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Bruce Lee Workout
Bruce Lee developed many workouts during his career and not all have been documented. However, he did keep good training notes, and it is from these that we know about the Bruce Lee Exercises and Workouts. 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. 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. From a martial perspective it is essential to never over-train, as although in the long term intensive training can make the body stronger quicker, in the short term it is not a good martial practice to leave yourself weak to fight.
Bruce Lee Training Philosophy
Above all, never cheat on any exercise; use the amount of weight that you can handle without undue strain.” – Bruce Lee
This quote is still valid for all forms of weight training exercise today. Firstly, good form is essential, whether you are lifting weights, stretching, performing bodyweight exercises or practicing martial arts. Bruce Lee obviously had a very good grounding in the importance of good form, as kung-fu, and other martial arts, use “forms” for training and honing fighting techniques. Good form is essential in martial arts, as it can help to determine the strengths and weaknesses of a student, condition the body to react and move in the correct way, as well as strengthen the muscles, ligaments and joints. Poorly executed form can lead to poorly executed martial application, which can be fatal.
Bruce Lee and the Importance of Good Form when Exercising
In the Bruce Lee Workout, form is very important. Poorly executed form not only reduces the effectiveness of an exercise, but it can also cause injury by placing too much pressure in the wrong areas. Also, to cheat on an exercise, is to cheat your own body of obtaining the optimal workout during any given session.
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.
“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
This quote is interesting, as it seems to move away from his traditional approach of not working the body so much that you are weakened. So, although he was moving away from the bodybuilding routines, he was also moving away from pure martial arts. The Bruce Lee Workout should be intensive enough to require adequate recovery days. Bruce Lee suggested that you should 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.
Bruce Lee’s Weight Training Routine
Bruce Lee Clean and Press – 2 sets of 8 reps
The clean and press is a classic weight lifters exercise. Unlike bodybuilding exercises, which work muscles in isolation, Bruce Lee’s weight lifting/power lifting exercises work muscles together, i.e. they are compound movements. Bruce Lee performed clean and presses in a very intensive fashion, that is, without rest between reps. This made the exercise a cardio and endurance exercise as well as a weight training exercise. In the clean and press a barbell is lifted from the floor, and in one explosive movement the weight is lifted up to rest on the front of the shoulders – this is the clean. Afterwards, the weight is then pressed upwards, and held overhead. It is then lowered to the floor in one movement, and repeated. A good form is essential in the clean and press, it is also important not to attempt to lift too much weight, as injuries to the lower back are common in poorly executed clean and presses.
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.
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.
This was by no means Bruce Lee’s only workout and weight training routine, but it formed the foundation, the core, of his strength training later in his career. If you want to start to train like Bruce Lee then perform the Bruce Lee Workout at least once per week.
In loving memory of Bruce Lee: the little dragon
Further Reading
- Bruce Lee Portal
- Bruce Lee’s Abs Workouts
- What Did Bruce Lee Eat?
- Bruce Lee, The Greatest Martial Arts Action Hero
- Jeet Kune Do – The Way if the Intercepting Fist.
- Bruce Lee Interview on the Pierre Berton Show
- Bruce Lee’s Kickboxing Workouts
- Bruce Lee’s Kicking Workouts
- Bruce Lee – His Fitness Workouts, Strength Training and Diets
- Find a Kung-fu School
- Book Review: Bruce Lee’s Fighting Method: The Complete Edition
- Book Review: The Art of Expressing the Human Body
Workouts Dos Lee De Bruce: Treinamento Da Força
Tweet Me!Recommended Reading
• Bruce Lee’s Fighting Method: The Complete Edition – Book Review
• The Art of Expressing the Human Body – A Book Review
• Bruce Lee’s Isometric Training Workouts
• Bruce Lee’s Abs Workouts
• Arnold Schwarzenegger 3 Day Split Bodybuilding Routine
Does it seem like this work out is low on the reps. I mean Bruce Lee was very strong without having overly volumous muscles. However, it seems that this work out would give you a lot of bulk as the reps are very low.
Bruce lee was trying to concentrate on power and strength along with speed and stamina. So doing heavy weights for 6 reps giving him power and strength then doing a lot of cardio and flexibility training to give him speed and endurance. Which is why he didn’t gain bulk. Also other factors like diet and the amount of time he spend doing cardio and weights can be considered .
Don’t forget that genetics play a role in how you respond to training. Not everyone will bulk up on this type of workout, and not everyone will look like Bruce after doing this workout either!
Well, H Guy, the truth is that Bruce Lee said once on a video and also on one of his books: “Perform every repetition quicker as possible”
That means, you wont get any kind of bulk, just get the muscle stronger and so on…
Would the Romanian Deadlift be a good substitute for the Good Morning?
Oh and thank you MotleyHealth for recommending this strength training category =]
Bruce Lee is the greatest lol
please help me with the tips for leg flexibility thanks
Ernie, I think that the Romanian would be a better option.
Ernie, that’s true… The Romanian is more effective and much more safer than deadlift..
The question is, how much weight? If it’s too heavy(you can do just 2setsx8reps) you can move fast thus only slow twitch muscle are used. If it’s too light (you can do 2×20reps easy) you don’t seem to gain strength. Maybe doing 1 week heavy(6-12reps) and 2 weeks light (20-30reps). If you think about it, you train your abs (20-30 reps, bodyweight) and they don’t seem to grow but they get stronger after a month or two you can add an extra 5kg plate. I guess it’s trail and error as bruce lee did. As i read all this book, there’s a comment of Don Inosanto saying “Everyone said that weight training = buld , but Bruce Lee just beat them to it” . But again i also read that he quit the weight training on different muscle and continue just on compound ones. Trail and Error …..
Correction to my post above:
“you cannot move fast thus only slow twitch muscle are used”
I think that you have hit the nail on the head there. All weight training routines should just be considered a guide. You have to determine what works for YOU. Different people respond to different focus, people plateau at different stages.
Compound is certainly the favored approach for athletes and martial artists. Isolation is really just for bodybuilders! Muscles have to work together to be effective, and supporting/stabilizing muscles need to be strong enough to do their job, otherwise the whole system will collapse under the pressure. You are only as strong as your weakest link (or muscle).
Was unsuccessful in locating Bruce Lee’s cardio workout?
I know that he used to run, but really he spent so much time do punching and kicking drills I guess this formed the bulk of his cardio. He used to do something like 2000 punches a day. But we shall see what additional info on Bruce we can find.
He was doing pyramid punches with dumbells. 0-2-4-6-8-10-8-6-4-2-0 (in lb) 100 with each dumbbell. As for cardio, running/bicycling but mostly rope jumping.