Bruce Lee Callisthenics Review

Much of Bruce Lee’s physical strength and flexibility can indeed be attributed to his classic weight-training regime. 

But there came a time when he completely did away with the ‘norm’ and switched to callisthenics. This involved a form of compound exercise using his own body weight that helped engage multiple muscle groups for strength building and losing weight. 

And the question we found asking ourselves today is, ‘is the Bruce Lee Callisthenics routine still effective today?’ Let’s find out below!  

The Bruce Lee Callisthenics Routine

The ‘Bruce Lee callisthenics training principles’ are as much about mental strength, focus, and determination as they are about physical strength. 

He believed that limiting what one can do, physically or otherwise, will eventually creep in on other aspects of his life- his work, morality, and overall being. Sure, there will be roadblocks, but one must constantly try to overcome them, even if that results in ultimate failure. As such, you must not lag in a progressive and dedicated effort to better one’s current levels.

It’s important to remember that mastering every new skill, even if it’s callisthenics training in question, will come with challenges. But this doesn’t mean you should give up without a fight. 

Now, coming to the physical aspects, his callisthenic regime largely included bodyweight workouts designed for increasing mobility, speed, muscle strength and cardiovascular endurance. All of these helped him achieve incredible power without fancy equipment, expensive gym membership or the gimmicky exercise gadgets of that time. 

So, what did his callisthenics routine look like? To help you answer that, here are a few workouts that typically constructed his routine and how you can perform them at home.

1. Upper Body Strength Training/Training Methods

Bruce Lee’s love for push-ups is a well-known fact, and you may have even seen archived videos of the fitness icon performing push-ups with only fingers- his index finger and thumb! In fact, Bruce Lee could perform hundreds of push-ups in just one sitting! He would also often strengthen his upper body completely before performing the push-ups to prevent the ‘seepage’ of power.

At the same time, he’d perform variations of the workout, such as diamond and wide-grip, to ensure different hand placements to engage multiple muscle groups. A typical routine including these workouts would often look like this:

• Classic push-ups: 3 to 5 sets or till the body gives up
• Diamond push-ups: 3 to 5 sets or till the body gives up
• Wide-grip push-ups: 3 to 5 sets or till the body gives up

Each set was followed by a small break of a minute. Additionally, he’d include strict and wide-grip pull-ups as well as chin-ups for an all-round approach to strengthen his upper body.

Another thing to note here is that he would often branch out to weight training while performing the usual callisthenics and return to bodyweight training for the sake of variety. For instance, he could frequently follow a chin-up- bicep curl- chin-up routine.

But feel free to experiment and see what works best for you. And you can add as many reps and sets as you like (given your body can take the count) with an aim to increase the numbers gradually.

2. Lower Body Workout

Bruce Lee’s famous one-inch punch is perhaps the best testimony of the power in his lower body and legs. But have you ever wondered about the source of all that power?

Well, the answer to that lies in his rigorous lower body training, which included sprinting at least 3 times a week. He alternated between pacing and a 90-second full sprint, similar to HIIT (high-intensity travel training) practitioners. And on days when he wasn’t sprinting, he’d skip rope and indulge in bodyweight squats and lunges.

Such was the strength in his lower limbs that he could hold an elevated v-sit position with his bottom placed off the ground and legs at 45 degrees for 30 minutes or even more. And this posture was supported only by his hands.   

Talking about core lower body workouts, many people believe that the martial arts master would do crunches even when on the apparently ‘off days.’ However, he later developed a back injury (which may have resulted from the rigorousness of crutches). So, we’d suggest cutting down on the frequency.

Nevertheless, crunches, in combination with other leg workouts like leg raises, can become the foundation of your core strength training. In this regard, a leg routine can look like this:

• 15 to 20 minutes of alternating between full-speed sprints and a manageable pace
• Bodyweight squats: 3 to 5 sets
• Lunges: 3 to 5 sets
• Crunches: 3 to 5 sets
• Leg raises: 3 to 5 sets

On days when you can’t sprint, opt for skip rope instead.

3. Speed Training

Speed training is exactly what it sounds like- performing the exercises mentioned above at the fastest speed possible to render strength to the otherwise deprived muscles. However, this isn’t something we’d recommend for beginners, as you need to warm up properly and attain enough core strength to prevent the risk of injuries.

Even if you ‘qualify’ for speed training, don’t give up on slow reps completely. Although they won’t help you achieve speed, they are still the foundation of core strength building.

Related: Boxing and callisthenics.

4. Isometric Training

Isometric training basically involves performing and holding a position that requires muscle contraction, like V-sit or L-sit. 

Although such workouts can do wonders for strength training, they involve dedicating a lot of time and effort, especially when you become a pro. And one way to cut down on these ‘investments’ is to overcome isometric, where you have to push or pull against a stationary object.

For example, you can push a wall or pull a weight plate tied to a chain. But make sure you go all out, applying 100% of your power for about 10 seconds. Then, rest for 30 to 45 seconds and repeat this thrice. 

This can be a great way to engage all your major muscle groups and work them out without investing much time. 

As such, it can become a go-to workout for people focused on developing muscle strength but may not have the time for intensive weight training or the isometric ones mentioned above. And with time, you may observe increased endurance, strength and even speed, taking you a step closer to achieving the ‘ultimate power.’

We’d strongly recommend progressing your callisthenics with this exercise, as you probably won’t be left with enough energy to accomplish it towards the end. 

How Can You Incorporate Bruce Lee Callisthenics Into Your Workout?

While many prefer combining some or most of the workouts of the Bruce Lee callisthenics with other training methods, others may stick to only this. Either way, you can assign specific days to specific muscle groups, dividing the whole routine into upper body, lower body, speed training and isometric regimes.

And as mentioned above, Bruce Lee didn’t need any fancy, expensive equipment to achieve the desired results. So, you can simply perform them as is or get an inexpensive pull-up bar to perform chin-ups and isometric workouts.

The Bruce Lee Diet

You’d agree that harnessing optimum benefits from a particular workout regime is only possible when combined with a healthy and nutritious diet. 

Bruce Lee typically preferred consuming multiple smaller meals (4 or 5) throughout the day rather than sticking to the norm of having only a couple of large meals a day. Larger meals or more quantities of food at a given time can increase the number of calories your body stores, contributing to body weight and fat.

Additionally, he liked munching on healthy snacks like fruits to keep his body fueled. To help you go the ‘Bruce Lee way’ even further, we’ll quickly walk you through his regular diet:

• Breakfast: Eggs and fruits
• Lunch: beef with oyster sauce
• Afternoon snack: fruits or protein shakes
• Dinner: chicken and rice

It’s also said that Bruce Lee paired his regular meals with healthy vitamin supplements to reinforce the benefits of his strength training.

Final Words

Although Bruce Lee’s callisthenics workouts were primarily based on the principles of ancient martial arts moves like Jeet Kune, they are still prevalent in today’s time. Developing strength and flexibility will never become obsolete, so you can rely on his way of working out to succeed in your fitness journey.

What we have concluded from his training regime is that the key to achieving your body goals is to know what your body actually wants. This is one of the biggest reasons why his routine lacks a visible structure or a specified manner of doing things, as you will find the best fitness program for your body through experimenting.

But before you do that, here’s one tip: always ensure you’re properly warmed up and don’t over-strain yourself. Progress gradually, and the results will be there for you to see!