Four Training Lessons We Can Learn From Bruce Lee

Many in the iron world have enormous respect for Bruce Lee. From his razor sharp physique to his enormous work ethic to his obvious strength, he is widely respected by lifters worldwide. With his birthday this week I thought a look at how he influenced the world of fitness was due.

"Bruce Lee’s system, Jeet Kune Do, revolved around a central theme – absorb what is useful, discard what is useless"

This theme is replicated today in thousands of small box gyms all around the world that focus on functional training and getting away from the Frankenstein training craze of the 80s and 90s (where you split the body into an assortment of parts or systems instead of seeking to work it as a single unit).

Lesson #1: Organize Your Workouts by Similarities

Lee himself divided things up different. One of his innovations was to train different aspects of his martial arts on different days. Similar in many ways to a modern split program that might feature strength training one day and conditioning the next, this allowed him to focus better on a smaller number of skills each session.

Punches – Mon/ Wed/ Fri:

• Jab
• Cross
• Hook
• Overhand Cross
• Combinations
• Speed bag workout

Kicks – Tues/ Thurs/ Sat:

• Side Kick
• Hook Kick
• Spin Kick
• Rear and Front Thrust Kick
• Heel Kick

These exercises would be performed on a variety of implements from heavy bags to focus mitts to shadow work.

Lesson one therefore is to split your training into similar actions each day so that you can put more energy into each skill individually. This allows for greater focus as well as making sure your sessions are a reasonable length instead of marathon four-hour sessions. Practicing for such long periods of time will usually mean you are performing each skill or movement poorly, rather than at the peak of your ability. Why train to perform sub optimally?

Lesson #2: Keep It Simple, Stupid

bruce lee, enter the dragon, ufc, mma, martial arts, mixed martial artsBruce’s superb physique is great testament to his freaky work ethic. He was one of the very first martial artists to discover and believe fully in strength training. Unlike many in the 70s who believed that weight training would make you muscle bound and slow, Bruce saw the benefits of weight training after a period doing just reverse curls to develop his forearms.

Always ahead of his time his routine wouldn’t be out of place now. Consisting of whole body exercises a typical day looked like this:

• Clean and press – 4 sets of 6 reps
• Squat – 4 sets of 6 reps
• Good morning – 4 sets of 6 reps
• Bench press – 4 sets of 5 reps
• Curls – 4 sets of 6 reps

For anyone who cries out in indignation over the inclusion of curls into a full body routine I am reminded of something Randy Couture once said to me, “Anyone who doesn’t think curls are functional has never wrestled.”

Looking at his list of exercises you’d be forgiven for thinking Bruce had somehow traveled into the future and becomes friends with someone like Dan John. His workout is so KISS simple that he could focus on adding load rather than perfecting difficult movements.

Lesson two therefore is to keep your assistance training simple. Most people need to remember that they lift to assist their other activities, not to compete in lifting. You should be looking for the lifts that have the smallest learning curve, yet give the most transfer. The other noteworthy part is that Lee didn’t waste his time on endless reps of bodyweight only exercises. He stuck to known rep ranges for strength and challenged himself to gain strength. These low rep ranges elicit changes in the body’s ability to fire muscles, not in changing their size, keeping Lee fast and light, yet able to hit like a truck.

Lesson #3: Roadwork Does Work

bruce lee, enter the dragon, ufc, mma, martial arts, mixed martial artsAnother piece of Lee’s training puzzle we should note from a function point of view is his use of running and skipping for fitness. Roadwork has fallen out of vogue with today’s crop of HIIT inspired trainers yet all the real greats of fighting have done some form of running, from Ali to Lee.

Bruce would run 4 miles (6kms) three times per week at the start of the day. He would often perform these sessions as a Fartlek type workout, speeding up for short bursts before settling back into his regular pace again. The other three days Lee would skip for thirty minutes at a time. He believed it helped keep him light on his feet as well as helping his fitness. On these days he would also add another forty-five minutes of cycling on an exercise bike for extra fitness work.

