Bruce Lee's training methods. Bruce Lee's workout and nutrition

40 years ago, young athletes drew inspiration from the inimitable physical strength, speed and flexibility of Bruce Lee. Not much has changed since then. Take out the heavy bag and adopt the training principles of the great master!

Openness and flexibility are two characteristic features of Bruce Lee's approach to physical training.

“Absorb what’s useful. Cut off the useless." These legendary words are often attributed to Bruce Lee, and although it is not known for certain whether he actually spoke them, there is no doubt that this principle underlay the philosophy of his martial art. The legendary and eclectic martial arts style of Jeet Kune Do, the “Way of the Leading Fist,” is based on delivering a strike at the moment the opponent’s attack begins, when any external influence slows down the opponent and leads to a fatal outcome. Thanks to this, Bruce Lee was unpredictable, and his fights were spectacular!

Openness and flexibility are two characteristic features of Bruce Lee's approach to physical training. While his colleagues and their mentors were wasting precious time on empty debates about traditions and futile searches for one-sided, technically and functionally oriented training systems, Lee absorbed the best that various schools had to offer. He took what he needed from martial arts, bodybuilding and other training styles. Lee was loyal to his barbell and his kettlebells, but also loved circuit training; I practiced kicking and punching every day with complete dedication, but also ran, rode a bike and jumped rope.

In short, he was a well-rounded athlete with a body that Joe Weider described as the most ripped he had ever seen. 40 years after Bruce's tragic death, people continue to be inspired by his unique blend of speed, strength and flexibility. New photos of Bruce Lee without a T-shirt still appear on magazine covers today and become the main topic of the issue.

Of course, Lee never trained just to look good. The main goal was to create a perfectly functioning body, and appearance was just a byproduct of his training. According to Bruce, training is “the art of self-expression of the human body.” We'll tell you how he did it and how you can replicate it.

Train to fight

Lee belonged to the sport's elite: since the late 50s, he was a mentor and fighter, capable of incredible feats of strength such as two-finger push-ups and the "inch punch" that sent opponents flying. However, he revised all training methods after an event that occurred in 1964. That year, Bruce Lee was challenged by Won Jae Man, a representative of the orthodox branch of Chinese martial arts. According to sources, the reason for the disagreement was Bruce Lee's willingness to teach traditional Chinese martial arts to everyone - even Europeans. According to this version of events, if Lee had lost, he would have been forced to close his thriving martial arts school.

Soon Bruce Lee won and retained the right to teach anyone, anything. However, Lee later admitted that although the fight lasted only three minutes and ended with him running after Meng around the pavilion, the fight took much longer than expected and required more effort than Lee expected. Angry with himself, Lee decided to overhaul his training program and began searching for what his wife Linda called “more sophisticated and grueling training methods.”

Very soon, Lee switched to an intensive program of strength development and general functional training, which he adhered to until his death in 1973. He constantly changed the content of his training and always recorded it on video. This means that while we can't recreate Bruce Lee's exact "workout routine," we can piece together his favorite exercises and routines. In short, if you want to leave behind a “muscle treasure map” for future generations, or simply want to draw one for yourself, follow the example of Bruce Lee and take as many travel notes as possible.

Train hard, hit hard

Any conversation about Bruce Lee's training principles must begin with his signature martial art style. Bruce began mastering martial arts under the guidance of the great master Ip Man, the patriarch of the Wing Chun school (Kung Fu style). Having learned the basics, Lee continued to develop and over time created his own style - Jeet Kune Do. Unlike traditional schools, Jeet Kune Do is not tied to any fixed tenets. According to Lee, it is “style without style,” a free-flying martial arts that embraces whatever works.

But does this mean that Bruce did not need to carefully practice his technique? On the contrary, he had to keep his entire arsenal of techniques in full combat readiness, and therefore he devoted the lion's share of his free time to training. Here is a typical list of kicks and punches that Lee practiced.

