Bruce Lee was known for his intense workout regimen and dedication to martial arts training. One early routine from 1965 consisted of weightlifting exercises like squats, curls, and presses using weights from 35 to 95 pounds. He also included numerous sessions per week dedicated to martial arts techniques like punching, kicking, forms practice, and training with wooden dummies. Later in his career, Lee incorporated Olympic lifts into his routines performed 3 times per week. A sample weekly schedule from 1968 showed Lee's workouts spread throughout each day, including hundreds of punches and kicks, running, weight training, stretching, abdominal exercises, and regular martial arts practice with partners like Chuck Norris.
Bruce Lee was known for his intense workout regimen and dedication to martial arts training. One early routine from 1965 consisted of weightlifting exercises like squats, curls, and presses using weights from 35 to 95 pounds. He also included numerous sessions per week dedicated to martial arts techniques like punching, kicking, forms practice, and training with wooden dummies. Later in his career, Lee incorporated Olympic lifts into his routines performed 3 times per week. A sample weekly schedule from 1968 showed Lee's workouts spread throughout each day, including hundreds of punches and kicks, running, weight training, stretching, abdominal exercises, and regular martial arts practice with partners like Chuck Norris.
Bruce Lee was known for his intense workout regimen and dedication to martial arts training. One early routine from 1965 consisted of weightlifting exercises like squats, curls, and presses using weights from 35 to 95 pounds. He also included numerous sessions per week dedicated to martial arts techniques like punching, kicking, forms practice, and training with wooden dummies. Later in his career, Lee incorporated Olympic lifts into his routines performed 3 times per week. A sample weekly schedule from 1968 showed Lee's workouts spread throughout each day, including hundreds of punches and kicks, running, weight training, stretching, abdominal exercises, and regular martial arts practice with partners like Chuck Norris.
Bruce Lee was known for his intense workout regimen and dedication to martial arts training. One early routine from 1965 consisted of weightlifting exercises like squats, curls, and presses using weights from 35 to 95 pounds. He also included numerous sessions per week dedicated to martial arts techniques like punching, kicking, forms practice, and training with wooden dummies. Later in his career, Lee incorporated Olympic lifts into his routines performed 3 times per week. A sample weekly schedule from 1968 showed Lee's workouts spread throughout each day, including hundreds of punches and kicks, running, weight training, stretching, abdominal exercises, and regular martial arts practice with partners like Chuck Norris.
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Side bends – 5 sets to failure
Leg raises – 5 sets to failure
Sit-ups – 5 sets to failure These principles, along with an insane work ethic, were what guided Lee into the global icon that he became.
AN OG WORKOUT Thankfully for us, there are some verified training routines from the man himself. Most of these have been collected by John Little in his collection of Lee’s notes, called “The Art of Expressing the Human Body.”
Below we have one of the earliest examples of a workout that Lee had done in a Hong Kong gym he reportedly visited three times a week. This was written on a gym card in 1965:
Squat: 3 sets of 10 reps x 95lb
French Press: 4 sets of 6 reps x 64lb Incline Curls: 4 sets of 6 reps x 35lb French Press: 4 reps sets of 6 x 64lb Con Curl: 3 sets of 10 reps x 70-80lbs Two-Handed Curl: 3 sets of 8 reps x 70-80lb Tricep Stretch: 3 sets of 8 reps Dumbbell Curl: 4 till Failure x 18lb Reverse Curl: 4 sets of 6 reps x 64lb Wrist Curl: 4 sets till Failure x 64lb Wrist Curl: 4 sets till Failure x 10lb This is, of course, only a snapshot most likely of everything he was doing. And one can see the informal nature of his training sessions with the repetition of the French press, for example.
What is unique with his workout routine when compared to routines we’ve looked at in the past, is that it has the actual weights he was using. And when comparing the squat to his other lifts, it’s most likely that he was using it as a warm-up of sorts.
Furthermore, the overload of arm exercises really speaks to his forearm and grip strength. An aspect which is important to train up, but even more important for a martial arts master such as himself.
BRUCE LEE WORKOUT SCHEDULE
But while he was a big proponent of strength and conditioning, he still didn’t forget about his fitness roots—those of martial arts.
Along with his weightlifting, he also included a number of practice sessions with which to keep his form sharp and his fighting fresh. These would be done several times a week.
