Bruce Lee's training: an endless path to perfection of body and spirit. Bruce Lee's training: methods and exercise systems

Bruce Lee is a popular film actor, an outstanding athlete and a highly qualified martial artist. He is familiar to those around him as a writer, teacher and thinker. This man's phenomenal physical fitness comes from his training. Having mastered the beginnings of martial arts under the guidance of the legendary Ip Man, this man created his own style, where everything that seemed effective was placed. Through daily practice and a grueling process of improvement, Bruce Lee managed to achieve unprecedented recognition among the world's population.

On a note!

In imitation of their idol, many followers try to achieve the same heights. However, they overemphasize physical training while neglecting the spiritual concept and proper execution of movements.

Bruce Lee's method is focused on the technical component of exercises, increase in total endurance and resilience of the body, and not to increase muscle mass. This master devoted all his time to working out movements and the evolution of the mental framework. Abdominal training, long-distance jogging and static exercise are at the forefront of Bruce Lee's entire exercise program.

• To increase stamina, the master used the technique of frequent repetitions with light weight.
• The athlete noted that a strong and resilient abdominal cavity helps the practicing athlete withstand prolonged loads and the dynamic impact of external forces.

Interesting!

Lee’s accentuated abs evoked admiration, so this part of the body was nicknamed “the shield.” The master asked the assistant to throw the ball onto the peritoneum while he was lying on his back.

Static (isometric) exercises by Bruce Lee

Effective and very simple to perform. The plus is that approaches do not require additional equipment, but using shells, you achieve better results. “Statics” is carried out both at home and in specialized rooms. When performing it, it is always important to fix the most tense position of the torso or limb. The main exercise here is the “corner” on the uneven bars or crossbar. “Plank”, lunges, squats are successfully used to create a static model.

Power training

Bruce Lee spent two hours a day lifting weights.. Bench presses, biceps curls, barbell twists, and jumping rope were often used. The undoubted rule of this athlete is to thoroughly warm up before performing any forceful action.

• Standing barbell press. Squatting in front of the projectile, grab it at shoulder width. With a sharp movement we pull the bar to the chest, simultaneously straightening our knees and standing up. The next step is to lift the barbell above your head until your arms are fully straightened at the elbow joint. We return to the starting position.
• Biceps press. Thanks to this exercise, Bruce Lee developed excellent power and superhuman speed in his upper limbs. We clasp the bar with our hands, palms forward. Applying only the force of the biceps muscles, we bring the projectile to the upper edge of the chest. We return to the starting position.
• Bent-overs with a barbell. The bar is located behind the shoulder girdle, the legs are spaced wide apart. Slowly bend your torso to a 90-degree position. We take the initial pose.

In Bruce Lee's training methods, much attention was paid to working with a full bag. The master said that he dealt with him as with his worst enemy, using the whole range of emotions. Thanks to the development of striking techniques, the athlete achieved unprecedented speed and strength in his limbs.

The master constantly used his legs, trying to remain invulnerable even during the preparation process. “Respect for practical exercises stimulates a strong-willed attitude towards a real stressful situation,” said Bruce Lee.

• Strike training began with working on a jab (direct lunge) with a hand on a wall pad or bag.
• A counterattack cross was practiced against a heavy boxing bag.
• The hook was applied to the floor bale.
• Series and high-speed lunges were performed on a specific platform.
• Using his legs, Bruce Lee performed side, straight, back punches, hooks and heel strikes.

How did Bruce Lee train? General program of classes

In fact, every athlete’s day began with running. After this, it was the turn of ordinary sparring in protective equipment, reducing the risk of injury. However, the fight began after practicing striking techniques on a wooden dummy or a bag of beans. Bruce Lee noted that alternating exercises increases the chances of achieving success in the sport. The comprehensive classes include training to increase agility and flexibility. The master spent two hours a day honing the technique of one or another blow.

Constant improvement and pursuit of goals were the motto of this master, this applies not only to physical training. Bruce Lee's training program included increasing intellectual abilities, which bears fruit in the process of self-improvement. Without the necessary equipment at hand, the martial artist found the opportunity to use isometric techniques, thereby regaining tone, strength and optimizing metabolism.

