He had it. Whatever it is—that mysterious quotient of charisma that elevates a few mere mortals to icon status—Bruce Lee had it in spades. Partly it was his background—a mixture of Hong Kong and San Francisco that bridged East and West, traditional and modern. Partly it was his intensity—the “Let’s get it on” glare that might playfully melt into a “You really wanna mess with me?” smirk. Partly it was his Jeet Kune Do, a mélange of fighting styles as elegant as it was lethal. But above all else, it was his body.
At 5’7″ and a mere 135 pounds, Bruce Lee (1940-73) looked flayed. With the possible exception of a lumbering Hercules hurling Styrofoam boulders, he was the first bodybuilder most movie-goers had ever encountered, and the fact that he was so lithe, so charismatic, so badass cool did nearly as much to popularize abs and lats in the ’70s as that other muscular icon—Arnold something—who came in his wake. To get a high-def physique as taut as a spring, Lee’s workouts combined classics with the cutting edge. Over a half-century after his death, we’ve done the same, updating his weight-training for the 21st century to help you get that legendary Lee look.
REVIVING THE DRAGON
Bruce Lee was at the vanguard of bodybuilding in the late ’60s and early ’70s. He was both a student of exercise science, and an amateur scientist, forever experimenting. Still, more than five decades later, bodybuilding has been revolutionized several times over, and the routines Lee frequently did are far removed from today’s workout splits. That’s why our Bruce Lee workout routine takes the exercises and techniques he utilized in the 1960s and incorporates them into a routine for the 2020s. In so doing, we’ve adhered to the following eight Bruce Lee workout tenets.
UPPER/LOWER SYNERGY
As was the norm when Bruce Lee began hitting the weights, he often stressed his entire body in the same workout and did that workout thrice weekly. Other times, he focused more on specific body parts, but still included work for diverse muscles. We’ve spread the workload over three sessions while maintaining Lee’s concept of stressing diverse areas in the same sessions. Each 39-set workout starts with abs and then moves to a leg routine (quads, hams/glutes, or calves), a torso routine (shoulders, chest, or back), and ends with an arm routine (forearms, biceps, or triceps).
BARBELL BASICS
We’ve included the barbell basics Bruce Lee performed and added similar lifts. Aside from ab exercises, all other exercises are bilateral, meaning both sides of the body are trained simultaneously. Again, basic. Some of the exercises, such as the clean and press and barbell pullover, are decidedly old-school. Embrace tradition. Keeping the classics in heavy rotation may provide just the shock your muscles were waiting for. What’s more, compound lifts emphasize total physique development and dexterity by working multiple muscles simultaneously.
PLYOMETRICS
Each workout includes one plyometric exercise: jump squats, bench press throws, or plyo pullups. The word “plyometrics” originated eight years after Lee’s death, but he would’ve embraced our plyo-moves to enhance his speed and power.
Jump squats These can be performed with bodyweight only (jumping to a high box) or with a light barbell or dumbbells. Crouch down to just below parallel, and then explode up as high as you can jump.
Bench Press Throws For safety, use a Smith machine. Select a weight that is 30-50% of your one rep max. Explode each rep up to throw the bar out of your hands at the top. Catch the bar for the next rep.
Plyo Pullups You may need to lighten your load via your feet touching against a bench or a training partner’s hand or by using a pullup/dip assist machine. Explosively pull yourself up as fast as possible. Your hands may leave the bar slightly at the top of each rep.
AB PRIORITY
For a martial artist, abdominals are more than a barometer of conditioning; they’re a shield. Between the ribs and the hips lies nothing but flesh to protect vulnerable organs from a potential barrage of blows. That’s why Bruce Lee placed his greatest emphasis on abs, training them daily. Likewise, each of our workouts begins with an ab routine.
Dragon Flags This was Lee’s signature exercise, named after his “Dragon” nickname. Essentially, it’s a lying leg raise in which you lift your hips and lower back off the bench until your (upside-down) body is parallel to the floor. Raise and lower yourself slowly, making this function as a horizontal plank. If you can’t do the recommended number of reps, get the remainder of each set’s reps via ordinary leg or knee raises.
