Any Body follow Bruce lee's workout?

Corporal Hicks

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Im not sure if this is the proper forum to post this in but I was going to ask if anybody has read Bruce Lee's 'The art of expressing the human body' it was really easy to follow and understand and the exercises in there were what I thought were really good. Have you guys read it? Anything to say about it?

Does anybody here follow a workout similar to Bruce Lee's own?

Regards
 

Simon Curran

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I must admit that I have never read the book, and don't know too much about Bruce Lee's fitness regime, but I have been led to believe that he did a lot of bodyweight calisthenics (sp?)

That is the kind of exercise I do as well after reading a web site by a guy named Matt Furey, he is a bit annoying to listen to, but I have found, that at least in my case, the stuff works...
 

TigerWoman

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Corporal Hicks, please post a brief summary of Bruce Lee's workout, for those that can't or haven't read the book. (me for one) TW
 

Sin

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I would really like to know as well jeet Kuhn do is an awesome system and a lot of the stuff is really good for technique, mental state of mind, and Physical Fitness. i do not know exactly what Bruce Lee's Workout was like but if you guys do post it up i will prolly give it a shot
 

loki09789

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Corporal Hicks said:
Im not sure if this is the proper forum to post this in but I was going to ask if anybody has read Bruce Lee's 'The art of expressing the human body' it was really easy to follow and understand and the exercises in there were what I thought were really good. Have you guys read it? Anything to say about it?

Does anybody here follow a workout similar to Bruce Lee's own?

Regards
Don't do it. I don't mean to imply that Bruce Lee (BL) didn't know the body or exercise, but there are so many factors to consider:

Age, fitness level, goals, injury/medical history....

and consider that BL's own wife and friends said that BL was an obsessive personallity type. So, what he did and wrote may have not have been based on sound fitness/health practices per se. In some of the documentary/bio's Linda Lee recounts the time when BL found sushi and became so obsessed that he ate so much in such a short period of time that he got sick from, I believe, high iodine levels.

Find a credible trainer, get educated yourself, find sites recommended by the Olympic Reps for TKD in your country to draw from.

Just some suggestions.
 

Sin

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loki09789 said:
Don't do it.........In some of the documentary/bio's Linda Lee recounts the time when BL found sushi and became so obsessed that he ate so much in such a short period of time that he got sick from, I believe, high iodine levels.

How can you base a man's obsession with his Martial Arts. Just because he had a short time obsession with a food dosn't mean that his Art wasn't effective.

Now I do agree that you should be in good health to train like BL, no doubt about it. And also if you are training with a OLYMPIC TKD instructor it will be strictly sport Karate, witch is fine, but not everyones cup o' Tea
 

loki09789

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Sin said:
How can you base a man's obsession with his Martial Arts. Just because he had a short time obsession with a food dosn't mean that his Art wasn't effective.

Now I do agree that you should be in good health to train like BL, no doubt about it. And also if you are training with a OLYMPIC TKD instructor it will be strictly sport Karate, witch is fine, but not everyones cup o' Tea
The first paragraph is kind of confusing but if you read the whole post, the food thing was only an example of BL's obsessive trait as expressed by his close friends/students and wife in the documentary I watched (HBO and History channel at different times).

The idea of 'working out' in this context, as far as I understood it, was fitness and conditioning not martial art specific development, so references to the Olympic training center as a credible source for training guidelines, fitness evaluations/standards was meant to be used for developing a safe workout perscription.

BL, like many of us, developed fitness models based on trial and error, personal experience and limited personal research. To avoid injury, bad habits or misunderstandings, I am simply saying use sources that are credible, scientifically sound and SAFE.
 
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Corporal Hicks

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TigerWoman said:
Corporal Hicks, please post a brief summary of Bruce Lee's workout, for those that can't or haven't read the book. (me for one) TW
Lol thats kinda hard because the whole book talks about the whole body and how to train it but heres a little something...