Interesting!

Due to the fact that this person was popular, it is now possible to watch his live performances and trainings on the World Wide Web. However, there is not as much video material as his followers would like.

Bruce Lee's Nutritional Features

Proper diet can have a positive effect on the body subjected to sufficient stress. In the intervals between sports, masters properly nourish their body. Bruce Lee followed a strict regime and had no fat accumulation at all. The master's daily diet contained 60% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 10% lipids.

On a note!

The master was extremely fond of traditional Chinese cuisine because it is based on vegetable carbohydrates. It is the latter substances that are mandatory for every athlete experiencing sufficient stress.

The sport developed by Bruce Lee allowed him to achieve the necessary strength, endurance and agility. Consequently, by taking note of the formula of this master’s training, it is possible to get closer to the ideal of physical and spiritual perfection.

Bruce Lee's training methods

Guidance given by Lee to those who want to follow the doctrines Jeet Kune Do, with all the necessary clarity and yet somewhat vaguely boils down to the following: “You must come to terms with the fact,” he wrote, “that there can be no help except self-help. For the same reason I cannot tell you how to achieve freedom, because freedom exists within you. I cannot tell you how to achieve self-knowledge. I can tell you what not to do, but I can't tell you what to do because that would limit how you approach the problem. Formulas destroy freedom, recipes constrict creativity and affirm mediocrity.”

Always remember that freedom from self-knowledge cannot be achieved by rigidly following formulas. We cannot suddenly “become” free. We are simply free.

“Follow the principle,” Bruce Lee told Dan Inosanto, “dissolve the principle, but do not be attached to it, this is JKD!”

Of all his many advantages, Bruce Lee valued his body the most. He did what many considered eccentric and even fantastic to keep his form in perfect condition. His gym was a temple of physical training, equipped with all sorts of devices, decorated with mirrors so that the athlete could better observe his exercises and movements.

His Bel Air home was, naturally, filled with all sorts of equipment that Bruce's friend and student Herb Jackson had made to his designs. Stirling Silliphant remembers how frightened he was by yet another device that looked more like a medieval rack than a sports machine. Once he even tried to make a joke, saying: “Now I understand why there is so much talk about the variety and cruelty of Chinese torture.” Another thing that left a lasting impression on Sterling was the giant bag that Bruce hung in his garage. The bag was 1.30 m in diameter and 1.65 m in height and required at least two people just to grasp it. The bag was soft, so even if you kicked it as hard as you could, it would only wobble slightly. “It was like hitting a swamp,” says Sterling, “I was completely helpless in fighting this bag, while Bruce was able to send it into the air with one blow.” Sterling remembers Bruce often saying that the best place to kick was on a large palm tree. “When you get to the point where you stop shaking from your own blow, and only the tree shakes, then you will begin to understand the blow.”

He never missed a day without training. “For me, the best exercise is running,” he once told a reporter, emphasizing the fact that anyone who is not prepared for physical exertion “has absolutely no business doing hard sparring.” He argued that running is so important that you should continue to run throughout your life. What time of day you run is not important, what matters is how long you run. At the beginning, you jog lightly, then increase the distance and pace, and at the end of the run, include sprinting to develop speed endurance. He himself ran daily, at least 6 times a week, for 15 to 45 minutes, covering 2 to 6 miles, plus the 10 to 20 miles he clocked every other day on his stationary bike. In addition to running, he focused a lot on developing abdominal strength, he also did repeated squats, leg swings and slow leg raises.

Bruce was a firm believer in constantly conditioning his fists and feet to make them effective weapons - the knuckles of his fists were covered with large calluses. Later, he stopped enlarging them, feeling that they were just an ornament, which could also have a negative effect on the function of the joints. He had a bean bag mounted on the wall, on which he practiced punches. His unique device was a mannequin made of teak, which he brought from Hong Kong. In accordance with his methods, he added the necessary devices for it. The mannequin was about 1.8 m tall and 0.3 m wide. It stood on a platform 2.5x2.5 m, attached to it by means of a metal spring, which naturally led to the fact that the response movement of the dummy to Bruce’s blow was almost unpredictable. The mannequin had two arms just below the neck and one arm at stomach level, their length was more than 0.6 m. He also had a metal leg extended forward and bent at the knee. The mannequin's hands helped Bruce practice the technique of "pak sao" - "trap hands", as well as for "chi sao" - "sticking hands". The need for an extended leg was caused by the fact that with its help Bruce learned to automatically place his leg in such a way that it limited the movement of his opponent’s leg, preventing him from striking with it.

