Lighter weights for muscled-up inmates

A PRISON has removed the heaviest weights from its gym in a bid to stop inmates getting too muscle-bound.

HMP Sudbury, a 570-capacity open jail in Derbyshire, decided to reduce the weight both on free-weight plates and stacks on gym machines.

The move comes amid a growing concern surrounding violence inside prisons in England and Wales, which have come under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks after it was announced that HMP Birmingham is becoming the first privately-run prison to be taken over by the Government.

The Victorian prison, which was being run by G4S, will be run by the Government for up to 12 months with a new management team installed.

The Chief Inspector of Prisons disclosed that three in 10 inmates were on drugs, which were openly taken and trafficked at the time of the visit, as it emerged that “fearful” staff have taken to locking themselves in their own offices after being targeted by inmates.

Experts have long said that the country’s prisons are in crisis, but the data also show that Birmingham is not an exception to the rule – with assaults, murders and overcrowding all rising in recent years.

Jail chiefs have now realised that some inmates were taking steroids to achieve bigger muscles, which requires ever-heavier weight stacks to achieves gains in size.

A report into HMP Sudbury from the Independent Monitoring Board said the heaviest weights had been removed along with some of the weight machines themselves.

The jail has also introduced steroid testing. Inmates who fail tests will lose privileges and may be moved to higher security prison.

Weight stacks come in a variety of levels of heaviness, normally ranging from 2.5lb right up to 25lb, although some go up to 50lb or 100lb.

The report states: “Working with healthcare and education, steroid abuse is being addressed by a combination of testing, the reduction of weightlifting machines in the gym and an increased focus on healthy living.”