THE SEQUENCE (Circuit) TRAINING ROUTINE FOR TOTAL FITNESS

Sequence 1a (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

1. Rope Jumping (1 minute)

(NOTE: I've taken out all of how to do it paragraphs underneath each exercise, i've just broken it down into this)

2. Foward Bend (1 Minute)
3. Cat Stretch (1 Min)
4 Jumping Jack (1 Min)
5. Squat (1 Min)
6. High Kick ((1 Min)

Sequence 1B (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

1.Waist Twisting (1 Min)
2. Palm-up curl (1 Min)
3. Roman Chair (1 Min)
4. Knee Drawing (1 Min)
5. Side Bending (1 Min)
6. Palm Down Curl (1 Min)

Sequence 2a (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)

1. Groin Stretch (1 Min)
2. Side Leg Raise (1 Min)
3. Jumping Squat (1 Min)
4. Shoulder Circling (1 Min)
5. Alternat Splits (1 Min)
6. Leg Stretch (1 Min)

Sequence 2b (Tuesday, Thursday , Saturday)
1. Leg Raise (1 Min)
2. Reverse Curl (1 Min)
3. Sit-up Twist (1 Min)
4. Leverage Bar Twist (1 Min)
5. Alternate Leg Raise (1 Min)
6. Wrist Roller (1 Min)

This is just a very short insight into what I think is a fanatastic book. This workout above takes up almost 8 pages. Each exercise is explained fully, some pages with diagrams to show and explain. The book is quite big and it has everything on, ok let me show you the Contents.

1. Pursuit of Strength
2. Motionless Exercise: The basics of Isometrics
3. Enter the Barbelss: Beginners Bodybuilding routine
4. General Development Routine
5. 20-Minute Strength and Shape toutine
6. Sequence training routine for total fitness (believe thats above)
7. Circuit training routine for increased Muscularit
8. The Enter the Dragon Routine for Martial Artists
9. Specialisation: Abdominals
10. Specialisation: Forearms
11. BL TOP 7 exercises for Neck and Shoulders
12. ............10..................Chest
13...............11................Back
14...............11.............Arms
15...............11.............Legs and Calves
16. Tao Of Flexibility
17. Real world power "cardio connection"
18. Applied power. Training with the heavy bag
19. Interval training for Martial Arists
20. Fueling the dragon (nutrition)
21. Day in the life etc etc
and another one
24. Training routines designed by Bruce lee for his students

Phew!

Hope I havnt violiated Anything. Hope it helps:)
 
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Corporal Hicks

Corporal Hicks

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TigerWoman said:
Corporal Hicks, please post a brief summary of Bruce Lee's workout, for those that can't or haven't read the book. (me for one) TW
Lol thats kinda hard because the whole book talks about the whole body and how to train it but heres a little something...

THE SEQUENCE (Circuit) TRAINING ROUTINE FOR TOTAL FITNESS

Sequence 1a (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

1. Rope Jumping (1 minute)

(NOTE: I've taken out all of how to do it paragraphs underneath each exercise, i've just broken it down into this)

2. Foward Bend (1 Minute)
3. Cat Stretch (1 Min)
4 Jumping Jack (1 Min)
5. Squat (1 Min)
6. High Kick ((1 Min)

Sequence 1B (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

1.Waist Twisting (1 Min)
2. Palm-up curl (1 Min)
3. Roman Chair (1 Min)
4. Knee Drawing (1 Min)
5. Side Bending (1 Min)
6. Palm Down Curl (1 Min)

Sequence 2a (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)

1. Groin Stretch (1 Min)
2. Side Leg Raise (1 Min)
3. Jumping Squat (1 Min)
4. Shoulder Circling (1 Min)
5. Alternat Splits (1 Min)
6. Leg Stretch (1 Min)

Sequence 2b (Tuesday, Thursday , Saturday)
1. Leg Raise (1 Min)
2. Reverse Curl (1 Min)
3. Sit-up Twist (1 Min)
4. Leverage Bar Twist (1 Min)
5. Alternate Leg Raise (1 Min)
6. Wrist Roller (1 Min)

This is just a very short insight into what I think is a fanatastic book. This workout above takes up almost 8 pages. Each exercise is explained fully, some pages with diagrams to show and explain. The book is quite big and it has everything on, ok let me show you the Contents.

1. Pursuit of Strength
2. Motionless Exercise: The basics of Isometrics
3. Enter the Barbelss: Beginners Bodybuilding routine
4. General Development Routine
5. 20-Minute Strength and Shape toutine
6. Sequence training routine for total fitness (believe thats above)
7. Circuit training routine for increased Muscularit
8. The Enter the Dragon Routine for Martial Artists
9. Specialisation: Abdominals
10. Specialisation: Forearms
11. BL TOP 7 exercises for Neck and Shoulders
12. ............10..................Chest
13...............11................Back
14...............11.............Arms
15...............11.............Legs and Calves
16. Tao Of Flexibility
17. Real world power "cardio connection"
18. Applied power. Training with the heavy bag
19. Interval training for Martial Arists
20. Fueling the dragon (nutrition)
21. Day in the life etc etc
and another one
24. Training routines designed by Bruce lee for his students

Phew!

