Bruce Lee’s Strength Training
By Douglas Jeffrey
The exclusive Bel Air, California, neighborhood was quiet on Saturday mornings. The only signs of life were a few joggers and the steady stream of martial artists who pulled up in front of the extravagant house on Roscomare Road.
The martial artists- who included Dan Inosanto, Richard Bustillo, Ted Wong, Larry Hartsell and Kareem Abdul –Jabbar-all had one thing in common: they wanted to learn self-defense from the greatest martial artist who ever lived- Bruce Lee.
Usually dressed in sweat pants and a T-shirt, Lee greeted his friends warmly. Before they began training, they often sat around and made small talk until the others arrived. More often than not, they talked about the martial arts.
When everyone arrived, it was time to train. And they trained. And they trained.
“The workouts were intense,” says Hartsell, who trained with Lee at his home from 1967 to 1970. “We did a lot of repetition, a lot of drills and a lot of techniques.”
During class, Lee was all business, recalls Hartsell.
“He was very serious,” he says. “There was no goofing off.”
And everyone was serious about learning from the “Little Dragon.”
“It was like that E.F. Hutton commercial,” Hartsell says. “We were all ears. Everyone wanted to learn as much as he could.”
Not surprisingly, every workout was the same. Lee never let up, which is one reason why he was as good as he was.
“Bruce always strived to be the best, regardless of what he was doing,” says Hartsell, who plans to open his own school soon. “He always wanted to improve, and pushed himself beyond what was normal.”
And Bruce’s dedication rubbed off on others.
“Bruce was charismatic,” Hartsell says. “When you were around him, you wanted to impress him. There was just something about him. He could bring out the best in you.”
While Lee inspired many, Vince Lombardi, head coach of professional football’s Green Bay Packers, inspired Lee. In fact, Lee admired Lombardi so much that he used to jot down many of his sayings, including “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.”
Following are the strength drills Lee used to do. The “Little Dragon” regularly blasted his forearms from a variety of angles, and his efforts paid off. He developed 15-inch forearms and 13.5-inch biceps.
“He looked like Popeye,” Hartsell says. “He was ripped.”
Unless otherwise noted, deign with three sets of 15 repetitions.
Zottman Curl
Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, and hold a dumbbell in each hand. Begin with your right arm. Raise the dumbbell until your forearm hits your bicep. Then turn your wrist over, bring the weight in front of your solar plexus, and slowly lower the dumbbell. When the dumbbell reaches your upper thigh, twist your arm so your palm faces outward. Repeat with your other arm.
“This was one of Bruce’s favorite exercises,” Hartsell says. “He liked this because it hit more muscles than a regular curl.”
Hammer Curl
Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, and hold a dumbbell in each hand. With the dumbbells at your sides and the dumbbell bars parallel to your body, slowly raise the weights to your shoulders. Pause, and lower the dumbbells to the starting position
Barbell Curl
Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart, and hold a barbell across your upper thighs in an underhand grip (with your palms facing away from you). Exhale, slowly raise the barbell until your forearm meets your biceps, and lower the weight to the starting position.
Standing Reverse Curl
Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart, and hold the barbell across your upper thighs in an overhand grip (with your knuckles away from your body). Slowly raise the bar until your forearms touch your biceps, lower the weight, and repeat.
Straight Blast with Small Weights
With a ½ pound dumbbell in each hand, stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Raise your arms to neck-level, and throw one punch at a time.
Wrist Roller
If you don’t have a wrist roller, you can make one. First, get some rope, a weight or rock, and a circular piece of wood. Hold the wood straight out at shoulder-height, and measure the distance to the floor. Cut the rope, tie it to the wood, and tie the weight to the other end of the rope. You are ready to go.
Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, and hold the wood straight out at shoulder-height. Using an overhand grip, roll the weight or rock up until it touches the wood. Then reverse the motion and lower the weight until it touches the ground.
“Bruce often used 40 or 45 pounds to do this exercise,” Hartsell says. “Other times he used less weight and did more repetitions.”
Reverse Wrist Extender
Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart, hold a dumbbell in your right hand with the dumbbell bar parallel to your body, and keep your arm at your side. Without moving your arm, raise your wrist as high as possible and return to the starting position.
Repeat with your other arm.
Forward Wrist Extender
Assume the same position as in the previous exercise, but raise your wrist forward.
Repeat with other arm.
Seated Forward Wrist Curl
Sit on a chair, place your forearms on your thighs with your wrists extending slightly beyond your knees, and hold a barbell in an underhand grip. Slowly lower the weights to your fingertips, and return to the starting position.
Seated Reverse Barbell Wrist Curl
Assume the same position as in the previous exercise, but use an overhand grip. Keep your arms on your thighs, and raise your wrist as high as possible,
Return to the starting position.
Single Dumbbell Rotary Wrist Curl
Sit on a chair and hold a dumbbell in your right hand. Place your right arm on your right leg so only your wrist extends beyond your knee. Stabilize your right wrist with your left hand. Slowly rotate the dumbbell in a clockwise motion. Repeat in a counterclockwise motion.
Repeat with your left hand.
Single Dumbbell Upward Wrist Extension
Assume the same position as in the previous exercise. Slowly raise your wrist as high as possible.
Repeat with your other arm.
Single Dumbbell Wrist Extension
Assume the same position as in the previous two exercises, and rotate the dumbbell back and forth. Repeat with your other arm.
Gripper
Hold a hand gripper in your right hand, bend your wrist inward so your fingers are facing your body, and do as many repetitions as possible. Then bend your wrist upward and do as many repetitions as possible. Finally, bend your wrist to each side and do as many repetitions as possible.
Gripper with Coin
Hold a hand gripper in one hand, place a penny between the handles, squeeze the handles, and hold that position as long as possible.
“You can play a game with this one,” Hartsell says.
“Bruce used to like this one. We used to see who could hold it the longest. He could hold it for two minutes. He would always beat me.”
Television Gripper Drill
While watching television, hold a gripper in one hand. Each time the scene changes, squeeze the gripper.
Fingertip Push-Ups
Assume a push-up position and do as many fingertip push-ups as possible. When you become more proficient, try doing these with your thumb and index finger.
Wrist Wrestling Isometric Drill
Get a partner and stand about two arm lengths away from him. Raise your right arms straight out and grasp each other’s hand. Simultaneously, apply as much pressure as possible in opposite directions. After five seconds, apply pressure in the other direction.
Feeling Uninspired?
Like most martial artists, you probably train a lot. And like most martial artists, there may be times when you’re unmotivated. When this happens, set the weights down, take a deep breath, and think.
Think back to 1967. Think of that beautiful house on Roscomare Road. Think of those quiet Saturday mornings when those men trained hour after hour with the greatest martial artist who ever lived. And just think- you’re doing the same drills that Lee and his students did.
Try to push yourself as hard as Lee pushed himself and his students. And just imagine what kind of shape your forearms are going to be in if you train this hard.
This article originally appeared in the magazine “MA TRAINING”
May 1995 issue.