Punching training:
Air punching–3 sets of 50 each
Sand plate-3 sets of 50 each Hanging bag—3 sets of 50 each Leg stretching:
Forward stretch–3 sets of 12 each
Side stretch–3 sets of 12 each Kicking training:
Straight kick–3 sets of 12 each
Side kick–3 sets of 12 each Kicking form–3 sets of 12 each Wooden dummy training:
The traditional 108 form
Individual technique training Training in entering Form practice:
Sil Lum Tao
Hand techniques Wing Chun fist THE EVOLUTION His later lifting routine would go on to feature other movements and techniques, even borrowing from Olympic lifts such as the clean and press. These served as the backbone to the later Bruce Lee workout regime:
Clean and Press: 2 sets of 8-12 reps
Barbell Curls: 2 sets of 8-12 reps Behind-the-Neck Presses: 2 x 8-12 reps Upright Rows: 2 sets of 8-12 reps Barbell Squats: 2 sets of 12-20 reps Barbell Row: 2 sets of 8-12 reps Bench Press: 2 sets of 8-12 reps Barbell Pullover: 2 sets of 8-12 reps And continuing in the spirit of always changing how he works out and with what methods, Lee further refined the above into a solid foundation which he did at least 3 times a week. That final workout session looked like this:
Clean and Press: 2 sets of 8 reps
Squat: 2 sets of 12 reps Barbell Pullover: 2 sets of 8 reps Bench Press: 2 sets of 6 reps Good Morning: 2 sets of 8 reps Barbell Curl: 2 sets of 8 reps A WEEKLY ROUTINE EXAMPLE Bruce Lee worked out a lot.
We’ve already brought up how Chuck Norris said he was the hardest worker he’d ever seen—making workout out “fanatical.” His wife echoed the same sentiments, often saying that he would workout basically all day, sometimes 7 days a week.
What we do know of his workout sessions was that they were usually spread out over 3 hours each day; from a run in the morning and continuing into the late evening. Below is one such example of a weekly Lee routine:
Monday, January 1, 1968:
9:20–9:30 AM—Warm-up 9:30-9:49 AM— Running 12:00–12:45 PM— 500 punches, 300 finger jabs 3:00–3:55 PM— Leg squat, leg stretching (pulley, stand), hook kick 7:30–7:50 PM—100 finger jabs, 200 punches 9:00-9:30 PM— Sit-up 4 sets, side bend 4 sets, leg raises 4 sets Tuesday, January 2, 1968:
9:20-9:25 AM— Warm-up
9:27-9:41 AM— Run 11:30-12:35 PM— 500 punches, 400 finger jabs 3:00-3:45 PM— Squat, 3 sets of punching with weights, 20 minutes with a light bag and 3 sets of a heavy bag 5:15-5:45 PM—Sit-ups 5 sets, side bends 5 sets, leg raises 5 sets 8:20-8:24 PM—Isometric training for forearms Wednesday, January 3, 1968
7:00-9:00 AM—Gung Fu workout
9:00-9:15 AM—Warm-up 9:20-9:50 AM—500 punches (back fist), Skip rope 3 sets 10:00-10:30 AM—500 finger jabs 11:05-11:15 AM—Run 3:05-4:00 PM—4 sets of high kick stretching, 4 sets of side leg stretching (left & right) 4 sets, 3 sets of pulley hip extension 3 sets, 3 sets of right leading hook kick, 3 sets of rear left hook kick Thursday, January 4, 1968:
10:35-10:45 AM—Warm-up 11:15-12:20 PM—500 left punches, 500 right punches 12:53-1:07 PM—Run 3:05-3:25 PM—Punching with weight and paper, skip rope 10:05-10:53 PM—Sit-up 4 sets, leg raises 4 sets, side bends 4 sets, isometric training for forearms/wrist Friday, January 5, 1968:
9:25-10:13 AM—500 right punches, 500 left punches
11:00 AM—Chi Sao (Wing Chun) practice with Chuck Norris 4:10-5:00 PM—Leg stretching (pulley & stand), straight & side, work on left side kick 8:30 PM—Sit-up 5 sets, leg raises 5 sets, side bend 5 sets, isometric training for forearms/wrist Saturday, January 6, 1968:
10:00 AM—500 right punches, 500 left punches, leg stretching, Chi Sao (Wing Chun) practice 11:30 AM-12:00 PM—isometric training for forearms 9:10 PM-9:55 PM—Abs & waist, sit-up 5 sets, side bend 5 sets, leg raises 5 sets, stop by the gym
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