at askmen.com they posted this as Bruce Lee’s workout. I was curious how accurate this is:
Bruce Lee is possibly the best example of a slim body pushed to its fullest potential. The late martial artist remains a role model to many short, skinny guys around the world. Gyms have pictures and posters of the “legend” plastered on their walls, and for good reason: not all men can be big, beefy studs. Bruce Lee experimented with different routines and this one fit his style best.
Shoulders
Clean and presses: 2 sets, 8 reps
Lats
Barbell pullovers: 2 sets, 8 reps
Biceps
Barbell curls: 2 sets, 8 reps
Chest
Bench-presses: 2 sets, 6 reps
Lower Back/Glutes/Hams
Good mornings: 2 sets, 8 reps
Quads
Squats: 2 sets, 12 reps
Abs
Waist Twists: 4 sets, 90 repetitions
Sit up Twist: 4 sets, 20 repetitions
Leg Raises: 4 sets, 20 repetitions
Leaning Twist: 4 sets, 50 repetitions
Bruce Lee’s training emphasized toning and compound exercises rather than concentration and mass. Bodybuilding played only a small part in his physical conditioning, with stretching and aerobics taking up the rest of his exercise cycle. He would perform this weight-lifting routine every other day (he needed the other days to kick some major butt).
Get the book “Art of Expressing the Human Body” and you’ll find out that he had a LOT of workouts, and that he changed regularly- he hardly stuck with one.
What you posted looks a bit like his first workout plan, where he gained like 20 pounds and a bunch of inches, think his biceps alone grew 2 inches in like 6 months… insane…
Lost Disciple is spot on. “The art of expressing the human body” is all you’ll ever need to know about Bruce’s workout/s. He constantly varied them which people are starting to realise in gymnasiums the world over. If you get the book, have a look at what he did and discuss it with a gym instructor ('cos some of the things he did are not trained anymore i.e. a weighted “Good morning”- which is how Lee hurt his back) and change your program every six weeks or so.
I’ve been following it for nine months (well, until I broke my elbow boxing) and my results have been excellent. Although I seem to have gotten a fair bit of muscle size, which my gym instructor puts down to genetics (I’m naturally quite big). But if you’re a little fella like Bruce was you’ll probably look a lot more like him than I do.
Go hard!!
“Through strength, learn gentleness. Through gentleness, strength will prevail”
Some people believe that John Little might of made some of that stuff up for the book Art of Expressing the Human Body. Not to mention the photos. There are FEW photos of him doing his workout.
When it describes Bruce’s 10, 8, 12 or whatever exercises for a certain body part, it doesnt even show photos of how it is done. John Little should have at LEAST of gotten SOME photos of anybody doing these exercises to help you with examples. Not very many “exercise” books say “This is how you do this exercise. By the way, and I dont have any photos to help show you.”
If you get Art of Expressing the Human Body, then also get the Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding by Arnold Schwarzenegger. He has about 10, if not more, exercises for each part of the body (some are just simple variations). Plus his has photos. Just don’t follow his workout routine.
I don’t know why people are obsessed with how Bruce Lee trained. Who cares? Other than a history lesson that is. What worked for him may not work for you. His genetics were geared towards something that yours may not. I also know that there are a lot of vultures in this world profitting from the death of others. Is it accurate? Nobody really knows so what’s the point. Other than “Bruce Lee did it” the exercises aren’t going to be groudbreaking. Just stick with what you know and save your money and time.
Well Little wrote that book from the viewpoint of someone worshipping Bruce, not as a serious sports medicine guy trying to write a book teaching people how to lift.
They’ve got a photo in that book of bruce’s first workout that i mentioned where he made all those gains, half of it’s in chinese and i doubt little fabricated that part. I will agree though, that some of the 50 or so workouts at the end of the book might have been made up.
I just got the book as a historical reference. When I was in high school my buddies and i did a bunch of insane workouts just to do them, thinking we’d see these massive gains from surviving them. I think it made us mentally tough; but I don’t think I saw any gains from it. I know a more moderate pace is what I need to make gains. Yes you should vary workouts, but i think at first you should stick with one for a few months; and then only switch up every 3 to 6 weeks or so. I’m starting to realize what works for me, and not just what hurts for me; so I’m hoping I have more success in the future.
I assume Bruce was pretty mentally tough for having survived all those workouts and stuck at it. That’s about all I admire him for. I don’t really want his level of wirey-ness, i’d rather look like Pavel. I know I’ve got my own body type, strengths and weaknesses, and I’d rather develop those though instead of trying to look like someone else. That book’s still a pretty decent read.
I think you have hit it on the head…John Little gives the impression that he is indeed a Bruce worshipper. Ever looked at his Power Factor Training? HAHAHAHAAAAA! Everything is based on partials! He also says that you should record your workouts something like this: Weight multiplied by reps in x amount of time. So following that thinking, his hypothesis is that if you can bench 100 lbs for 25 reps in a minute, you will get the same gains as a person that benches 250 lbs for 10 reps in a minute! BUT, remember that this only applies to partials, meaning you should only lift and lower the weight in your already strongest range of motion! Sorry, but I don’t buy it.
We are trained in wushu; we must protect the Temple!
I recently read somewhere that Bruce lee used one of the first ab toners , also in his film dragon , you see him using one.
so he wasnt all natural.
not saying i dont like bruce but just that alot of people go over the top when talking about him…sorry if i offended any1
