Andres Martinez sometimes worries that a California state prison will be his tomb. He can almost feel the walls closing in on him.
But then his cell door opens. He heads for a prison yard outside. He knows it will be cold, but his workout routine will warm his bones.
“Exercise, like water, is necessary,” said Martinez, who’s been incarcerated for 33 years. I interviewed Martinez in 2024 at Centinela State Prison before he was transferred to Pelican Bay State prison.
For 18 years of his incarceration, Martinez resided in a segregated unit, with more restrictions on movement than the general population. That’s where he realized workouts can offer not just a sense of normalcy, but even rehabilitation — and a kind of freedom.
He said exercise was “one of the few things” that kept him “grounded and sane.”
Martinez begins with 10 minutes of stretching. Then he does 10 sets of pullups and runs 2 miles. Next comes soccer; he likes to play forward. On the field, he clears away distractions and becomes aware of what’s around him. It makes him play in an innovative and open style. He can choose to share the spotlight or take control.
“You should get to know your teammates and people in your surrounding environment,” he said. “You have to be able to communicate with people effectively. They have to trust you or they will not want you to play on their team.”
That’s a different thing than working out solo, which offers something essential but different.
“Sometimes you just need time to yourself,” he said. “I feel fortunate that I have the opportunity to choose between socializing and being alone.”
Exercise reminds him of his happy childhood.
“As a kid, I always liked playing soccer with my friends,” Martinez said. “I used to love running around and doing the things that kids are supposed to be doing.”
Martinez’s life changed around the age of 8, when his mother entered a bad romantic relationship.
“I started to lose an interest in sports,” he said. “I gravitated to what was happening in my home.”
He said he did not know how to deal with what was happening around him and began to use drugs.
“I was not the same person,” he said.
He was sent to a juvenile hall, then arrested as an adult and sent to prison.
Choosing to exercise in prison, he said, is different from the mandatory workouts that were sometimes enforced by prison gangs, which required burpees and Navy Seal-style pushups, in which you bring both knees to your chest at the top of each repetition. Those exercises were preparation for war. There was nothing freeing about them.
Martinez decided to leave behind gang life after he left the segregation unit. His new routine let him reconnect with his love of sports.
He’s now taking classes through San Diego State University and working a full-time job. Exercising helps keep him sharp and stress-free — and even makes him feel fortunate to be a part of this community.