He also practiced blows to the shin and knee on this leg. Bruce had several different bags in his arsenal for practicing punches. He used the heavy bag to deliver heavy blows, which he delivered in a series in order to keep his opponent in a poorly balanced position, preventing him from concentrating for a counterattack. He also had a bag with a soft bottom for blows aimed precisely in a straight line. “If you hit a path that is even slightly different from the straight line, the bag will not come back to you,” he explained. This bag was very useful for setting up kicks. Supported by suspensions operating on the principle of rubber, the bag returned after impact with monstrous speed, thus Bruce or his student had to be extremely careful.

He also often used sheets of plain paper in his training. He hung the sheet at the height he needed on a heavy rope or chain. The goal of this training was to increase speed while achieving precision work (coordination of the whole body to achieve maximum power. A simple piece of paper helped him practice the whip-like movement in punches, as well as in yoko kicks and kicks. The paper also helped him choose the correct distance, but The main goal was to achieve maximum accuracy, as well as explosive power. His blows, which he struck on a special padded shield, looked very impressive. One of his friends or students held this shield and moved. This allowed him to learn to deliver penetrating blows to a moving target. It was an amazing sight. When Bruce himself held this shield, and one of his students struck, but I never saw that the blow shook Bruce. But as soon as Bruce’s turn came, the student, as a rule, finished his own. flying in the other corner of the room in a state of semi-shock.

Lee increased the speed and accuracy of his hands and fingers to phenomenal levels. His friend Adrian Marshall describes the following example of sleight of hand that would make a magician jealous: “Bruce put a twopenny piece in my hand and then said, 'Let's see your speed.' “When I want to take twopence, close your fist and see if I can take it.” He made one movement, I closed my fist, then another - I closed it again. And the third time he didn’t have time to take the twopence either... The fourth time, however, everything happened a little faster, but when I closed my fist, the coin was still in it, at least I thought so. Opening my fist, I saw that not only was the twopence gone, but there was a penny in my hand.”

Other friends recalled similar stunts in which Lee demonstrated his amazing reaction speed. The shock was so fast that they could not notice it, and so close to the face that the man felt the wind, or asked a comrade to hold his hand under his chin and try to prevent Lee from closing his eyelids, but inevitably the eyelids were closed before the hand could be intercept, but so gently that the guinea pig almost did not feel it, such was the reward for intense training.

Coburn describes a workout that Lee called "Bridge Over the Chasm." It was necessary to get as close to the opponent as possible without getting hit, while each was required to keep an eye on the other. At the same time, a unified (united) process appeared, uniting the fighters into one. Lee allowed Coburn to touch him a couple of times to demonstrate his amazing speed and mobility. “What should also be emphasized about Bruce is that he himself was constantly learning. I think there wasn't a day that he didn't acquire something new. He would explode with enthusiasm, talking about some punch he had just invented - "bang-bang - look at that," he exclaimed, "and I tried... the flow of his energy was like a rod, always weakened to the very end, strength came only with the last blow.”

Bruce himself especially emphasized that he considers free (without restrictions) sparring, using protective devices, to be the best way to train. “For sparring, you should wear comfortable and reliable protective equipment. Then you can learn to choose the right moment and distance to successfully strike. It's a great idea to spar with different personalities - tall, short, fast, harsh, clumsy. Yes, at times, a clumsy enemy can defeat a better fighter than him, because his clumsiness is a kind of ragged rhythm. Thus, the best partner is a sharp, strong person who is not limited by any concepts or boundaries, he is a madman who can do God knows what, he scratches, grabs you with his hands, kicks you, etc.” Bruce's daily routine was, as a rule, as follows: getting up early in the morning, warming up. Often a run before breakfast or a ten mile “walk” on a stationary bike. Then he would relax by reading or watching TV or playing with the children. After an early lunch, he sat down again with his books, this time of day he spent reading. After that, his main training began. Before he started training, he usually didn't eat anything. Throughout the day he almost never sat without moving. Even while reading, he constantly moved a special chair with one hand, turning the pages of the book with the other hand. He was a kind of “perpetummobile” in human form.

