Bruce Lee felt that many martial artists of his day did not spend enough time on physical conditioning. Bruce included all elements of total fitness--muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, and flexibility. He tried traditional bodybuilding techniques to build bulky muscles or mass. However, Lee was careful to admonish that mental and spiritual preparation was fundamental to the success of physical training in martial arts skills. In his book The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, he wrote "Training is one of the most neglected phases of athletics. Too much time is given to the development of skill and too little to the development of the individual for participation." "JKD, ultimately is not a matter of petty techniques but of highly developed spirituality and physique".[34]
The weight training program that Lee used during a stay in Hong Kong in 1965 at only 24 years old placed heavy emphasis on his arms. At that time he could perform bicep curls at a weight of 70 to 80lbs for three sets of eight repetitions, along with other forms of exercises, such as squats, push-ups, reverse curls, concentration curls, French presses, and both wrist curls and reverse wrist curls. [35] The repetitions he performed were 6 to 12 reps (at the time). While this method of training targeted his fast and slow twitch muscles, it later resulted in weight gain or muscle mass, placing Bruce a little over 160 lbs. Bruce Lee was documented as having well over 2,500 books in his own personal library, and eventually concluded that "A stronger muscle, is a bigger muscle", a conclusion he later disputed. However, Bruce forever experimented with his training routines to maximize his physical abilities. He employed many different routines and exercises including skipping, which effectively served his training and bodybuilding purposes.[36]
Lee believed that the abdominal muscles were one of the most important muscle groups for a martial artist, since virtually every movement requires some degree of abdominal work. Perhaps more importantly, the "abs" are like a shell, protecting the ribs and vital organs.
He trained from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., including stomach, flexibility, and running, and from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. he would weight train and cycle. A typical exercise for Lee would be to run a distance of two to six miles in 15 to 45 minutes, in which he would vary speed in 3-5 minute intervals. Lee would ride the equivalent of 10 miles in 45 minutes on a stationary bike.[37]
Lee would sometimes exercise with the jumping rope in 800 jumps after cycling. Lee would also do exercises to toughen the skin on his fists, including thrusting his hands into buckets of harsh rocks and gravel. He would do over 500 repetitions of this on a given day. [38]
Nutrition
According to Linda Lee, soon after he moved to the United States, Bruce Lee started to take nutrition seriously and developed an interest in health foods, high-protein drinks and vitamin and mineral supplements. Bruce later realized that in order to achieve a high-performance body, one could not fuel it with a diet of junk food. With the wrong fuel, the body's performance would become sluggish or sloppy. Lee also avoided baked goods, as he believed they contained empty calories. He was not interested in consuming calories which did nothing for his body. Lee's diet included protein drinks; he always tried to consume one or two daily, but discontinued drinking them later on in his life.
Linda recalls Bruce's waist fluctuated between 26 and 28 inches. "He also drank his own juice concoctions made from vegetables and fruits, apples, celery, carrots and so on, prepared in an electric blender".[citation needed] He consumed large amounts of green vegetables, fruits, and fresh milk everyday. Bruce always preferred to eat Chinese or other Asian food because he loved the variety that it had. Bruce also became a heavy advocate of dietary supplements. Some of the well known supplements he consumed included:
* Vitamin C
* Lecithin granules
* Bee pollen
* Vitamin E
* Rose hips (liquid form)
* Wheat germ oil
* Natural protein tablets (chocolate flavour)
* Acerola - C
* B-Folia
Physique
Lee's devotion to fitness gave him a body that was admired even by many of the top names in bodybuilding community. Joe Weider, the founder of Mr. Olympia, described Bruce's physique as "the most defined body I've ever seen!" Many top body building competitors have indicated Bruce as a major influence on their bodybuilding careers including Flex Wheeler, Shawn Ray, Rachel McLish, Lou Ferrigno, Lee Haney, Lenda Murray and 6 time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates.[39] Arnold Schwarznegger was also influenced by Bruce, and said of his body,
"Bruce Lee had a very--I mean a very defined physique. He had very little body fat. I mean, he probably had one of the lowest body fat counts of any athlete. And I think that's why he looked so believable."[40]
A doctor who knew Lee once claimed that he was "Muscled as a squirrel, and spirited as a horse" and fitter than anyone he had ever seen.[41]
Lee was known to have collected over 140 books in his lifetime on bodybuilding, weight training, physiology and kinesiology. In order to better train specific muscle groups, he also created several original designs of his own training equipment and had his friend George Lee build them to his specifications.[42]
Physical feats
Lee's phenomenal fitness meant he was capable of performing many exceptional physical feats.[43][44][45][46] The following list are the physical feats that are documented and supported by reliable sources.
* Lee's striking speed from three feet with his hands down by his side reached "five hundredths" of a second.[47]
* Lee could spring a 235lb (107kg) opponent 15 feet (4.6 metres) away with a 1 inch punch.[46]
* Lee's combat movements were at times too fast to be captured on film at 24fps, so many scenes were shot in 32fps to put Lee in slow motion. Normally martial arts films are sped up.[48][49][50]
* In a speed demonstration, Lee could snatch a dime off a person's open palm before they could close it, and leave a penny behind.[51]
* Lee could perform push ups using only his thumbs[39][46]
* Lee would hold an elevated v-sit position for 30 minutes or longer.[45]
* Lee could throw grains of rice up into the air and then "catch them in mid-flight" using chopsticks.[39]
* Lee performed one-hand push-ups using only the thumb and index finger[46][52][39][46]
* Lee performed 50 reps of one-arm chin-ups.[53]
* From a standing position, Lee could hold a 125lb (57kg) barbell straight out. [45][39]
* Lee could break wooden boards 6inches (15cm) thick.[54]
* Lee performed a side kick while training with James Coburn and broke a 150-lb (68kg) punching bag[45][55]
* Lee could cause a 300-lb (136kg) bag to fly towards and thump the ceiling with a sidekick.[46]
* In a move that has been dubbed "Dragon Flag", Lee could perform leg lifts with only his shoulder blades resting on the edge of a bench and suspend his legs and torso perfectly horizontal midair. [56]
* Lee could "thrust" his fingers through unopened steel cans of Coca-Cola, at a time before cans were made of the softer aluminum metal.[57]
* Lee could use one finger to leave "dramatic" indentations on pine wood.[57]