Punching the punching bag

Punching: Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Jab – pneumatic bag, wall pad, punching bag and floor bag
Cross – wall pad, heavy punching bag, punching bag and floor bag
Hook – heavy punching bag, wall pad, punching bag and floor bag
Cross from top to bottom – pillow, heavy punching bag
Series – heavy punching bag, punching bag and floor bag
Speed training with a pneumatic bag on a platform

Kicks: Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday

Side impact
Side leg hook
Turning kick
Front and back kick
Heel strike

Lee often said that a punching bag cannot be punched automatically, without emotion. Imagine that the bag is your worst enemy, and hit him with all your heart. He also emphasized how important it is to remain invulnerable during an attack - even in training. Lee constantly moved, made distracting maneuvers, feinted punches and stepped aside even while working with a boxing bag, thereby simulating a real fight. He firmly believed that a fighter who does not take training seriously will never be able to apply his skills in a stressful situation.

Rod path

Even before the fight with Won Jae Man, Lee understood that no fighter could do without proper strength training. However, it was this fight, which coincided with the beginning of television and cinematic activities, that became the beginning of Bruce Lee's serious relationship with heavy iron.

dragon flag

Lee started by spending his days doing reverse-grip curls to tone up his forearm muscles. Having experienced the full benefits of strength training, he moved on to comprehensive strength training. On an ongoing basis, Bruce used two alternative training programs to develop amazing strength:

Alternate workouts A and B every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday

Workout A

Workout B

In his ability to simultaneously work on muscle development and functional training, Bruce Lee was ahead of his time. Hungry for knowledge, he looked for evidence of the effectiveness of each technique and made his choice consciously, based on the results of research and experiments. As a result, he managed to transform himself from a skinny 50-pound guy into a 65-pound warrior who strikes with the force of a jackhammer.

At the intersection of meditation and functional training

Lee did not neglect endurance training. He understood that strength training was of little use without adequate endurance, so he used a variety of techniques to achieve amazing functional fitness.

Lee had someone throw a medicine ball onto his stomach while he lay on the floor and tensed his abs.

Run. For Lee, running has always been not only a way of general physical training, but also a unique form of meditation, because at this time he was alone with his thoughts. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday he started by running a few kilometers. 6 kilometers was his favorite distance, which he ran in about 20-25 minutes, varying his running pace. After a stretch of calm, steady running, he would sprint for a short distance and then return to a moderate pace—much like what we call high-intensity interval training today.

Jumping rope. The jump rope not only helped Lee develop endurance and leg muscle strength, but also allowed him to flit easily during sparring and fights. As a rule, Lee worked out with a jump rope on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, devoting about 30 minutes to this exercise.

A ride on the bicycle. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, Lee completed his jump rope workout with a spin on the exercise bike, which required even more endurance and finally finished off his leg muscles. He raced on his trainer at high speed for 45 minutes.

Lee's famous shield

Bruce Lee, as well as other outstanding representatives of martial arts, needed abdominals not only for beauty. It was a real shield, capable of repelling any blow. To specifically target his abs, Lee would often have someone throw a medicine ball onto his stomach while he lay on the floor and tensed his abs.

However, traditional abdominal exercises such as sit-ups, leg raises and side crunches were also part of his training program. Here is one of the workouts he did on a daily basis:

Bruce Lee Abs Workout

Feed the dragon

No athlete will jump from 50 to 65 kilograms without an adequate nutrition program. Like us, Lee had a penchant for protein drinks and made his own from powdered milk and some ingredients like root and royal jelly, with powerful doses of vitamins added.

He was very careful about his diet and never used foods that could harm the body or negatively affect performance. Coffee was blacklisted, but Bruce loved tea. At the same time, Lee was an ardent admirer of traditional Chinese cuisine. In his view, Chinese cuisine was built around quality plant-based carbohydrates from rice and vegetables, in contrast to Western cuisine, which was overzealous in its use of proteins and fats. It was carbohydrates that Bruce considered an essential nutrient for people with high levels of physical activity, and he distributed carbohydrates evenly between 4-5 meals.

Bruce Lee, the legendary martial artist and film actor, creator of the martial arts style Jeet Kune Do, based physical training on openness and flexibility. Bruce Lee's training methods organically combined the best that he took from various schools of martial arts, bodybuilding, and other training styles. It was the style of the well-rounded athlete, aimed at transforming an ordinary body into a perfectly functioning one, possessing both speed, strength and flexibility.

Bruce Lee's early training from the late 1950s had already turned him into an incredibly strong fighter and mentor, and brought prosperity to his school. But everything changed in 1964 after a fight between him and his challenger Won Jae Man. In case of victory, Lee continued to teach anyone and anything; in case of defeat, he closed his school forever. The three-minute fight gave Lee the victory, but he was angry that he had spent much more time and effort on it than he had planned. Therefore, Bruce Lee’s entire training program was radically revised by him in the direction of complexity and maximum return of strength.

