Bruce Lee’s Isometric Training Workouts

Bruce Lee adopted many different exercise workouts during his short but intensive martial arts career. Although he became famous for his well chiseled muscles, which were once compared to warm marble, he also used many exercises derived from more traditional kung-fu training, which involve holding a weight steady for a period of time. Possibly the most famous kung-fu isometric exercise is the horse stance, which is simply a squat that you hold. Sounds easy, try it.

Bruce Lee’s Isometric Training Workout

Bruce Lee used to perform a simple routine using 8 different isometric exercises. Each exercise is performed just once. The aim is to work to maximum effort in each exercise for 6-12 seconds. To perform these exercises you need a power cage or a similar weight training bench with a bar that is too heavy to move. If you have enough weights you can put them all on a bar so that it is too heavy for you to lift. This can actually aid your training, as rather than knowing it is impossible to move the bar, you can tell yourself that if you push harder, you may move it!

continued below ....

Recommended Products:

Press Lockout. Set a bar in a power cage at about 3 inches below your lockout position for a shoulder/military press. Grasp the bar as you would normally for a press, and then push the bar upwards as hard as possibly for 6 to 12 seconds.
Press Start. This is the second position for the press. Start with the bar at chin height, just above the lowest position on your usual military press. Exert maximum force for 6 to 12 seconds.
Rise on toes. Set the bar in a position just above your shoulders where you can touch it enough to apply pressure when on tip toes. Then position yourself under the bar, rise on toes, and push the bar as hard as possible for 6 to 12 seconds.
Pull. The bar is set in a similar position to where you start an upright row, just below waist level. Stand in front of the bar and with a shoulder width grip, pull it upwards as hard as possible while also rising on your toes for 6 to 12 seconds.
Parallel Squat. Set the bar at the lower position of a barbell squat at the point where your thighs are parallel to the floor. Position yourself in the usual squat position and then try to lift the bar as you would in a squat. Push as hard as you can for 6 to 12 seconds.
Shoulder shrug. Position the bar in the power cage at the start of the shoulder shrug position, so that you can grab the bar but with the shoulders down. Then with all your effort attempt to perform a shoulder shrug.
Deadlift. The isometric deadlift is performed with the bar about 2 inches below your knees. Then perform the usual deadlift with your feet set shoulder width apart, hips down and back flat, pushing as hard as possible with the legs and pulling up for 6 to 12 seconds.
Quarter squat. The second squat position. Set the bar about 4 inches below your standing position in a barbell squat. Position yourself, and then push upwards on the bar as hard as possible for 6 to 12 seconds.

As you can see, in principal the exercises are easy. All are performed for 6-12 seconds. Remember that you are aiming to work to failure still, in that you will be putting so much effort into pushing or pulling the isometric bar that by the time your reach 10 seconds your muscles should be screaming in pain.

To perform these isometric exercises well you need to first really learn the moving versions, as form is very important and unless you have performed squats and deadlifts before you may position yourself incorrectly resulting in a muscular injury. Bruce Lee always emphasized good form over brute force.

If you perform these exercises with maximum effort then one set of these exercises may be enough for you. Do not underestimate how much work the muscles are doing in not moving an object. Your body will be attempting to get all of your muscles to work together to move the stationary bar. What makes this type of training so different is that you only have your body and willpower to listen to. Nothing moves, you just push and sweat! If Bruce Lee said it worked for him, then there is a good chance that it will work for you too.

Tweet This Tweet Me!