Lesson #4: Abdominal Work Is a Good Thing

The final piece of his training puzzle was targeted abdominal work. His ripped waist was clear evidence of time spent on many hard reps. Abdominal training has fallen out of favor in the last few years as research emerges that spinal flexion can cause disc herniation. However, elite athletes all over the world for decades have all believed strongly in supplemental abdominal work.

Research is unclear about whether or not the muscles of the midsection should be trained with high or low reps but Lee favored many high rep sets. Typically using three exercises for five sets each daily. A typical midsection workout might be:

• Side bends – 5 sets to failure
• Leg raises – 5 sets to failure
• Sit ups – 5 sets to failure

Looking at how Lee was so far ahead of his time with the rest of his training it wouldn’t surprise me at all to if he was doing some of these days for high reps with low loads and other days with heavy loads and only two to three reps at a time.

The four take away lessons from Bruce Lee’s training are:

Split your sessions into smaller chunks so you can better focus on improving skill.

Strength train, but keep your main focus on your art. Look to find the simplest exercises you can and milk the most you can from them.

Don’t neglect roadwork and other endurance work as these form a key role in overall fitness, health, and body composition.

Targeted abdominal work links the whole thing together and allows better power production as well as forming a protective shield during fighting.

Dumbbell Reverse Wrist Curl

This exercise targets the forearm extensors and allows you to work each forearm individually, thus helping to develop balance and proportion between both forearms.

Sit and hold a dumbbell with an overhand grip. Rest your forearm on the bench at a 90 degree angle, holding the dumbbell off the side of the bench, this position is generally more comfortable on the wrists.

Lower the dumbbell as far as you can, then reverse curl the dumbbell back up and flex your wrist. Once you perform the desired number of reps for one arm, switch and repeat with the other arm

Dumbbell Wrist Curl

This exercise targets the forearm flexors and allows you to work each forearm individually, thus helping to develop balance and proportion between both forearms.

Sit and hold a dumbbell with an underhand grip. Rest your forearm on the bench between your thighs with your wrist just beyond the edge of the bench.

Allow the dumbbell to roll down the palm towards the fingers. Curl the dumbbell back up and flex your wrist. Once you perform the desired number of reps for one arm, switch and repeat with the other arm.

Enter The Six-Pack- Train Like Bruce Lee

"40 years ago, young athletes found inspiration in Bruce Lee's peerless intensity and wiry strength. Not much has changed since. Get out the heavy bag and make Lee's training style work for you!"

"Absorb what is useful. Reject what is useless." These legendary words are often attributed to Bruce Lee, and while it's debatable whether they actually originated with him, there's no doubt that they strike at the core of his martial philosophy. His legendary and eclectic fighting style of Jeet Kune Do, "the way of the intercepting fist," focused on crafting his strikes around his opponent's incoming attack, at a moment when anything extraneous would just slow him down with tragic results. As a result, he was as unpredictable as he was entertaining.

Openness and flexibility also defined how Lee approached his physical training. While trainers and his peers wasted their time with territorial squabbles and quests for one-size-fits-all training programs, Lee was receptive to a wide range of traditions. He took what he needed from martial arts, bodybuilding, and other styles of training. He was devoted to his barbell and kettlebells, but also loved his Nautilus-style Marcy Circuit Trainer. He practiced his kicks and punches daily with full intensity, but he also ran, cycled, and jumped rope.

In short, he was an all-around athlete, and the result was a body that Joe Weider once described as the most defined he had ever seen. Over 40 years after Lee's tragic death, people continue to be inspired by his special combination of speed, strength, and flexibility. The simple discovery of a few new photos of him shirtless is still enough to earn a cover story.

Of course, Lee never trained solely for the purpose of looking good. His aim was to develop a functional body, and the appearance was a byproduct of his training. Training, he said, was "the art of expressing the human body." Here's how he did it, and how you can do the same.

Fit to Fight

Lee was an elite athlete, competitor, and teacher as early as the late 1950s, able to accomplish incredible feats of strength like two-finger push-ups for reps and "one-inch" punches that sent his recipients flying. However, he reconsidered all his training methods after an incident in 1964. That year, Lee was challenged to a duel by Wong Jack Man, a disciple of a very traditional branch of Chinese martial arts. The cause of the challenge, according to most accounts, was Bruce's willingness to teach traditional Chinese fighting methods to Caucasians. By this version of the story, if Lee lost, he would agree to close down his flourishing martial arts school.

