Bruce Lee Workout

Bruce Lee developed many workouts during his career and not all have been documented. However, he did keep good training notes, and it is from these that we know about the Bruce Lee Workout. Bruce Lee divided his training into specific martial arts training and training to enhance his martial arts prowess, i.e. weight training, calisthenics, cardio fitness and stretching. Each day Bruce Lee would train to improve his physique and his martial ability. However, Bruce Lee also stated that it was important to never train the body so hard on any given day, that the body is too weak on the following days to train more, or fight. From a martial perspective, it is essential to never overtrain, as although in the long term intensive training can make the body stronger quicker, to leave yourself weak is not good martial practice.

"Above all, never cheat on any exercise; use the amount of weight that you can handle without undue strain." - Bruce Lee


This quote is still valid for all forms of weight training exercise today. Firstly, good form is essential, whether you are lifting weights, stretching, performing bodyweight exercises, or practicing martial arts. Bruce Lee obviously had a very good grounding in the importance of good form, as kung-fu, and other martial arts, use "forms" for training and honing fighting techniques. Good form is essential in martial arts, as it can help to determine the strengths and weaknesses of a student, condition the body to react and move in the correct way, and strengthen the muscles, ligaments and joints. Poorly executed form can lead to poorly executed martial application, which can be fatal.

In the Bruce Lee Workout, form is very important. Poor form not only reduces the effectiveness of an exercise, but it can also cause injury, by placing too much pressure in the wrong areas. Also, the cheat on an exercise, is to cheat your own body of obtaining the optimal workout during any given session.

Bruce Lee's weight training routine evolved during his career. In his early days, his emphasis was on body building, especially forearm training, and he supplemented his diet with protein drinks. Later on, he started to simplify his training. He realised that rather than the isolation exercises favoured by bodybuilders, he needed to perform compound weight training exercises to increase overall strength and condition. Bruce Lee's weight reduced after he gave up the bodybuilding routines in favour of more traditional compound and cardio training.

"Since weight training involves repitiions, a great deal of energy must be exerted. Therefore, weight training should be practce only every other day." - Bruce Lee

This quote is interesting, as it seems to be a move away from his traditional approach of not working the body so much that you are weakened. So although he was moving away from the bodybuilding routines, he was also moving away from pure martial arts. The Bruce Lee Workout should be intensive enough to require adequate recovery days. Bruce Lee suggested that you should train at most once every other day, or three days per week, with an extra rest day at the weekend. For Bruce Lee, the most important aspect of hos new weight training routine was that he could still train his martial arts and endurance / cardio on the other days. Bruce Lee adopted a cross training methodology, in that he beleived that fitness training should have three key elements: stretching for flexibility; weight training for strength; and cardiovascular for endurance.

Bruce Lee's 20 Minute Strength and Bodybuilding Routine
Bruce Lee Clean and Press - 2 sets of 8 reps
The clean and press is a classic weight lifters exercise. Unlike bodybuilding exercises which work muscles in isolation, weight lifting / power lifting exercises work muscles together, i.e. they are compound movements. Bruce Lee performed clean and presses in a very intensive fashion, that is, without rest inbetween reps. This made the exercise a cardio and endurance exercise as well as a weight training exercise. In the clean and press a barbell is lifted from the floor, and in one explosive movement the weight is lifted up to rest on the front of the shoulders - this is the clean. Afterwards, the weight is then pressed upwards, and held overhead. It is then lowered to the floor in one movement, and repeated. Form is essential in the clean and press, and it is also important not to attempt to lift too much weight, as injuries to the lower back are common in poorly executed clean and presses.

Bruce Lee Barbell Squat - 2 sets of 12 reps
The squat is one of the most important compound exercsies in the Bruce Lee Workout, especially for martial artists. It develops a solid base and core. In the standard squat, which should always be performed in a squat rack for safety, a barbell is placed across the shoulders, and a squat is performed. Bruce Lee advised there should be no pause in the lowest position, instead as soon as your thighs reach a horizontal position, you should rise again to a standing position. The squat works the hips, glutes, hamstrings, calves and quads.

Bruce Lee Barbell Pullover - 2 sets of 8 reps
The barbell pullover is a weight training exercise that is less common these days. It is the classic rib-box expander. To perform a pullover, you should lie on a flat bench, hold a barbell with a shoulder width grip overhead, and then lower it backwards behind your head, keeping a the elbows slightly bent.The bar should be held as far back as is comfortable. Some people can touch the floor behind them with the bar, but this is not recommended without adequate training. Use a light weight to start with, as this is a deceptively difficult movement.

Bruce Lee Bench Press - 2 sets of 6 reps
No weight training session would be complete without a bench press. Many martial artists actually advise against the bench press, as it expands the rib cage, which is a weakness in fighting. Bruce Lee taught that a fighter should aim to develop a solid set of ribs, which can take strikes. Performing many bench presses, and pullovers too, can open the ribs too much, so if you plan to fight competitively, do not place too much emphasis onm these exercises.

Bruce Lee Good Mornings - 2 sets of 8 reps
Bruce Lee was a fan of the good morning exercise. The exercise involves holding a barbell across the shoulders, and then bending forward, keeping the legs and back straight. This exercise can be ver dangerous if you do not warm up, and attempt to use too much weight. Really good mornings can be performed with good results with just an empty bar. Bruce Lee damaged his back doing good mornings - he did not damage it in a kung-fu challenge match, as portrayed in the film Dragon!

Bruce Lee Barbell Curls - 2 sets of 8 reps
Curls are the other staple weight training exercise along with bench presses. Everyone seems to want bigger biceps. For martial arts styles that involve grappling, grabbing, pulling and throwing, a good pairs of guns come in very useful. So perform bicep curls in each training session to build up the guns. Bruce Lee Workout aims to increase your pulling power.

Change the Routine to Suit Your Needs
With any weight training routine, it is important not to get into a rigid routine. After a while of training, you will hit a plataeu, and training will no longer produce the same gains, if any, that it once did when you were weaker and less fit. For this reason, it is essential to add new exercises, train with dumbells instead of barbells at times, change the weight and number of repetitions etc. to give the body a new challange, and a new spurt of growth.

This was by no means Bruce Lee's only workout and weight training routine, but it formed the foundation, the core, of his strength training, later in his career. If you want to start to train like Bruce Lee, then perform the Bruce Lee Workout at least once per week.


In loving memory of Bruce Lee: the little dragon