Bruce Lee never took a break from such exercises. Friends said that they had never seen him at rest. Even when he was chatting at lunch or watching TV, he would press his palm underneath the table or flex his thigh muscles. Linda writes that she often saw a book in one hand and a “silent bell” in the other. Or he would suddenly jump up during the most entertaining conversation to carry out a new exercise that had just occurred to him. James Coburn says that when he was on a plane with Lee, Lee took turns hitting the table in front of the seat with his fist. When Coburn began to get on his nerves and made a remark, Lee apologized: “Sorry, man, I gotta stay in shape.”

Of all the natural exercises, that is, exercises that do not require special equipment or special training, that Lee used, isometric exercises were obviously the most beneficial. An isometric exercise is an exercise in which muscles are trained by applying them against a stationary object, such as a wall. Lee stood for hours or more, pressing the back of his hand against the balcony frames (to understand the effect, try this exercise for yourself for 3-4 minutes or for an hour or more).

Lee used isometric exercises to develop most of the muscles in his body. A particularly effective way of introducing tension to the largest number of muscles in a single exercise is the isometric barrier, which he invented for his gym. This was a metal rod, tightly fastened in the middle, which could be installed between two vertical bars, usually below shoulder level. Lee bent under him, leaned on his shoulders and the back of his head and pulled upward, while working his hip, shoulders and abdominal muscles. If he placed his hands on the sides of the supports and pushed, then the muscles of the arm were also involved in the work. Lee called his arms and legs, feet and hands “tools of production.” I constantly did a lot of exercises to keep them in working condition. Speaking about the exercises he used, he insisted: “Training must be functional, it must be close to reality.”

In 1965, Bruce wrote: “There are three stages in the art of Kung Fu. The first is primitive, i.e. stage of complete ignorance. The second is the stage of automatism, when the mind is still captured by the analysis of various movements. And the third is the stage of direct action, when, instead of imposing one’s style on the opponent, one adapts to his technique, analyzing its strengths and weaknesses, and then reuniting everything together, improving it if possible.”

In his efforts to maintain perfect health there were aspects that were absolutely unacceptable to others, for example, while giving due credit to what he would eat, Lee said, “You are what you eat,” hence it was necessary to eliminate tobacco and alcohol. Yet Lee's diet often left much to be desired. It seemed that at times he was almost entirely on vitamin tablets, sometimes eating nothing but steak, sometimes drinking ox's blood.

Robert, his brother, describes arriving in America and meeting Bruce at the airport, who stepped back with an expression of horror and exclaimed: “Oh my God, you're bony! Don’t tell anyone that you are my brother, otherwise I will be ashamed.”

The younger Lee was immediately escorted to his brother's home in Bel Air. The next morning he was woken up early, given tennis shoes and made to run three miles. Bruce soon recommended a suitable diet for Robert, who for some reason was not at all grateful.

“God, it was truly torture. Bruce was like a corporal, he made the mixture himself every day to make sure I drank it. It consisted of milk, protein flour for quick weight gain, bananas, ice cream, eggs with shells and pineapple oil. He made me drink a quart of it every day (2.25 liters)."

The quintessence of physical fitness, the first coil of the coiled spring from which all beginners must advance to a state of readiness to learn the arts of combat, is the perfection of breathing. However, as simple as it sounds, the art of breathing is very complex and time consuming. Usually the majority (obviously, Bruce Lee himself before Ip Man took him in his hands and revealed his secrets to the young student) breathes too shallowly, the majority breathes from the chest, but we must breathe from the stomach. The advantage of using the diaphragm rather than the torso when exhaling and inhaling air is primarily that in the first case the lungs are emptied and filled more efficiently and completely. The practical medical benefits of this are obvious, but the benefits of this exercise for the beginner are much deeper. By inhaling deeply through the nose and exhaling through the mouth, while ensuring that the chest remains calm and still and the stomach does not work, the fighter increases his reserve of Ki, with all the benefits of the powerful inner peace that all this provides.