Hope I havnt violiated Anything. Hope it helps:)
 

shane23ss

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I have read the book. Bruce Lee did do a lot of calisthenics and "resistance" training/drills. All in all, I think he had the right idea as far as workouts are concerned. He was probably before his time with the resistance drills. As far as getting an injury, I can't remember if it was in that book or another, but Bruce Lee did injure/re-injure his back doing a resistance drill that focused on the lower back.
 

TigerWoman

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Thanks Corporal Hicks for posting that. Like any training regimen, you have to adapt, adjust to your own body, how you want to train, and for what purpose. I think a two hour workout is enough for the body during the day. Life, after all is not all training and Bruce Lee may have been too obsessive. Balance is the key. Take time to enjoy the other stuff too, flowers or snowflakes. TW
 
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Corporal Hicks

Corporal Hicks

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TigerWoman said:
Thanks Corporal Hicks for posting that. Like any training regimen, you have to adapt, adjust to your own body, how you want to train, and for what purpose. I think a two hour workout is enough for the body during the day. Life, after all is not all training and Bruce Lee may have been too obsessive. Balance is the key. Take time to enjoy the other stuff too, flowers or snowflakes. TW
Lol yep, well to train your body up to that level is pretty impressive but I would never had the time, money or resources to be able to do that like him, I'm sure I would if I put the time to it...........:jedi1:
 
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Chrono

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I recently got it myself. I haven't really read it yet, but I've looked in it several times. It has some really good tips in it.
 

punisher73

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Good book, but nothing earth shattering as far as some "secret" that BL used to achieve his physique.

The other thing about Bruce's OCD is that the book only consists of his earlier training where he kept notes on what he was doing. Towards the end of his life he had things all over the house and was always doing some type of excercise, but the specifics (reps, weight, sets, exercise, etc.) were never written down.

Another things to remember is that while filming his last movie, he only weighed around 125 or so and was very sickly. As a couple others have stated you must leave room for recovery. Even though a specific muscle group may recover in 48 hrs, it affects the whole body as a complete system and that may take longer than 48 hrs.
 
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Chrono

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punisher73 said:
Another things to remember is that while filming his last movie, he only weighed around 125 or so and was very sickly. As a couple others have stated you must leave room for recovery. Even though a specific muscle group may recover in 48 hrs, it affects the whole body as a complete system and that may take longer than 48 hrs.
Is that why he was, as you said, sickly, because he didn't give himself adequate rest?
 

Adept

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Bruce was an obsessive man. As such he worked out with an intensity most people can only aspire to. The 'secret' to his excellent physical condition was simply lots and lots of hard work.
 
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Corporal Hicks

Corporal Hicks

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punisher73 said:
Good book, but nothing earth shattering as far as some "secret" that BL used to achieve his physique.

The other thing about Bruce's OCD is that the book only consists of his earlier training where he kept notes on what he was doing. Towards the end of his life he had things all over the house and was always doing some type of excercise, but the specifics (reps, weight, sets, exercise, etc.) were never written down.

Another things to remember is that while filming his last movie, he only weighed around 125 or so and was very sickly. As a couple others have stated you must leave room for recovery. Even though a specific muscle group may recover in 48 hrs, it affects the whole body as a complete system and that may take longer than 48 hrs.
I was wondering about that, it seems like he went jogging every single day, and worked out every single day, did he not have days off for his body to recuperate. He must have, to enable his muscles to rebuild like that or maybe they did rebuild but they were detorirating because he over worked himself?!
 

Sin

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To work out hardcore is not going to harm your health. Eatr ight get plenty of sleep, drink plenty of water and you will be fine. Thats all you have to do to be safe. Bl is a perfect physical speciman, and to take up his regiment would be a great thing
 

Simon Curran

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Sin said:
To work out hardcore is not going to harm your health. Eatr ight get plenty of sleep, drink plenty of water and you will be fine. Thats all you have to do to be safe. Bl is a perfect physical speciman, and to take up his regiment would be a great thing
I'm not sure that is what a physician would say...
 

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