His physical training is a super-strong crystal with five sides, without any of which it immediately crumbles into dust.

Running Edge

Among all the exercises, Bruce Lee attached special importance to running and believed that if such a load is too heavy for a person, he has nothing to do in sports. Six times a week he ran for at least 15 minutes, and in the “ragged rhythm” style, i.e. with frequent changes of tempo. In addition, immediately after running I “racked up the kilometers” on the bike

simulator at speeds up to 50 km/h, developing endurance.

Edge of sparring

More precisely, free sparring as the best means for honing combat skills. Each sparring is carried out in protective equipment - this is training, and the athlete does not need unnecessary injuries at all. Before you start sparring, you should practice your strikes, for which you need to have wooden dummies and bags filled with beans. Thus, Bruce Lee's training brought Jeet Kune Do to perfection.

Alternation edge

Sparring alone is not enough. Lee changed the direction of the loads (arms, legs) and their focus (endurance, strength). Mandatory - abdominal press, a combination of running and cycling, jumping rope, barbell. Every day about two hours were spent honing the blows. Only certain muscle groups were subjected to stress every day, while the rest rested.

Edge of Movement

No one has ever seen Bruce Lee outside of training. It was Mr. Perpetual Motion. Every minute he came up with a load, albeit a small one, for the muscles of his body. Even when I read books. He kept the weights on his legs and arms. And at the same time, he was a caring family man and made sure to set aside time for spiritual self-development.

The Edge of Discipline

Discipline is an unmistakable indicator All of Bruce Lee's training would have gone down the drain if he had at least once reduced the load or abandoned them for a day. The master did not give himself rest even when he was away from home, where he had the necessary equipment. He came up with immovable objects. For example, I tried to move the wall of a house for several hours.

Bruce Lee's training prepared the athlete for real sparring, which the master considered the ultimate goal of all exercises, which are just a tool.

The most important thing: the master himself did not consider his training to be some kind of template applicable to absolutely everyone. If you want to teach a person correctly, find an individual approach to him. Find the technique to which he is inclined, it will be the most useful, and this is what needs to be developed. That's what Bruce Lee said.

Photo Gettyimages.com

Text by Ekaterina Dmitrieva

Even today, when Hollywood stars have the best personal trainers and personal nutritionists, film actor and fighter of the early 1970s Bruce Lee remains an example of inimitable physical strength, beauty and grace. “Bruce Lee had an exceptionally sculpted physique,” said Arnold Schwarzenegger. “He had less body fat than any athlete I know.” A native of Hong Kong who moved to America, he crossed the ancient traditions of Eastern wisdom with the latest achievements of sports doctors, daily studied scientific and medical literature and tirelessly developed new training methods for himself and his students. The widow Linda Lee Kedwell opened his archive to the Canadian author John Little, and the publishing house "MYTH" translated the resulting book into Russian. And many of Bruce Lee’s developments may be useful for you and me.

Systems approach

For Bruce, the main goal was not the formation of muscle mass as such, but the strengthening of the body and all its subsystems for the sake of health and good shape. Muscles, he said, come from functional training, and the fact that they look impressive is a side effect. Conversely, muscles that are pumped up solely for appearance are rarely functional.

The athlete’s arsenal included all the components of fitness - training to develop speed, endurance, strength, flexibility, coordination, sense of rhythm and timing, sensitivity. “Physical form is not permanent or unchangeable,” Bruce said. “This is nothing more than a specific adaptation of the body to your lifestyle.” In other words, you are trained to do the activity that is required of you, and nothing more. But it is possible to change the shape. Muscles can be strengthened by strength training. The heart can work more efficiently through endurance exercise, and joint mobility can be improved with a well-thought-out flexibility program. But if you decide to improve in any of these areas, you will have to follow the principle of overload, changing your daily habits and adding more and more new exercises!

Cardio is everything

The main reason a fighter loses is lack of stamina. A healthy and trained cardiovascular system is much more often needed in life than the ability to lift weights. “If you go into a three-minute round of Muay Thai – I don’t care what muscles you have – and you don’t have enough stamina, in 45 seconds you’ll be a dead man, and I’ll still be fighting. When you're over 30, bulging biceps and powerful chest may boost your ego, but your life and health depend on the health of your heart and lungs."