Bruce Lee won't be remembered as a dietitian, and he doesn't need to be. His body was like a model of muscular grace. He avoided the overtrained awkwardness of a weightlifter, or the Mr. Great Body figure, or the unattractive muscles of a Spartan long-distance runner. Lee's body was an instrument of primal beauty. Which is why he intended the exercises to work with him (fortunately, they were recorded and come to us in interviews, articles and private memoirs). Such physical development, as Lee pointed out with conviction, is not in itself complete. As he said about it: “Here is a finger pointing to the moon. Please don't mistake your finger for the moon. Don't strain your finger and miss out on the beautiful view of the sky. After all, the usefulness of this finger is that it points to the light that illuminates the finger and everything else.”

Bruce had a firm belief that a correct understanding of the martial arts could only be achieved through individual work with the student, and this was one of the main reasons why he abandoned his original idea of ​​​​establishing a chain of kung fu schools. It was one of his talents as a teacher that he needed, first of all, to force a person to turn on his consciousness in order to perceive the ideas given to him. What I present below is just one of Bruce's rough, personal training plans. It was not designed for students, so Bruce modified it where necessary. As soon as his student mastered the next height, he was immediately individually offered something new and addressed specifically to him.

Option 1

(Monday, Wednesday, Friday) 1. Jumping rope 2. Bends and rotations 3. Bending in the lower back (cat stretches) 4. Split jumps 5. Squats 6. Kicks to the head

Option 2

(Monday, Wednesday Friday) (forearm, hand, waist) 1. Rotation of the torso 2. Rotation, flexion, extension in the hands 3. Rotations in the knees 4. Tilts of the torso to the sides 5. Twisting of the hands with a load

Option 3

(Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) 1. Exercises for stretching the ligaments and muscles of the legs 2. Swinging the leg to the sides 3. Jumping, pressing the hips to the body 4. Rotation of the shoulders 5. Stretching the groin muscles and ligaments 6. Rotation of the hands

Option 4

(Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) 1. Leg swings 2. Wrist crunches 3. Squats with simultaneous rotation 4. Leg raises with a bent knee 5. Strengthening the abdominal muscles 6. Work to strengthen the hands (rotations with weights)

Training and Strength Development

He also developed a program to keep his students fit.

 Split jumps

 Push-ups

 Running in place

 Rotation of cries

 Kicks to the head

 Squats and knee rotations in a deep squat

 Swing your legs to the sides and slowly raise your legs to the side

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 striking 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-floating martial arts style 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.

Almost every person has their own idol; some want to not only imitate him, but even surpass him in something. If we talk about athletes, then in this case such a positive example is simply necessary for everyone. Some people strive to play football like Maradona, others want to play basketball like Michael Jordan, and others repeat the training of Bruce Lee in order to become strong and strong like him. It is worth immediately noting that in the latter case, only by overcoming pain and your capabilities can you achieve at least some more or less decent success.

Of course, Bruce Lee is an outstanding athlete and unsurpassed martial artist. Despite the fact that this man is known not only as a wrestler, but also as a writer, teacher and even a thinker, this time a topic related specifically to his achievements in sports will be touched upon.

Why him

No one will doubt that Bruce Lee's training became the basis of his phenomenal physical fitness. He had no equal in martial arts precisely because of his daily grueling exercise and improvement of his body.

Thus, for several decades now, many of his followers have been unsuccessfully trying to reach exactly the same heights as their idol. Failures are due to the fact that in the pursuit of perfection they put the physical component first, but forget about preparing the mental body and the necessary knowledge of methods and techniques for performing exercises.

Bruce Lee: training (photo, description of the technique)

In any sport, technique is important. Bruce Lee's training method is not aimed at increasing muscle size; in principle, this is noticeable from the athlete himself. Instead of big muscles, he preferred more durable and strong ones. Bruce Lee's training technique is based on the complete dedication of all free time and energy. Only in this case can you achieve results that will become an example for all followers.

