OREM — Maximum security prison inmates make free weights by filling trash bags with water and wrapping them in pillowcases.
The weights are crude and forbidden pieces of equipment — a far cry from the professional weights Clint Friel now uses to train his clients.
Friel, 52, recently retired as warden of the Utah State Prison and now spends his days as a personal trainer with Professional Fitness at Gold's Gym on 800 North in Orem. Not for the money, but for the thrill of making a difference.
"These people come to you," he said. "They're looking for a way to succeed. The big difference is that people who come in here want something. At prison, the motivation wasn't there."
Friel, who has always been health conscious, started out as a corrections officer in 1979 and began teaching female inmates how to do resistance training on a few free weights and one universal gym — one piece of equipment with eight different stations.
Even when Friel's responsibilities became more administrative, he always worked to ensure that his prison employees had access to workout equipment and that the appropriate opportunities were available for inmates who wanted to stay healthy.
Despite the stark differences between prison and a gym, Friel said he noticed a similar theme.
"We'd give them rec time, they could recreate however they wanted to," Friel said of the prisoners. "It was very comparable to what you see out in the free world. Some are dedicated to it, some never go near it."
Friel said television portrayals of prison, where all the inmates are always pumping iron, are inaccurate.
"They're regular people, and working out is working out," he said.
Besides, if exercise was anything other than optional, there would have to be accompanying punishment for not doing it. But how much more can you punish someone who is already in prison? Friel asked. One type of punishment was taking away recreation time all together.
Many people outside prison are motivated by lower health insurance premiums, fewer medical bills and longer lives to enjoy retirement — concerns that don't really matter to inmates facing life behind bars.
"Inmates' ... whole sense of the future is different compared to someone outside," Friel said.
Now, Friel works with those who are eagerly pursuing a better future. He said he enjoys helping people regain skills or abilities they've lost through age, inactivity or both. His oldest client was 84.
"We're focusing on people's lives really changing," said Jon Lewis, area supervisor for Professional Fitness. "(It's about) creating that happiness with people. Clint has everyone smiling. He's dedicated. He's in it to change people."
But Friel isn't changing people into supermodels or pro athletes — just people who can more easily do the things they love to do, like garden or golf.
"I'm tired of coercing people," he said. "I love to help people if they want to be helped."
And Friel practices what he preaches. He runs half-marathons, plays tennis and works out daily.
He also avoids doughnuts, because he won't eat one, he'll eat six.
"The only thing I hate about this job is ...," he pauses and smiles. "Now if I binge, and (I come into work) wearing this shirt, people think, 'What kind of trainer are you?"'
E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com