Bruce Lee Workout

8/10/2019 Bruce Lee Workout

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1. Abdominals

Let's face it, one of the most awe-inspiring things about Bruce Lee's bodywere his abs. They were thick, striated, and cut. Now you can definitely buildan impressive set of abdominals, but it ust isn't going to look that great if it'scovered by fat. !ou cannot spot reduce this area, so don't even bother doingmarathon abdominal sessions, it's a waste of time, and a waste of energy."bdominal training is different from other body part speciali#ation, in that itis the only body area that really re$uires a three-prong attack to obtain goodresults. Training the abs consist of all the following ploys%& (rogressive use of weights )*n order to build up the muscularity and+ "erobic activity )To burn off fat ieting )"lso to reduce fat, but also has the advantage of preventing yourstomach from getting over distended. hat do * mean by over distended/

rink a si0-pack of beer. That’s over distended.(ersonally, *'d rather cut down on the calories as opposed to aerobic work. *mean, what's easier to do to obtain a negative calorie balance/ & hour ofwalking on a treadmill, or passing on the slice of chocolate cake/ 1ne takesone hour, the other takes & second.*f you don't want to do the aerobic work or diet )you can do one or the other,as well as both then don't bother doing abdominal sets either...the T1 haveto be done at the same time. oes this mean that you should ust ignore yourabdomen/ No, not at all. !ou will find that doing some of the basic e0ercisethat * describe in the 2ard gainer section cause your abdominal muscles to be

used )some for stabili#ation, and others as a byproduct of training the otherareas, so don't worry too much about them falling behind.Bruce Lee had five abdominal e0ercises that he used, that he used all thetime, and two that he added at times as a supplement.The 3it 4p% on't even bother doing this e0ercise, it makes use ofleg muscles )psoas, and can be done more efficiently with betterabdominal results, as *'ll describe in the ne0t sectionLeg 5aises% "nother popular e0ercise from the past, but like the situp, has an improved version.The twist% Ne0t6

7rog 8icks% (retty much hanging from a bar and touch your kneesto your chest...yeah right...3ide Bends% one with a weight opposite the side that you areworking on. There is a more efficient way to work these muscles.2. Forearms7orearms/ oes anyone really train forearms/ *f they did, why6 ell, to put it

bluntly, if you don't have a good grip, you aren't going to be able to handle the



kind of weights )read as heavy weights that you need to really build muscle.*t will be the weak link in your form. *n other words, your bench press, deadlift, lat pull downs etc will be limited by the fact that your forearm musclesare going to tire and weaken before the larger muscles do. Bruce Lee focusedon forearm training mainly to improve gripping and punching power. 2e alsofelt that training them daily was ok as the muscles involved were very denseand could withstand this kind of training. 5ep ranges were anywhere from 9-&:.Bruce Lee's 7orearm e0ercises included the following%rist 5oller% " thick handled bar to which a rope was attached which held aweight.7ingertip push-ups% Bruce was able to do this on ust his inde0 finger andthumb65everse ;url% " simple biceps curl with the palms facing down.

<ripping =achine% This machine was actually created by Bruce Lee. *ron=ind sells a forearm gripper which simulates this machine, and at differentweight settings )&>>lbs, +>> lbs. etc. Their website can be found awww.ironmind.com They are called ;aptain's of ;rush, and though *'ve never used them, * heard they are very good.Barbell rist ;url% one seat with the forearms resting on your thighs. Theseare done in both supinated and pronated hand positions.Leverage Bar% Better described in the ne0t section.3. Neck and Shoulders" We should not neglect the training of our neck muscles. This kind of

training is very important in sports." - Bruce Lee. Basic shoulder muscleswere also incorporated into Bruce Lee's training routine.The restler's Bridge% o not do, very dangerous.4pright 5ow% Not a bad e0ercise prior to doing shoulder presses, but you willfind that there *3 a ma0imum weight that you can use.3tanding Barbell (ress% ;ould be hard to maintain balance here.;lean and (ress% " good basic movement, but * would wait until one has beentraining for a while.(ress behind neck% There's nothing like miscalculating in this e0ercise andhaving the barbell come crashing down on your head, or worse, your neck. *

think this one can be left out of any routine.3eated (ress% <ood safe movement, * would include this.umbbell Lateral 5aise 3tanding. 7or e0tra training intensity, do this standingone arm at a time, with the opposite arm using a doorway or upright bar forsupport. The key here is to do these SLOW! . hest