Bruce's favorite form of cardio was running. Running does not require investment or special equipment and is accessible to everyone. Bruce ran every day, regardless of the weather or time of day. “You have to run through I can’t,” said Bruce, “that’s the only way you can increase your endurance. And if, on the contrary, every time you limit your capabilities, physical and not only, this will gradually spread to everything else: work, morality, everything that you are. If it is stronger than you, it will kill you. A person should always strive to raise his level.”

Exit to superpower

Bruce Lee's favorite endurance activity was interval training. The principle is simple: intense work is replaced by relaxation, then intense work again and relaxation again. For example, you need to run one and a half kilometers: you run 400 meters, trying to do it in a minute, then take a break, say 5 minutes of jogging, then again 400 meters at a good pace and slow down for 5 minutes, and so on. After all intervals, be sure to breathe deeply and deeply.

Combine in one complex cardio, strength training and flexibility exercises. Circuit training is usually five or six different exercises, each working a different part of the body. The basic principle is to never load the same muscle group twice during the same session.

Dragon Diet

“You can pump your abs on the horizontal bar, doing the frog (pulling your legs to your waist) ad infinitum, but if you overeat, it will all be to no avail,” Bruce repeated. He himself usually started the day with a bowl of muesli or ready-made whole grain mixtures with the addition of nuts and dried fruits. At noon I ate a light lunch, and in the evening - dinner. Drink fresh juice or protein drinks during snacks. Linda remembers making pasta for dinner, which she served with lettuce, rice with vegetables and meat, chicken or fish. “We didn’t eat meat every day,” she says. “And, of course, Bruce loved Chinese and other Asian food, because this cuisine is more diverse and it combines meat and vegetables well.”

Lee considered Western food monotonous, since often only one or two dishes were served, and during a Chinese meal the eyes widen from the variety of dishes: shrimp with vegetables, chicken with vegetables, meat (for example, Lee's favorite beef in oyster sauce) or tofu dishes. The approach of putting a variety of foods on the table, but in small quantities, provided a more balanced diet and was more enjoyable.

INTERVAL TRAINING FROM BRUCE LEE

Each stage of the training lasts 3 minutes - as long as a round in professional boxing lasts. Rest periods (except for jump rope exercises) should not be longer than 1 minute, like the break between rounds in boxing.

Running outside: jogging (1 minute) – acceleration (as long as you can stand it) – walking (1 minute). As many approaches as you can.
Technique testing:

1) kickboxing with shadow – 3 minutes, rest – 1 minute; relax economically;

2) kickboxing with shadow – 3 minutes, rest – 1 minute; work hard – push yourself – speed/power;

3) jump rope – 5 minutes, rest – 1.5 minutes;

4) work with a heavy bag – 3 minutes, rest – 1 minute; individual punches plus combinations;

5) work with a heavy bag – 3 minutes, rest – 1 minute; single kicks plus combinations;

6) light pear – 3 minutes (rest not specified); individual punches plus combinations;

7) kickboxing with shadow – 2 minutes; relax.

BEST ENDURANCE EXERCISE

Stepping up a step is one of the easiest ways to build endurance, according to Lee. Simply step up and down from a chair (or bench or stool), the chair should be 40-45cm high for men and 35cm for women. For 1 minute, step on your left foot, then on your right. After a minute, stop, stretch, take a deep breath, and do arm or abdominal exercises. After this, repeat the approach with a chair. Over the course of several weeks, increase the number of repetitions until you can perform this exercise for a full 30 minutes.

AWAKENING PROGRAM

Do it every morning before getting out of bed.

Stretch your whole body – 5 times, hold the stretch for 3 seconds, rest for 2 seconds.
Bending – 5 times.
Leg tension – 12 times for 3 seconds, rest – 2 seconds.
Abdominal tension – 10 times for 3 seconds, rest – 2 seconds.
Raise the body, touch your fingertips – 5 times.
Raising bent legs – 5 times.

Several generations have grown up watching the films of Bruce Lee, the famous martial artist, American and Hong Kong film actor, film director, fight director, producer and screenwriter.

