Bruce Lee became an iconic actor and martial artist before his death in 1973 at the age of 32. But in that time, he became one of the earliest figures in Hollywood to ditch weight training and adopt a completely bodyweight-based workout routine.
How strong was Bruce Lee? For his weight — very strong, similar to a human fly or spider… Like a certain Iron Mike Tyson, he was a master at incorporating calisthenic strength into his martial arts.
A bodybuilder-style physique isn't ideal for fighters or martial artists. It would have slowed him down and demanded more stamina, which is far from ideal in anything athletic. Weight is a factor, but it alone doesn't define your fighting ability.
He experimented with power, endurance, coordination, agility, flexibility, nutrition, and even the amount of time he could rest before training again. Speed and power were Bruce's essential outcomes, so he focused on training that would produce minimal hypertrophy.
Bruce Lee worked his body like a machine—and then made sure to lock in 8 hours of sleep every night. Bruce Lee has left an incredible gift to the world by documenting his training, nutrition, and philosophical ideas. Lee was a great believer in the restorative powers of sleep.
Bruce Lee was arguably the greatest martial artist of all time. At 5 foot 6 inches and weighing around 145 lbs (65.9 kg) in his prime, Bruce's legacy was that no matter how tall, big or strong an individual is, the technical martial artist is always at a greater advantage.
Bruce developed those lats for a reason: they help dramatically with punching power. And if you look at the backs of boxers, you'll see that Bruce was not alone in making that connection. This might come as a surprise, considering that lats are primarily pulling muscles.
Accordingly, Lee employed training methods from boxing such as skipping and road running to improve his endurance. He would run four to five miles each morning and lifted weights three nights a week, installing a squat rack, bench press, dumbbells, grip machine and an isometric machine in his garage.
The complete flow Lee wrote in his gym card at Hak Keung Gymnasium in Hong Kong, which he reportedly visited three times a week in 1965, was as follows: Squat x three sets x 95 pounds (43 kilograms) x 10 repetitions (or reps)
This includes the fact that Lee was 5 foot 6 inches tall (1.71 meters), had only 1% body fat (the World Health Organization recommends 10-20%) and lost 22 pounds while filming Enter the Dragon due to stress, with his weight falling to 132 pounds.
He was a fan of long workouts, often training for 2 ½ hours throughout the day. He didn't just practice martial arts, he also did strength training and endurance exercises. Lee would often go for runs in the morning and complete the rest of his workout later in the day.
Lee would also use an exercycle (which is a fancy name for a stationary bike) to build his cardiovascular endurance. He wouldn't putz around either, he'd go all-out for 45–60 minutes — and often this was right after a run. Lee made sure to schedule time for jump rope.
Along with his famous one-inch punch, one of Lee's most adored skills was the two-finger push-up, which he first showcased in 1964. It's reported that Lee could rep out 200 two-finger press-ups and, unbelievably, 1500 press-ups without breaking.
Lee's stunt double is the one doing the kip ups and somersaults in his fight scenes from Enter The Dragon, because the real Lee suffered a back injury a few years earlier and couldn't do those moves himself. So whenever you see him doing those flips, it's not actually him.
At first, he began his bodybuilding session with squats. He performed three sets of it, 10 times with 95 lbs weights. Then followed Bench Press 1 and 2 that he did with 64 lbs weights 6 times in 4 sets. Next, he moved to incline curl which he also did in 4 sets, 6 times with 35 lbs weights.
Bruce Lee could punch 9 times in one second while His One-Inch Punch could force a 75kg opponent 5-6 meters away. 4. Lee had punching power of 350 pounds, the same as boxing champion Muhammad Ali but Bruce Lee weighs just 130 pounds in weight, while Ali was double his weight (260 pounds).
He weighed 8 stone 10lbs and was 5ft 7in tall. The Lee family physician was the first to express doubts about the aspirin verdict. "The man was muscled like a squirrel, spirited as a horse. I've never seen anybody as physically fit as Bruce.
Inhale when extending back and exhale when sitting up. Lee performed four sets of 20 reps. Considerations Lee also utilized hanging leg raises, floor leg raises, weighted side bends, leaning twists, V-situps and an extensive kicking routine to strengthen and fine tune his abs and core in general.
The only exception to this routine was the barbell squats, which Lee did for two sets with 12 to 20 reps. After 10 years, Lee reportedly changed it again to as follows: Clean and Press x two sets x eight reps. Squat x two sets x 12 reps.
With a boxing background as well, Lee was a fan of the jump rope which he utilized along with going on morning runs. He would run 4 miles three days per week, which he would do in a Fartlek type method.