Bruce Lee didn't want to build a huge bodybuilding chest, as he felt that itcould be an obstacle to good blocking techni$ues. 2e did however reali#ethat a lot of the high and low blocks that passed across the body, as well asuppercuts, hooks and crosses, re$uired a contraction of the chest muscles. "syou can see in the picture, he had very sharply defined upper and lower

pectoral muscles. )!ou can almost see where the peck muscles insert into hisupper arm6The Bench (ress% The most popular chest e0ercise in the world6ecline (ress% 5ecently has gotten some press as being slightly moreeffective overall than incline presses. *f you are working out alone though,these can be difficult to do.*ncline (ress% 3upposedly focuses more on the upper chest.;lose <rip Bench (resses% (roductive if done correctly, very damaging if not.The problem is, ?9@ of the time, these are NOT done correctly.

umbbell (ress% <reater stretch at the bottom of the movement, but once youget to heavy weights, they are tough to get into position if working out alone.Bent-"rm pullover% * find that these are actually great for working out the lat-lat muscle areas.ecline (ullover% "llegedly causes a sharp delineation around and under the

pectorals.umbbell 7lies% <ood finishing movement, * prefer ec-ec flies.4nilateral ;able ;rossovers% Not bad if you can find this kind of set-up. ".#ack *'m not going to go on and on ad nausea about Bruce Lee's back development.

Bottom line is that it was awesome6 2e used to blow his lats out in such away as to imitate a ;obra. "nyone who has seen Aay of The ragonA hasgot to remember the scene where Bruce is doing e0ercises on a balcony, thensuddenly goes into a full lat spread.5owing =otion% 5eal tough )as in painful to the lower back.1ne "rm pulley row% "llegedly supposed to target the lower lats.1ne "rm umbbell row% !ou'll feel this in your lower back too. The troublewith this movement is that it really becomes easy to cheat, using othermuscles to hoist the weight up rather than relying solely on the lats.(unching with weights% 7inally, a 5"L use for all those heavy hands that

everyone has bought at some time or another6 These actually do work the lats,as does punching on a heavy bag.Behind the Neck (ull down% * don't think that there is any reason or benefit todoing these behind the neck. "t any rate, doing them in this manner forcesyou to have a pronated or overhand grip. "s * stated before, these put you at amechanical disadvantage with your forearm muscles being the weak linkCthey'll tire out before your back muscles do.



;hin 4p )1verhand% The chin up is actually known to be more effective at building the back than doing the lat-pull downs. 1f course if you can't do achin up the point is moot. 4se an underhand grip for the same reasons asthose stated above.;hinning behind the Neck% 3ee above.<ood =ornings% This is actually what caused Bruce Lee to be laid up in bedfor awhile )not some martial arts contest as stated in the movie A5"<1NABruce didn't warm-up, did it with a &9 lbs. on his back, got hurt. 2e reali#edafterwards that ust using a bar would have been fine. 2e had lower back painfor the rest of his life because of this by the way...2ypere0tension% hatever you do, don't do these on an apparatus where your face risks smashing into a pole at the end of a rep....ead lift% " great back and leg muscle building movement663tiff-Legged ead lift% These are actually more effective if your knees are

slightly bent.$. ArmsBruce Lee didn't really train his arms for show, they were by-products of thetraining that he did to develop functional strength. This is actually somewhatsimilar to the hard gainer (hilosophy, as you will see later. (ersonally, * don'tdo specific arm e0ercises, as they get enough of a workout doing the basiclarger muscles e0ercises.;hin 4p )4nderhanded% The right way to do them%-3tanding Barbell ;url% *f you are going to insist on doing these, at least stopwhen your forearms are D9 degrees from the hori#ontal )as the top of the