He managed to develop incredible speed, coordination and strength. And the main thing is to popularize eastern martial arts in Western countries. Thanks to this, he became a legend in the world of martial arts, and many of his fans and imitators appeared. More than 30 films have been made around the world about his life and work.

Obviously, the training of such a master was unique. There are several key points in this article. Bruce Lee's physical fitness.

Lee was known for being physically fit and energetic, devoting as much time to training as possible.

Looking for the best workout

After his fight with Wong Chek Man in 1965, Lee changed his approach to martial arts. Lee believed that many fighters do not spend enough time on physical training. Bruce turned everything on fitness elements into your workouts: muscle strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance and flexibility. He tried the techniques of traditional bodybuilding to create larger muscles or mass. However, Bruce was careful enough to assert that mental and spiritual training was fundamental to the success of physical training in martial arts skills. In The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, he writes:

Training is a neglected phase of athleticism. Too much time is spent on developing skills and too little on developing individual characteristics. Jeet Kune Do is ultimately not a matter of narrow methods, but of highly developed spirituality and physique.

Bruce Lee Strength Training

Bruce's strength training in Hong Kong in 1965, at the age of 24, focused mainly on hand development. At that time, he performed barbell curls with weights of 70-80 pounds (32-36 kg), for three sets of eight reps, along with other exercises like squats, push-ups, reverse crunches, concentrated crunches, and French presses. He always used 6 to 12 reps. Bruce later weighed about 68 kg. Lee had over 2,500 thousand books in his library; the statement “Strong muscles are big muscles” was challenged by him during training.

Bruce Lee's experiments

Bruce has always experimented with his training to maximize his physical capabilities and push his body to the limits. He used many different routines and exercises that included jump rope, which is very good for bodybuilding.

Lee believed that the abdominal muscles are most important for martial arts, since every movement requires some degree of abdominal work. Mioto Yuehara recalls that "Bruce always felt that if your abs weren't developed, then you weren't sparring hard." According to Linda Lee Cadwell, even when not working out, Lee often performed various exercises in his daily life during the day, even while watching TV. “Bruce was a fanatic about abdominal training. He always did crunches, Roman chair exercises, and the corner exercise.

Training routine

Lee was training from 7 to 9 am: abs, flexibility, running and from 11 to 12 he lifted weights and used a bicycle. Bruce typically ran 2 to 6 miles in 15 to 45 minutes, speeding up every 3 to 5 minutes. Lee rode about 10 miles (16 km) in 45 minutes on a stationary bike.

Lee often jumped rope after cycling, doing about 800 jumps. Lee also did exercises to tighten the skin on his fists by sticking his hands in buckets of rocks and gravel. He did over 500 repetitions every day. An article by S. China Post writes: “When the doctor warned him to stop abusing his body, Bruce responded: “The human brain can control everything, even real pain.”

Some physical achievements

The time of a hand strike from a free position is five hundredths of a second.
Bruce Lee could hold a 32-kilogram weight with his arm outstretched in front of him for 20 seconds.
Bruce Lee's punches were so fast that they sometimes couldn't be captured using the 24 frames per second technology that was common at the time, so some scenes had to be shot in 32 frames.
Bruce Lee could hold his legs in an angle position on his hands for 30 minutes or more.
Bruce Lee could throw grains of rice into the air and catch them with chopsticks.
Bruce Lee could pierce an unopened can of cola with his fingers (in those days the tin from which the container was made was much thicker)
Bruce Lee could do finger push-ups with one hand and also do pull-ups using only his thumb and forefinger to grip the bar.
To demonstrate his speed, Bruce could replace a 10-cent piece in another person's palm with a 1-cent piece before the other person could squeeze it.

Hello dear readers. I think any of you have at least once watched a film with Bruce Lee and involuntarily admired his unique skill and body relief. And, probably, many asked themselves the question: could I do the same? Well, today I will talk about what Bruce Lee's training looked like and how the exercises he used are applicable to people with less physical fitness.

What do we know about this person? Interestingly, the moment of his birth - between 6 and 8 am on November 27, 1940 - fell on the Year of the Dragon and the Hour of the Dragon in accordance with the Chinese time system. So the popular nickname “Dragon” and the frequent appearance of this word in the titles of the actor’s films is not accidental. By the way, Bruce's childhood name was Li Xiaolong, that is, Li Little Dragon.