The main emphasis was placed specifically on training the abdominal muscles, running and isometric work; naturally, we must not forget about some classic bodybuilding exercises. However, Bruce Lee's strength training is based on higher repetitions in order to increase endurance.

The abdominal muscles for Bruce Lee were the most important of all. He believed that without a strong and durable muscular corset, an athlete would not be able to withstand a long and intense battle.

Due to the fact that Bruce constantly experimented with his body during training and worked to the limit, his muscles were nicknamed “marble”. This became possible thanks to the precise technique of isometric exercises. Their meaning is quite simple and lies in the maximum possible muscle tension over a certain period of time. As for Bruce himself, this interval reached 12 seconds.

Isometric exercises

In fact, these are very simple exercises in essence, but surprisingly effective in their effect. The most important thing is that you can do them absolutely without any additional equipment, but if you have them, they will be even more successful.

These exercises can be done anywhere and anytime. For example, if you are traveling somewhere on public transport, you can do a workout right there. Instead of just holding on to the handrail and getting bored, you can try to push it up and, at the peak of muscle tension, fix them in this position for the maximum possible time.

Isometric exercise can be done both at home and in the gym. For example, if you hang a huge number of plates on a barbell so that it is impossible to lift them off the floor, try to do this, but do not overdo it, and freeze for 5-12 seconds at the peak of tension.

It is thanks to such exercises that you can significantly improve the condition of your muscles. Ideally, it would be nice to have a crossbar with the ability to change the height of the projectile, but even if you don’t have one, using your ingenuity, you can find a replacement for it.

Strength exercises

Bruce Lee's strength training consisted mainly of working with free weights, these were:

• press;
• squats;
• turns with a barbell on your shoulders;
• biceps curls.

Also, don’t forget Bruce Lee’s favorite exercises: jumping rope, swimming and long-distance running.

Bruce Lee's training program

The biographical literature of this athlete, among other things, left after his death a lot of interesting information regarding the performance of exercises. Bruce Lee's training program was as follows:

• sparring;
• alternating training;
• "perpetual motion machine";
• discipline.

As for running, it is known for certain that the athlete paid special attention to it, like all similar cardio training. During the week, Bruce Lee was scheduled to do 6 runs.

After a run and a short warm-up, it came to sparring. In order to avoid injury, Bruce used protective equipment, and this is quite natural. First, the strikes were practiced on a special wooden dummy, as well as bags filled with beans. Only after this did it come to free sparring. Bruce Lee believed that this was the only way to achieve perfection in his punches and technique.

Constantly alternating your workouts is the path to success. That is why it is necessary to pay attention not only to sparring or strength training, but also to work with your body comprehensively, developing both agility and flexibility together. Every day he devoted two hours to practicing various strikes until they became honed to a phenomenal degree.

You need to constantly move forward. Bruce Lee never stopped there and constantly improved, not only physically, but also intellectually. Among his daily training, he found time to read various interesting books regarding self-development of the mind and soul.

There must be discipline in everything, especially when it comes to sports. This means not only the obligatory implementation of the training schedule, but also those cases when the necessary apparatus or equipment is not nearby, it is necessary to replace it with something at hand. Thus, Bruce himself sometimes spent several hours trying to move a tree from its place, performing the same isometric exercises.

Power training

Now it is necessary to move from theory to practice and specific exercises, thanks to which he achieved in his years what no one else can repeat. Bruce Lee's training with a barbell is included in the complex of strength exercises:

• standing barbell press - 8 repetitions of 2 sets;
• biceps press - 8 repetitions, 2 sets;
• squats with load - 12 repetitions of 2 sets;
• Bent-overs with a barbell - 8 repetitions of 2 sets;
• bench press - 6 repetitions of 2 sets;
• lifting the bar behind the head in a lying position - 8 repetitions of 2 sets.

Barbell

Standing Barbell Press

Before performing each exercise, you must first warm up all the muscles. After preparation, you need to squat in front of the barbell, spread your arms shoulder-width apart and grab it. Next, press the barbell onto your chest with one jerk, while straightening your knees, ending up in a standing position. As soon as you are level, immediately push it up to your outstretched arms. After fixing the weight above your head, you need to do all the movements in the reverse order and return to the starting position.