Lee triumphed over his adversary in short order, maintaining his ability to teach whomever he wished. However, he later said that even though the fight took only 3 minutes and ended with Lee chasing Man around the studio, it took much longer than what it should have taken, and he felt more winded than he should have. Furious at himself, Lee decided to ruthlessly re-examine his training and look for what his wife Linda called "more sophisticated and exhaustive training methods."

In short order, Lee began an intensive program of strength and fitness that continued up until his death in 1973. He constantly changed his workouts, but he also always recorded them. This means that although it is impossible to nail down an exact "Bruce Lee workout," we can piece together his favorite movements and programs. If you want to leave behind a muscular treasure map for future generations-or just for yourself-follow Lee's example and take good notes along the way.

Train Hard to Hit Hard

Any conversation about Lee's training has to begin with his martial arts practice. Having begun his learning from the late grandmaster Yip Man in the Wing Chun style of Kung Fu, Lee kept progressing until he had formed his own method, Jeet Kune Do. Unlike more traditional styles, Jeet Kune Do was not bound to any rigid forms. It was, Lee said, "a style without style," a free flowing manner of fighting that used whatever worked.

Does this mean Lee no longer had any need to prepare meticulously? On the contrary, it meant that he needed to have all his martial tools ready in an instant. As such, he devoted hours every week to his practice. Here is a typical log of the punches and kicks that Lee practiced:

Punches: Monday/Wednesday/Friday

• Jab-Speed Bag, Foam Pad, Top and Bottom Bag
• Cross-Foam Pad, Heavy Bag, Top and Bottom Bag
• Hook-Heavy Bag, Foam Pad, Top and Bottom Bag
• Overhand Cross-Pad, Heavy Bag
• Combinations- Heavy Bag, Top and Bottom Bag
• Platform Speed Bag Workout

Kicks: Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday

• Side Kick
• Hook Kick
• Spin Kick
• Rear and Front Thrust
• Heel Kick

Lee would often say that when you hit a heavy bag, you shouldn't do it passively. Imagine that the bag is your worst enemy, and give it all you have. He also emphasized the importance of never leaving oneself vulnerable to attack, even while practicing. Lee was continuously moving, feinting, and side-stepping while training on the heavy bag to simulate a real fight. He believed a martial artist who didn't take practice time this seriously would never be able to transfer what he learned in the dojo to the streets.

The Way of the Barbell

Even before his fight with Wong Jack Man, Lee knew that no martial artist could be their best without proper strength development. However, his experience in that duel, combined with his entry into television and film acting, led Lee to launch a devoted relationship with the iron.

At first, Lee did reverse curls all day to develop his forearms. Once he saw how beneficial weight training was, he began on a more well-rounded weight training program. These were two alternating routines he employed to build his amazing levels of strength:

In his ability to program for both full-body functional strength and muscle development, Lee was far ahead of his times. A voracious reader, he backed up every choice he made with research and tracked its effectiveness to make sure it was working. Along the way, he transformed himself from a skinny 100-pound guy into a 130-pound warrior who could hit like a truck.

Conditioning Meets Meditation

Endurance training wasn't an afterthought to Lee. He knew his strength training was limited without an equal focus on stamina, and he used several modalities to achieve his supreme levels of cardio conditioning.

Running: For Lee, running was a form of meditation in addition to conditioning. It was the time for him to be alone with his thoughts. He started most Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with a run of several miles. His favorite distance was around 4 miles, which he would run in around 20-25 minutes, changing tempo throughout. After a stretch of easy, even strides, he would sprint for a short distance, and then return to easier running—similar to today's interval training protocols. He would also shuffle his feet while running.


Rope Skipping: Jumping rope not only helped Lee maintain his stamina and leg muscles, but also helped him stay light on his feet. He would usually do this on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday for around 30 minutes.

Cycling: On Tuesdays, Thursday, and Saturdays, Lee would follow up his rope jumping with a session of stationary cycling, further developing his stamina and exhausting his legs. He often rode at high speeds for 45 minutes on his Exercycle.