The parents were Chinese-born Lee Hoi Chen and Eurasian (half German) Grace Lee. Actually, the fact of birth took place in San Francisco, where at that moment his father, an actor-comedian of the Cantonese Chinese opera, was on tour with his wife.

As an actor, Bruce Lee began his career at the age of three months, he was cast as a baby girl in the film Golden Gate Girl. The next filming took place at the age of six, in the film “The Origin of Humanity.”

Despite his excellent body physics in adulthood, Lee was not very well developed physically as a child and teenager. On the contrary, he was considered frail and weak. He tried to train since childhood, but did not have much success. Active studies began only in 1954, but he became interested not in martial arts, but... in dancing. Yes, yes, he was an excellent cha-cha dancer. He even won the Hong Kong championship in this type of dance at the age of 18. At the same time, he took up boxing, which led to victory in competitions between schools. It was after this that he became interested in kung fu.

Martial arts classes began with the study of Tai Chi Chuan, then Bruce studied the style of Wing Chun (Wing Chun) from the famous Ip Man, mastered the techniques of judo, jiu-jitsu, and boxing. He mainly focused on fighting without weapons, although he also owned them. She worked especially impressively – and effectively – with nunchucks.

Bruce Lee's family and civil life developed quite smoothly. In 1959, he moved to the States to confirm his citizenship by birth. Lived in San Francisco, then in Seattle. He graduated from the Seattle Technical School and entered the University of Washington to study philosophy (not bad, right?) Faculty. It was there that he met his future wife, Linda. They got married in 1964, their son Brandon was born in 1965, and their daughter Shannon was born in 1969.

In the USA, the actor starred in TV series, but not in leading roles, and to ensure financial independence he gave private martial arts lessons. Among his students were many famous people, including basketball player Kerim-Abdul Jabar, with whom Lee later staged an interesting fight scene in the film “Game of Death.”

In 1971, Bruce moved to Hong Kong, where his career as an action star began. The shooting of the first film from the Golden Harvest studio, “Big Boss,” where the actor himself choreographed the action scenes, brought resounding success, cemented by the more budget-friendly “Fist of Fury” and “Return of the Dragon.” During his career, Bruce starred in 36 films, but only in the last five did he play the lead role.

The actor’s death occurred in 1973, he was 33 years old... This happened during the filming of the film “Tower of Death”. Under the new title “Game of Death,” this picture was completed five years after Lee’s death, where two doubles were used instead of him.

Achievements of Bruce Lee

As already mentioned, Lee’s main successes as an actor include fame and solid earnings. At the same time, his films, unique for those times, served to actively popularize martial arts. It was then that he gained a huge number of followers around the world.

The Jeet Kune Do system (“Way of the Leading Fist”), developed by Bruce Lee, based on the principle of outrunning the enemy’s blows, is still considered one of the most promising and effective schools of martial art.

As an athlete and fighter, Lee has achieved impressive success. Among his records:

Highest impact speed. It was not possible to film them at normal speed (24 frames per second); for battle scenes, technology with 32 frames per second was used. A movement of one meter was recorded in 0.02 seconds.
Unique endurance. He could hold his legs in a “corner” position on his hands for more than half an hour, and held a 34-kilogram weight in one hand for several seconds.
Incredible precision of movements - the fighter managed to catch thrown grains of rice with chopsticks;
The force of the impact - Lee punched his fingers through sealed steel cans of Cola.
Incomparable strength of the hands and forearms - the actor did push-ups on two fingers and pull-ups on the little finger of one hand.

How Bruce Lee trained

Nowadays the network contains a huge number of scattered and sometimes contradictory materials about the actor’s training methods. Having collected and analyzed the main sources, I identified the following main points.

It’s wrong to think that Bruce Lee only practiced martial arts. Bodybuilding, fitness, special nutrition systems - all this was in his career as an athlete.
At the peak of his form, the athlete worked out with a load equal to or greater than his own weight. At the same time, he preferred to practice bodybuilding at home rather than in the gym, having all the necessary arsenal of tools for pumping.
The training consisted of isometric and static exercises, aerobic exercise and professional training - striking techniques.
Even on rest days, Lee did not stop exercising, doing strength, speed, and flexibility exercises while reading and watching TV.

Training principles and methods: thoughtful and grueling

Personal notes and videos, photographs taken at different moments in Bruce Lee’s life, his communication with other athletes and journalists allow us to draw conclusions about what the principles and methods of his training were.

