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Manual on Exercising for the Incarcerated

NCJ Number
82006
Author(s)
H C Rhea
Date Published
Unknown
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This manual presents guidelines and specific exercises to promote physical fitness among inmates of adult correctional facilities.
Abstract
Adult physical fitness is defined as consisting of muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and cardiorespiratory endurance. A minimum of three to five exercise periods per week is recommended, beginning with light to moderate efforts and increasing to higher levels of exercise as fitness improves. Exercise periods should be 15 to 20 minutes long at first and should gradually increase to 30 to 60 minutes of continuous exercise. The daily workout period should include a gradual warmup, a workout in which a sequence of exercises is done, and the warm-down period. The 1-minute situp test, the bend and reach test, and the 3-minute step test are recommended for determining an individual's level of fitness. A basic calisthenic program is described, starting with such warmup exercises as jumping jacks, side stretching, trunk twisting, the forward bend and reach, shoulder rolls, knee lifts, toe touches, squat jumps, pushups, leg-overs, and others. Jogging or bench stepping is recommended to develop cardiorespiratory endurance. Walking, jogging, or stretching are recommended for the warm-down period. A glossary, eight references, and appendixes presenting guidelines for measuring fitness and an exercise record sheet are provided.