The Famous Lee Core

For Lee, as for other elite martial artists, ab training was about more than just looking good. It was about developing a shield that would be able to withstand any punch. To hammer this home, Lee would often have someone drop a medicine ball on his stomach while he would lie on the ground to further toughen his gut.

However, conventional abs exercises like situps, leg raises, side bends were also an integral part of his ab training routine. Here's a sample of one of the types of workouts he would subject himself to on a daily basis:

Feeding The Dragon
No hard-training athlete jumps from 100 to 130 pounds without nutrition playing a huge part. Like many of us, Lee had a fondness for protein-rich drinks, blending his own weight-gain shakes with powdered milk and supplements like ginseng, royal jelly, and massive doses of vitamins.

He was highly particular about his diet, never consuming foods that he suspected could harm his body or impair his performance. He put coffee on his banned list, favoring tea instead. However, Lee enjoyed his Chinese food unapologetically. In his view, Chinese food placed sufficient emphasis on carbohydrates from vegetables and rice, unlike western foods, which he felt leaned too heavily on proteins and fats. He saw carbs as essential for a person with high levels of physical activity like him, spreading them across 4-5 meals a day.

BRUCE LEE WEIGHT LIFTING WORKOUT

“Above all, never cheat on any exercise; use the amount of weight that you can handle without undue strain.” – Bruce Lee 

Bruce Lee divided his routine into specific martial arts training to enhance his martial arts prowess, i.e. weight training, calisthenics, cardio fitness and stretching. If you combine this Bruce Lee workout aligned with your own  fitness goals you will get excellent results. Each day Bruce Lee would train to improve his physique and his martial ability. However, Bruce Lee also stated that it was important to never train the body so hard on any given day, to the point where the body is too weak on the following days to train more or to fight. Bruce Lee’s weight training routine evolved during his career. In his early days, his emphasis was on bodybuilding, especially forearm training, and he supplemented his diet with protein drinks. Later on, he started to simplify his training. He realized that rather than the isolation exercises favored by bodybuilders, he needed to perform compound weight training exercises to increase his overall strength and condition. Bruce Lee’s weight reduced after he gave up the bodybuilding routines in favor of more traditional compound and cardio training. 

Bruce Lee’s Weight Training Routine:

Bruce Lee Barbell Squat – 2 sets of 12 reps

The squat is one of the most important compound exercises in the Bruce Lee Workout, especially for martial artists. It develops a solid base and core. In the standard squat, which should always be performed in a squat rack for safety, a barbell is placed across the shoulders and a squat is then performed. Bruce Lee advised there should be no pause in the lowest position, instead as soon as your thighs reach a horizontal position, you should rise again to a standing position. The squat works the hips, glutes, hamstrings, calves and quads.

Bruce Lee Barbell Pullovers – 2 sets of 8 reps

The barbell pullover is a weight training exercise that is less common these days. It is the classic rib-box expander. To perform a pullover you should lie on a flat bench, hold a barbell with a shoulder width grip overhead, and then lower it backwards behind your head, keeping the elbows slightly bent. The bar should be held as far back as it is comfortable. Some people can touch the floor behind them with the bar, but this is not recommended without adequate training. Use a light weight to start with, as this is a deceptively difficult movement.

Bruce Lee Bench Press – 2 sets of 6 reps

No weight training session would be complete without a bench press. Many martial artists actually advise against the bench press as it expands the rib cage, which is a weakness in fighting. Bruce Lee taught that a fighter should aim to develop a solid set of ribs, which can take strikes. Performing many bench presses and pullovers can open the ribs too much, so if you plan to fight competitively, do not place too much emphasis on these exercises .

Bruce Lee Good Mornings Exercises – 2 sets of 8 reps 

Bruce Lee was a fan of the good morning exercise. The exercise involves holding a barbell across the shoulders and then bend forward, keeping the legs and back straight. This exercise can be very dangerous if you do not warm up and attempt to use too much weight. Really good mornings can be performed with good results with just an empty bar. Bruce Lee damaged his back doing good mornings exercises – he did not damage it in a kung-fu challenge match, as portrayed in the film Dragon! 