FOREARM FORTITUDE
The Bruce Lee workout routine has as many sets for forearms as shoulders. Lee emphasized these muscles more than bodybuilders because he felt forearm and grip strength increased the bite of his punches and chops. To boost your grip, do at least some forearm work with a thicker-than-usual bar. You can use Fat Gripz or a similar bar expander. The old-school (and cheapest) way to accomplish this is with a towel wrapped around the barbell or dumbbell handle.
STAMINA BOOST
Lee was the original CrossFit trainer, employing workouts designed to boost stamina as well as strength. Partly, he did this by working his entire body together. Our routine does it by hitting diverse body parts in the same workouts and with the sheer volume of 39-set sessions. Additionally, each body part routine can be performed as a giant set by eliminating rest periods between exercises. This increases intensity while reducing workout time. We recommend hitting at least two body parts per workout in continuous giant set circuits.
ONE DAY ON, ONE DAY OFF
Bruce Lee made most of his early gains while moving the metal three times weekly. Likewise, do the following workouts on non-consecutive days. If you take weekends off, every body part except abs will be hit once every seven days. If not, everything gets worked once every six days.
CARDIO CONCERN
No one called it cardio in his era, but Bruce Lee did some form of cardiovascular work daily to build endurance and maintain his fat-free form. Gyms then lacked treadmills and stepmills, so Lee ran, he cycled, he jumped rope, he sparred. Perform some form of cardio for 20-45 minutes six days per week. On your weight-training days, you can do cardio after you hit the iron or with 10-15 minute bouts of high-intensity intervals between body parts. On other days, follow Bruce Lee’s lead, when possible, and burn calories out of the gym with athletic activities like interval sprints, lap swimming, or—to really train like the legend—kick-boxing or martial arts drills.
BRUCE LEE WORKOUT ROUTINE 1
ABDOMINALS
Hanging Leg or Knee Raise — 3 x 12-20 reps
Decline Crunch — 3 x 12-20 reps
Windshield Wiper — 3 x 12-20 reps
QUADRICEPS
Jump Squat — 4 x 6-8 reps
Barbell Squat — 4 x 12-20 reps
Jefferson Squat — 4 x 12-20 reps
SHOULDERS
Clean and Press — 3 x 10-12 reps
Upright Row — 3 x 10-12 reps
Behind-the-Neck Press — 3 x 10-12 reps
FOREARMS
Wrist Curl — 3 x 15-25 reps
Reverse Wrist Curl — 3 x 15-25 reps
Reverse Curl — 3 x 15-25 reps
BRUCE LEE WORKOUT ROUTINE 2
ABDOMINALS
Dragon Flag — 3 x 12-20 reps
Exercise Ball Crunch — 3 x 12-20 reps
Decline Russian Twist — 3 x 12-20 reps
HAMSTRINGS/GLUTES
Lying Leg Curl — 3 x 10-12 reps
Romanian Deadlift — 3 x 10-12 reps
Walking Lunge — 3 x 20-30 steps
CHEST
Bench Press Throw — 4 x 8-10 reps
Incline Press — 4 x 10-12 reps
Dip — 4 x 10-15 reps
BICEPS
EZ-bar Curl — 3 x 10-12 reps
Incline Dumbbell Curl — 3 x 10-12 reps
Barbell Drag Curl — 3 x 10-12 reps
BRUCE LEE WORKOUT ROUTINE 3
ABDOMINALS
Reverse Crunch — 3 x 12-20 reps
Roman Chair Sit-up — 3 x 12-20 reps
Jackknife — 3 x 12-20 reps
CALVES
Donkey Calf Raise — 3 x 15-20 reps
Standing Calf Raise — 3 x 15-20 reps
Seated Calf Raise — 3 x 15-20 reps
BACK
Plyo Pull-up — 4 x 8-10 reps
Barbell Row — 4 x 10-12 reps
Barbell Pullover — 4 x 12-15 reps
TRICEPS
Lying Triceps Extension — 3 x 10-12 reps
Close-grip Push-up — 3 x 10-15 reps
Pushdown — 3 x 10-12 reps