movement, and not when the barbell is resting on your shoulders.Triceps (ush-own )(ulley% !ou should be slightly standing back from themachine, so that when you are at full e0tension, the cable is not runningstraight up, but rather slightly back towards you, this keeps constant tensionon the triceps.(ush-4ps% *f you've got access to nothing else, these are pretty good in a

pinch.7rench (ress% (otentially damaging to the elbows...Triceps 5aise% *'m not even going to describe this, because in my opinion thetriceps are ust used as stabili#ers in this e0ercise.

umbbell 8ickback% These are good for AToningA, in other words...ne0t66:. Le%s and al&es1k, like pretty much ??@ of the people out there, * hate working out my legs.*t's demanding, painful, and in my opinion, self-torture. 3till, * have read overand over again that doing 3$uats or any heavy leg movement is the key to

building mass. 3upposedly, heavy leg e0ercises are so ta0ing to your bodythat your body is forced to go into hyper anabolic mode to compensate for



this increased stress. hat this means is...more muscle gain. * finally brokedown )crying and whining all the way mind you6 and added +> rep s$uatsinto my training routine. *'ve actually found after a while that * enoyed doings$uats, because afterwards, * know that * did something that most peoplewould ust blow off %- Let's face itC spindly legs on a massive upper bodylook ridiculous...so if you are serious about building muscle, ust commityourself to doing 3$uats. Besides, the crying you will do the night after doings$uats really aids in the sleep process )"t least it did for me63$uats% "hhhhh6666 Eust do them. on't use any boards under your heelseither6Eumping 3$uat% 2mmm.think *'ll pass on this has the potential to cause spinalcompression.Breathing 3$uat% This is the dreaded +> rep s$uat. By the &9th rep, if your nottaking a lot of breaths in between reps, you aren't working hard enough.

)*ncidentally, if by the &9th rep the room is spinning, and you feel likeretching, you are working TOO hard. (ut down the weight and stop. <etdriven to mergency 5oom. ;heck yourself into hospital...The Eefferson Lift )3traddle 3$uat% <ood for people who can't 3$uat )Thisdoes not include people who don't WANT to 3$uatLeg 0tension% on't bother until you are doing seriously heavy 3$uatweights. This e0ercise is not going to build mass as efficiently, if at all. 3topmaking e0cuses, do the 3$uats.2eel 5aise% "t the bottom of the movement don't fall down hard on yourheels. *n fact your heels should never touch the ground if possible, e0cept at

the end of the set.Fariations of the 2eel 5aise% *t has been thought that the direction of yourtoes affects the effect on the calves differently. Not true.3eated ;alf 5aise% *f you can do these, sure why not.'sometric Trainin%This kind of training is good for building strength at Asticking pointsA of youre0ercises. These can be done on any machine if a heavy enough weight isused to render the bar immovable. 1n the other hand, you could also ust grabanything that you can't move...use your imagination. Bruce Lee for e0amplehad a bar that was attached to a weight, which was attached to a chain,

attached to a wooden platform, which he stood on. 2e altered the height ofthe bar by rolling up the chain. 2e also used a (ower 5ack at times. There are basic positions in which to perform isometric e0ercises%Three inches above the starting positionThree inches below the finishing position"n intermediate position in between the first two.



7or the Bench press for e0ample, number one would be pressing on animmovable bar inches above your chest, + would be inches belowcomplete arm lockout, and would be at a position between these two.There are G Basic 0ercises, do one repetition for each e0ercise, with eachrep involving ma0imum e0ertion for ?-&+ seconds.(ress Lockout% The 3houlder press, with the bar inches below arm lockout.(ress 3tart% Bar at about chin height.5ise on Toes% atch out for spinal compression, don't go cra#y here.(ull% Bar H-: inches below the waist. Like the beginning of a biceps curl.(arallel 3$uat% here your thighs are inches above parallel in a typicals$uat.3houlder 3hrug. <o to shrug machine, load up a weight you can't possiblemove, and shrug.ead eight Lift% 3et bar at + inches below your knees. (ull upwards using