Bruce Lee Barbell Curls – 2 sets of 8 reps

Curls are the other staple weight training exercise along with bench presses. Everyone seems to want bigger biceps. For martial arts styles that involve grappling, grabbing, pulling and throwing, a good pairs of guns come in very useful. So perform bicep curls in each training session to build up the guns. Bruce Lee Workout aims to increase your pulling power. Bruce Lee gave so much advice in his relatively short time as a professional martial artist and fitness instructor. Fortunately he left many notes and journals that have now been made into books, so that we know more about his training methods and philosophies. 

“Since weight training involves repetitions, a great deal of energy must be exerted. Therefore, weight training should be practiced only every other day.” 

– Bruce Lee 

Bruce Lee suggested that as a martial artist you should weight train at most once every other day, or three days per week, with an extra rest day at the weekend. For Bruce Lee, the most important aspect of his new weight training routine was that he could still train his martial arts and practice endurance/cardio training on the other days. 

Bruce Lee adopted a cross training methodology, in that he believed fitness training should have three key elements: stretching for flexibility; weight training for strength; and cardiovascular for endurance. Change the Routine and Exercises to Suit Your Needs With any weight training, it is important not to get into a rigid routine. 

After a while of training, you will hit a plateau and training will no longer produce the same gains, if any, that it once did when you were weaker and less fit. For this reason, it is essential to add new exercises. So, train with dumbbells instead of barbells at times, change the weight and number of repetitions etc. to give the body a new challenge and a new spurt of growth. For a number of years, Lee had made a concerted study of exercise physiology and anatomy. Refusing to merely accept tradition for tradition’s sake – a stance that made him increasingly unpopular with the majority of his fellow martial artists who had been raised and were now in the process of passing on (without questioning) the various martial traditions of the East — Lee’s background in physiology and kinesiology had imbued him with the ability to discern a useful exercise from an unproductive one and therefore he was able to avoid the obstacle of wasted time in any of his workouts. Lee believed that the student of exercise science should aim at nothing less than physical perfection, with all that it implies in its totality; he should want great strength, great speed, great coordination, exuberant health, and, by no means least, the muscular beauty of form which distinguishes a physically perfect human being. To Lee, the whole secret of success in bodybuilding lay in the principle of progressive resistance, but he also recognized that there was another component that had won a place in the vocabulary of physical culture and that word was persistence. Certainly Lee was  persistent in his quest to fully explore and express the potential of his body, a physique that not only looked phenomenal on a movie screen but that also possessed a musculature that was geared for function .

Bruce lee

"If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done."

-Bruce Lee 

Get Bruce Lee Like Strength

Bruce Lee was a paragon of cool and an icon of the ultimate bad-ass. Not only were his martial arts skills incredible, but he had such an impressive physique that even bodybuilders in the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger admired him.

What’s more impressive is that Bruce trained his body without ever stepping into a gym and with very little use of weights or machines.

Here are just a few of Lee’s physical feats:

• Performed one-hand push-ups using only the thumb and index finger.
• Could hold an elevated v-sit position for 30 minutes or longer.
• Could throw grains of rice up into the air and then catch them in mid-flight using chopsticks.
• Could break wooden boards 6 inches (15 cm) thick.
• Performed 50 reps of one-arm chin-ups.

While you may not get to Bruce Lee’s level overnight, you can start getting in shape without the use of a lot of fancy (and expensive) equipment. You can do it from the comfort of your own home, in a space as large as a bathroom.

Part of the reason I started training without a gym was because I began training in Jeet Kune Do (Bruce Lee’s method of martial arts). But I also got tired of paying monthly gym dues. At the time, I was looking for things I could cut out of my monthly budget to save a little extra money.

I thought about getting rid of my gym membership altogether, but I didn’t want to sacrifice my health or physical fitness. So I found another way. For months, I haven’t had a gym membership, yet I’m getting stronger and faster than I’ve ever been in my life.

You don’t have to buy lots of weights or machines, either. The most expensive equipment you’ll need (a simple doorway pull-up bar) .