Biceps press

The exercises are aimed at developing the biceps muscles, thanks to which Bruce had phenomenal hand strength and speed, which was demonstrated every time during the fight. The bar must be clasped with your hands shoulder-width apart, palms forward. Using only the biceps, you need to squeeze the barbell to the upper edge of your chest, fix the weight, and then return to the starting position. Respites between approaches should be minimal.

Loaded squats

During strength training, squats played a special role for Bruce. Among all types, the most popular are the classical exercises when performed correctly. The barbell must be held behind your shoulders while standing, with your feet shoulder-width apart. In this position, you need to slowly lower down and immediately rise up. Without stopping and lifting your feet off the floor.

Bent-overs with a barbell

Before describing the exercise, it is worth noting the most important point. During such training, Bruce Lee himself was once injured. This situation occurred in 1970, when he took a weight equal to his own and began to do this exercise, after which he damaged the fourth sacral nerve and experienced severe back pain. As Bruce himself later said, the mistake occurred due to lack of warming up before training.

The barbell must be held behind your shoulders in a standing position, with your feet shoulder-width apart. Slowly lean forward to an angle of 90 degrees, then return to the starting position.

Bench press

Bruce had amazingly developed pectoral muscles, but all his records mentioned only the classic bench press. In this case, everything is simple: exhale with effort.

Lifting the barbell behind your head while lying down

While lying down on a training bench, grab the barbell with your hands shoulder-width apart and push it up. Let's fix this position. Next, you need to carefully lower it behind your head until it reaches the floor. In order not to injure the tendons, it is necessary to keep your elbows bent. Then we return the bar to its original position.

Iron press

Bruce Lee had some of the strongest abdominal muscles. Ab training has always been a staple for him. Even though this exercise is quite simple, it is very effective.

You need to lie down on an inclined bench and tense all your muscles. Then you need to lift your body until it is in a vertical position, and it is not recommended to place your feet on the floor; it is best for them to remain slightly elevated. Thus, it will look like a boat. You can increase the load by lifting your body at a different angle. By the way, using the same method you can pump up both the upper and lower abs. Bruce Lee's workouts are based on multiple repetitions and minimal rest between sets, no more than what the body needs.

Nutrition

Indeed, everyone was amazed by the physical form that Bruce Lee possessed. Training and nutrition are closely interconnected, and in order to achieve results, you need to choose the right products. Only thanks to the most severe diet, the athlete did not have a drop of excess fat. At the same time, Bruce Lee's training was very exhausting. In order for them to benefit and to have strength for them, it was necessary to constantly nourish the body. Surprisingly, with a height of 171 cm, the athlete weighed only 61 kilograms, of which there was not a single gram of excess fat. This is all thanks to some rules that he adhered to.

The Laws of Nutrition from Bruce Lee

No empty calories

This expression refers to those foods that do not provide any benefit to the body, but only calories: flour and confectionery products, etc. Instead, Bruce suggested eating wild rice and oatmeal.

There is little, but often

The total amount of food intended for the whole day must be divided into several minimal meals.

Honey and ginseng

Bruce constantly prepared himself energy drinks based on them. This is also confirmed by his film colleagues.

Like many people from the East, Bruce loved tea and drank it constantly, using different varieties.

Balanced diet

Of course, without a proper diet there would not be such a result. It is necessary to constantly maintain the stability of the following proportions:

• carbohydrates - 50-60%;
• proteins - 20-30%;
• fats - 10-20%.

This combination will be optimal not only for health, but also for gaining muscle mass.

Sports supplements

Naturally, during Bruce Lee’s life there were no ready-made sports supplements, but nevertheless, people who understood such subtle things were able to create something similar. It is known for certain that Bruce himself (who, by the way, lived in California) created special homemade protein shakes for himself, which included powdered milk and brewer’s yeast. At the same time, they say that he did not disdain the first supplements at that time, in particular minerals and multivitamins.

Only by working comprehensively on yourself can you achieve high results. All in your hands.

Several generations grew up watching the films of Bruce Lee, a 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 not enough 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, concentration 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 always experimented with his training to maximize his physical capabilities and pushed 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 "corner exercises."

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.