your back and legs.Iuarter 3$uat% Bar at D inches below where it would be if you were standingfull upright.Fle(ibilit) Trainin%*t has already been discussed in motional ;ontent the importance ofstretching, so * won't go over that again. *t is a good idea to try to stretcheveryday if possible. !ou can do it as soon as you wake up, and maybe ust

before going to bed. *f you are going to lift with weights that day, ust addsome stretches for the body part that is going to be worked on. *t has becomecommon knowledge that the ABounceA method of stretching is out. Limit the

stretches in the beginning to +> seconds each, and for only one rep. This canreach a ma0imum of D9 seconds for each stretch. The key thing is to slowlyAeaseA into the stretchC allow the muscles to slowly rela0 and stretch on theirown.2amstring 3tretch% Both legs forward, try to touch toes. 1ne can try to slowlyslide one's hands down the shins.2amstring 3tretch )1n a bar% Like ballet dancers with one leg up, * actuallydo this on my balcony in the mornings.2urdler's 3tretch% 1ne leg forward, the other foot's sole pressed against thee0tended leg. 1r stick with the basic hurdler's position.

3eated groin 3tretch% Both soles together, use the elbows to push downagainst the knees.3tanding 2ip 3tretch% *f you have a pulley, use it. * use the balcony bar. !oucan also ust place your foot against a wall like you were side kicking it andstretch.Lunge 3tretch% 3tep forward with one leg like a lunge, back leg stays straight.8eep torso upright, hands on hips.



Thigh 3tretch% <rab right ankle behind you with right hand, pull upwards. !oucan use the opposite hand to hold on to something for balance.;alf 3tretch% 8ind of like the lunge, but done against a wall, and the back footremains flat on the ground.Lower Back 3tretch% Legs splayed outwards, seated on ground, use hands tocrawl forward as far as one can go.3ide 3tretch% Like weighted side bends.ardio&ascular Trainin%* think the main thing to remember here, is that cardiovascular training is likeany other form of training% it is progressive. on't start off thinking you'regoing to run 9 miles. 3tart off with a block if you want, 9> yards, and increaseit by &> yards 8L!, not daily. *'m currently e0perimenting with the ideaof A3printingA as opposed to ogging, as for some reasons it hurts my kneesless.

3tepping% e all know this type of workout. !ou can start at one minute perleg. *ncrease it by + minutes a week, and you'll be doing > minutes straightin two months.Eogging% * know this is probably good for you, but it's so damn boring66 Toughon the knee oints too. "nd feet.The last variation is one that Bruce Lee prescribed for a student of his%Eogging )& minute, 3print )as long as you can, alk )& minute, then repeatthis <iant 3et as many times as you can.1k, that's it for Bruce Lee's Training 5outines. hile * think that he wasdefinitely on to something, and the body to back up his theories, * think that

on the whole he may have been over training. "s you will see in the followingsection, one does not have to put in the kind of hours that Bruce Lee did into

building a decent physi$ue. !ou will notice too that some of the e0ercises thatBruce Lee did are not included in the ne0t section. They were omitted

because either they aren't productive, are dangerous, or both. Now beforeanyone starts telling me where * can go...ust remember that Bruce Leehimself was constantly changing his own workout routines as he found betterways to train, and reali#ed that some of the e0ercises were not working thatwell. * too have tried many different routines before finally coming upon the2ard <ainerJs routines that for me anyway, has worked very well.

By the way, a lot of this material was found in Eohn Little's book ABruce Lee%The "rt of 0pressing the 2uman BodyA. This author is responsible forreleasing a complete set of recent books about Bruce Lee. *s the book worth

buying/ efinitely, especially if you are a Bruce Lee fan, but also if you areinto serious training. There is a lot of good material there, and as some peoplesay, A*f you want to look like Bruce, you have to train like him.A This book



will indeed give you his e0act training routines, as well as how he did thee0ercises, and variations.

Bruce Lee Workout

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