Bruce Lee was a big proponent of holistic or total fitness. His workouts included strength, speed, endurance, and flexibility training.

Here’s just a few of the ways you can start getting stronger, faster and more toned without ever stepping into a gym:

1. Calisthenics. There are so many different bodyweight exercises out there, but we’ll start with the basics. For the lower body: lunges and squats are a good start. For upper body: pull-ups, push-ups, and shoulder press ups. For your core: crunches, chops, and reverse crunches will get you going. What’s great about bodyweight exercises is that they build functional strength. They’re natural movements you would use in real life situations like sports, self-defense, gardening, or doing chores. Plus when you do bodyweight exercises, you force your body to use more supporting and balancing muscles than you would on machines. For more bodyweight exercises check out these great resources: The Ultimate Guide to Bodyweight Training: 100 Killer Resources and for an awesome list of bodyweight exercises with illustrations check out Combat Fitness. Bonus: Top 10 Best Bodyweight Exercises for Advanced and Beginners.
2. Isometric exercises. These are basic bodyweight exercises, but where you hold your body in a static position. Examples of these are the frog sit, v-sit, horse stance, hanging from a pull-up bar, and the plank. Calisthenic exercises will improve muscle strength over a range of motion, but isometric exercises are great for joint and stabilizing strength.
3. Range of motion and flexibility. The best exercise I’ve found for range of motion and flexibility is yoga. The best thing about yoga is that no equipment is required and you can find tons of free resources online for yoga routines. Check out Anmol Mehta’s Yoga Illustrations to get you started.
4. Balance. Balance is the ability to keep your equilibrium when your center of gravity is thrown off-balance. There are many ways you can practice balance every day (we won’t get into tight rope walking here). When you’re putting on your shoes or getting dressed, do it on one foot. Walk on the curb and try to walk in a straight line without stumbling. Or if you’re really ambitious, there’s always pogo sticking and unicycling.
5. Dynamic exercise. Dynamic exercise is anything where you’re not performing routine after routine. Things are in flux and constantly changing. You’re moving in more natural movements, rather than continuous repetition of fixed patterns. I recently started doing Jeet Kune Do in the park every weekend. It’s a great way to get a good work out and learn self defense. Not to mention, practicing martial arts tends to make you inspired to further pursue and achieve higher levels of physical fitness. If you’re not into martial arts, you can always pick up a sport like tennis, handball, basketball, or take dance classes. Do whatever you’re naturally drawn to. Or if you struggle with seeing fitness as an enjoyable activity, you might consider getting a Wii Fit.

There’s a lot of other opportunities for exercise that don’t include a gym that I haven’t listed here. Hiking, jogging, skiing, yardwork… The list could go on. Just use your imagination. Make it fun and change it up. That’s the great thing about exercising without a gym, there’s so much to choose from.

On a side note, I will, however, say that for me, it took a lot more discipline to work out from home. It was easy for me to just go to the gym. Once I’m there, there’s not a lot else I can do other than work out. But at home, there’s always distraction, always other things you can do besides working out (like laying on the couch or surfing the internet). For me, practicing martial arts inspires me to be physically fit. While you might not have this problem, I thought it only fair to be upfront about this issue.

The other motivator for me to work out from home — besides saving money — was the variety of workouts. There’s just so many more options with bodyweight exercises than machines. You can always do something to further challenge yourself. If push-ups are a breeze, you can try doing them on your fingers or in a close grip (with a medicine ball). If pull-ups become too easy, train for a one arm pull-up (insanely difficult).

Attaining Bruce Lee like fitness isn’t just about doing the types workouts he did and eating the same diet. What made Bruce so great was his natural curiosity and drive to constantly explore and learn more about fitness and personal growth. (His personal library contained over 2,000 books!)

Tap into your own curiosity and make fitness enjoyable. Challenge yourself to new levels of fitness. Go beyond what you think you can do.

“If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.” – Bruce Lee

Fear the Man

"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times".

-Bruce Lee

Bruce lee quotes

"Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it."

-Bruce Lee 

Bruce Lee -Love quotes

"Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable."

-Bruce Lee