Absorb what is useful and cut off what is useless. These words are attributed to Lee, and although it is unknown whether he actually said this, his style of fighting and training fully supports the phrase. This style can be described as "instinctive".
Train to fight. Absolutely all of the actor’s activities were aimed at making the body the most perfect, ideally functioning mechanism. Strength training provided the necessary endurance and energy, aerobic training helped improve blood circulation and reaction, combat training helped to hone technique.
Training every day. As you know, Bruce Lee performed sets and repetitions for speed and flexibility every day, and worked with heavy iron at least three times a week.
Practicing strikes cannot be impersonal. Lee recommended imagining the most hated person in the place of the punching bag or exercise machine and putting emotions into every blow.
The training must be progressive.

What colleagues and eyewitnesses say

The person closest to the actor, his wife Linda, claimed that she was amazed by her husband’s ability to perform many activities at the same time (watch boxing, read in between interesting moments and simultaneously perform kicks and pump his biceps with a dumbbell). His fanatical attitude to training, daily “torture” of his body, bringing it to unimaginable perfection was the most significant part of their family life. She reported in her memoirs that Bruce devoted a lot of time to searching for information about new possibilities for improving the body and developing his own training systems, including meditation.

The US wrestling champion noted that Lee, who weighed 40 kilograms less than him, managed to defeat him in arm wrestling, and without visible strain. Bruce's incredible physical strength is also noted by his colleagues John Lewis and John Rea. Herb Jackson, who designed new simulators for him, reported that wooden products broke instantly, and only those reinforced with metal had a chance to last at least a few workouts.

Interestingly, Chuck Norris claimed that Lee did not use kicks above the waist, considering them impractical in martial arts. However, Norris managed to convince him of the effectiveness of such techniques on the screen, after which Lee mastered the full arsenal of high kicks within six months.

Technique and types of exercises

Reconstructing diary entries, eyewitness accounts and photos of Bruce Lee, experts came to the conclusion that he worked using the following physical training techniques:

Basic exercises in three sets with 15...30 approaches depending on the weight.
Alternate exercises, they change in each workout.
Constantly increasing load.

One of the programs for training the abs and leg muscles is shown in the photo.

The table below summarizes the basic principles of operation.

Workouts by day

Another photo from his personal notes:

Regarding combat techniques specifically, I managed to find the following program:

Punching on Monday/Wednesday/Friday - jab, cross, hook, cross from below, speed training, series. All exercises, except speed ones, are done on a pneumatic bag, punching bag, regular bag and wall pad; speed exercises are done only on a pneumatic bag in the gym or at home.
Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday kicks - side, side hooks, twist, heel, straight and back.

Records (not complete) for January 1968 report that the following training sessions took place per month: 15 for stretching and punching, 12 for speed, 121 and 129 for twisting (including lifting the torso) and hanging leg raises. , for legs (squats and others) 19, running (including sprints) - 10 hours.

Almost all the exercises were performed at home - sports equipment for this occupied the entire actor’s house, and there were even exercise machines in the garage. Eyewitnesses report that dumbbells and a barbell were available everywhere he spent at least half an hour - even in the office.

How Bruce Lee ate: a balanced diet

All his life, Lee preferred Chinese cuisine, preferring protein dishes, including soy-based ones. Relatives claimed that he avoided flour - he ate only out of politeness, when visiting. The emphasis on protein products was also expressed in a large number of protein shakes, the actor drank them every day: with powdered milk, eggs, bananas, peanut butter, sprouted wheat, brewer's yeast and lecithin. The composition was constantly changing.

Lee adhered to the principle of fractional nutrition - small portions five to six times a day. The diet was accompanied by energy drinks based on ginseng and honey, vitamins and nutritional supplements.

What supplements did Bruce Lee use?

According to his wife and other eyewitnesses, he actively experimented with all synthetic vitamins, mainly groups B, E, C, and constantly consumed rosehip syrup and bee pollen. As mentioned above, ginseng was on the menu every day in the form of drinks, like honey.

Conclusion

It's hard to stop because there is so much information about Bruce Lee, and so much benefit can come from using his methods and principles of life to improve our own lives. I will be very glad if you find something new and useful for yourself in this article, share useful tips on social networks!

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