the scotsman thu NUMBER aug NUMBER meaningful sentences tracey lawson if you ever wanted to look like one of the most dangerous inmates in prison history as one judge described charles bronson now s your chance bronson the serial hostage taker not the movie star has written a health and fitness guide in which he shares some of the secrets behind his legendary muscle power solitary fitness a title which bears testament to the fact that bronson NUMBER has spent NUMBER of his NUMBER prison years in solitary confinement explains how he has turned himself into a lean mean fitness machine while living NUMBER hours a day in a space just NUMBER feet by eight feet on a diet of scrubs grub and at virtually no cost the book is aimed at those who want to get fabulously fit without spending a fortune on gym memberships protein supplements or designer trainers and starts with a fierce attack on some of the expensive myths churned out by the exercise industry i pick up a fitness mag i start to laugh and i wipe my arse with it is the opening paragraph penned by bronson it s a joke and a big con and they call me a criminal you can t help feeling he has a point this is not the first book that bronson has written from behind bars having already published birdman opens his mind which features drawings and poems created by bronson while in prison and he is not the first prisoner to discover creative expression while residing at her majesty s pleasure jimmy boyle the scots sculptor and novelist discovered his artistic talents when he was sent to barlinnie prison s famous special unit which aimed to help inmates put their violent pasts behind them by teaching them how to express their emotions artistically boyle was sentenced to life for the murder of babs rooney in NUMBER once released he moved to edinburgh where he has become a respected artist his first novel hero of the underworld was published in NUMBER and his autobiography a sense of freedom was made into an award winning film hugh collins was jailed for life in NUMBER for the murder of william mooney in glasgow and in his first year in barlinnie prison stabbed three prison officers earning him an extra seven year sentence but after being transferred to the same unit that boyle attended he learned to sculpt and developed an interest in art he later published autobiography of a murderer a frank account of glasgow s criminal culture in the NUMBERs which received critical praise and lord archer doesn t seem to have had trouble continuing to write the books that have made him millions while in jail he recently signed a three book deal with macmillan publishers worth a reported NUMBER million and is no doubt scribbling away as we speak so why is it that men like collins bronson and boyle who can be so destructive towards society on the outside can become so creative once stuck on the inside steve richards bronson s publisher has published many books about criminal figures and believes the roots of this phenomenon are both pragmatic and profound he says prison is sometimes the first time some criminals will ever have known a stable environment and this can be the first time they have the chance to focus on their creative skills it may also be the first time that they have really had the chance of an education if their early years have been hard it could be the first time anyone has offered them the chance to explore their creative talents however richards believes the reasons are also deeper than that he says once they are behind bars the cold light of day hits them and they examine the very essence of who they are they ask themselves am i a man who wants to be remembered for violence or am i a man who can contribute to society who can be remembered for something good bronson who was born michael gordon peterson but changed his name to that of the hollywood star of the death wish films has so far been remembered mainly for things bad he was originally jailed for seven years for armed robbery in NUMBER and has had a series of sentences added to his original term over the years as a result of attacking people in prison in NUMBER he was jailed for life after being convicted of holding a teacher hostage for nearly two days during a jail siege standing five feet ten and a half inches tall and weighing NUMBERlbs he is renowned for his strength he has bent metal cell doors with his bare hands and does up to NUMBER NUMBER yes NUMBER NUMBER press ups a day as he puts it i can hit a man NUMBER times in four seconds i can push NUMBER press ups in NUMBER seconds but judging by our current obsession with health and exercise solitary fitness might be the book which will see bronson s face sitting on every coffee table in the land he might be the man to give us the dream body which so many so called fitness gurus promise but fail to motivate us into because bronson has learned to use words as powerfully as he can use his fists all this crap about high protein drinks pills diets it s just a load of bollocks and a multi million pound racket he writes in what can only be described as a refreshingly honest style we can all be fat lazy bastards it s our choice i m sick of hearing and reading about excuses if you stuff your face with shit you become shit that s logical to me as motivational mantras go that might be just the kick up the er backside we all needed solitary fitness by charles bronson is published by mirage publishing and will be available in bookstores from october at NUMBER NUMBER yahoo groups sponsor NUMBER dvds free s p join now URL to unsubscribe from this group send an email to forteana unsubscribe URL your use of yahoo groups is subject to URL 