat against the wall. Bend your elbows and raise your arms, palms facing out, so that your hands are up in line with your ears.

Step 2: Maintaining contact with the wall, press your arms back against the wall as you raise them up high.

Step 3: Lower your arms to the starting position before pressing up again.

Glute bridge with resting bent leg

8

Step 1: Lie on your back with both legs bent and feet flat on the floor. Bend one leg and place the foot on the knee of the supporting leg. Place your arms by your sides, palms down.

Step 2: Engage your glutes and push through your heel to raise your pelvis upwards to form a straight line with your knees, hips and shoulders.

Step 3: Continue the movement, slowly uncurling your spine to lower back to the floor. Repeat, alternating legs.

Seated knee tuck with single leg

8

Step 1: Sit, leaning back and resting on your hands placed behind you, with your elbows bent. Bend both legs up in front of your chest, feet off the ground.

Step 2: Engage your abdominals, keep your upper body still and press through the heel of one leg, pushing it out straight in front of you.

Step 3: Continue the movement, bringing the extended leg back in while pushing the other leg out straight.

Dorsal raise

8

Step 1: Lie on your front, with your legs extended straight behind you. Place your hands by your temples, elbows out wide.

Keep your eyes fixed on the floor and your neck and head in a neutral position. Engage your abdominals.

Step 2: Slowly raise your head and chest off the floor, maintaining contact with your hips on the floor.

Step 3: Continue the movement, slowly lowering your chest back down to the start position.

Standing oblique twist

8

Step 1: Stand with your feet hipwidth apart and fingers by your temples.

Step 2: Bend one leg and bring your knee up towards your chest. At the same time, twist at the waist and rotate round to bring the opposite elbow towards the raised knee.

Step 3: Continue the movement, rotating back to return to the upright start position. Repeat, rotating to the other side.

Forward lunge

8

Step 1: Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your hands on your hips. Pull your shoulder blades down. Engage your abdominals. Maintain a straight back, not leaning forwards or back.

Step 2: Step one foot forward, to form a split stance.

Step 3: Lower yourself down, bending your front knee until it is directly over your ankle and your thigh parallel to the floor, to form a 90-degree angle. At the same time lower your back knee towards the floor.

Step 4: Push up through the front leg and take it back to the start position. Alternate, stepping forwards with the opposite leg.

Pike shoulder press

8

Step 1: Assume a standard press-up position, with arms straight, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and with your feet hip-width apart and toes tucked under. Raise your hips up high and lift on to your toes to form a pike position.

Step 2: Maintaining the pike position with your body, bend your elbows outwards to lower your head to the floor.

Step 3: Continue the movement, pressing back up to return to start position.

© 2015 LJ Flanders Cell Workout, by LJ Flanders, is published tomorrow (Hodder & Stoughton, £16.99).