Bruce Lee – the LEGEND! We thought it would be fun to do some research into how Bruce trained, ate and lived, so we could get a better understanding of how he created his physical results. This video is the unraveling of said research. Hopefully it helps you not only get that Bruce Lee physique, but also find more zen and happiness in your life!
The following transcript below is from the video “How To Get A Body Like Bruce Lee” by Jump Rope Dudes.
Brandon (Jump Rope Dudes – YouTube Channel, Founders of Zen Dude Fitness)
“What’s up my ninjas? You’ll probably notice like what happened here? You were somewhere else and now you’re here, and there’s a skylight in front of me. It’s because in between these two videos, we went from Hawaii to Texas. So here I am to finish the Bruce Lee body breakdown. First things first. I got this pretty snazzy mic here that I’m going to be talking to you today. Don’t worry about the mic. Just listen to what I’m talking about.
So why do we pick Bruce Lee to do a body breakdown? Well, he’s the epitome of a Zen dude. Alright and if there was a girl version of Bruce Lee, that would be the epitome of a Zen dudette. He’s lean. He’s powerful and he’s also got the mindset to match. You see, what he’s done is created an incredible physique by using the power of his body and mind. We’re going to get into that today. Body-wise, we’re really going to focus on how do you create the leanness?
So, how do you create that six-pack you’ve seen from him? Also, how do you create that hard chiseled look he had through his chest, his arms and throughout his whole body? Our goal today with breaking down Bruce Lee’s body is to teach you how to create a lean and powerful looking physique but without the bulkiness, right. We’re not looking for a big puffy body. We’re looking for a lean, hard ninja physique.”
THE BRUCE LEE DIET
“First things first. Let’s talk about the Bruce Lee diet. This man was very Buddhist in his philosophy, right. He always talked about how you should consume just to the right amount of food for you just like we talk about here at Zen Dude Fitness. When he talked about this, it was a little bit vague, right? He was like, “Don’t eat too much. Don’t eat too little. Eat the right amount for your body,” which makes perfect sense but we’re going to go a little farther here by providing you with a calorie and macro-nutrient calculator that’s going to take you through a tutorial teaching you exactly how much to eat.
So we’re going to get into that right now. Alright, my future ninjas. Let’s talk about how to calculate the right amount of food for your body. So you’re going to go to the link in the description below. It’s linked up and it has our calculator. So it’s this calculator. Just click that link and I’ll open this for calculator here in your browser. Once you arrive here, we can get started.
So I’m going to assume you’re here now and you see the calculator and really what this is going to do is tell you how much food you should be eating for your body every single day. It’s not an exact science when you get started but it is a great place to start. So, you’re going to do what I’m doing here. So, enter age. I’m 26. I’m male. Of course, enter these numbers for yourself. I’m 190 pounds. I’m 74 inches tall. I’m highly active.
If you’re sedentary, that means you’re not really working out at all. Light activity means one to three times a week. Moderate activity means more like three to five. High activity six to seven. So I’m six to seven and I’m going to tell you that you probably don’t want to click Lose weight unless you are already really, really super lean and you can’t afford to lose any weight. Most of us want to get leaner if you want to look like Bruce Lee.
So, you want to click Lose, calculate macros and then if you’re a man, you’re going to click on High down here. You’re going to calculate again. If you’re a woman, you’re going to click Medium and leave it there. Okay but if you’re a man, you want to High protein. So you’ll see the protein changes on here. So you’re going to take these numbers. So here are your calorie numbers. Here your numbers for carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
These are the numbers you’re going to try to eat every day. So, the way you’re going to try to hit these numbers is by going to the site like MyFitnessPal.com. They also have a mobile app, and we’re going to put in everything you eat every day. Your goal is to play this game where your numbers add up to match the numbers the calculator gave you, and that’s it. I know people want to make it more simple. Don’t worry about having to eat the perfect foods and all that other stuff that comes with you know trying to focus on your diet.
Really just need to focus on hitting these numbers by adding them up in MyFitnessPal every day as you eat, and you’re going to be good to go. You’re going to get leaner and leaner until you look like Bruce Lee. If you need to gain a little muscle, you can always recalculate like clicking Gain and doing that as long as it takes to put on that muscle. Then you can lean up again by recalculating your numbers by hitting Lose. That’s it. Let’s get back to the rest of the tutorial.
Now, the reason you’re going to be eating the amount of food that you just calculated is because it’s going to help you create the physique that he had. Now, if you’re eating a slight calorie deficit like we just suggested? You’re going to continually getting leaner and leaner and leaner until you start to look like our boy Bruce. Not only are you going to get the physique but you’re also going to notice that it’s going to be easier to get into flow.
You’re just going to feel better as well when you’re eating the right amount of food for your body. I went pretty in-depth with Bruce Lee and research around his regimen. So what I found out was this guy didn’t really like dairy. He was like, “You know, I’m not trying to eat baby cow milk.” Once in awhile, he did consume dairy and at those times it was in his protein shake. He was known for creating very nutrient-dense protein shakes where we’d have the whey protein powder with vegetables and fruits all blended together to create a micro and macro nutrient fiesta.
At the end of the day, we’re always going to tell you guys the most important thing is the total amount of food that you’re eating and Bruce Lee did agree but he had a meal frequency that I’m going to mention to you now. So what he did was eat three to four meals a day and he focused on getting a good distribution of carbohydrates, fats, and protein. That’s why he was all about getting those protein shakes in, eating a lot of vegetables, fruits, and other healthy fats like nuts.
You don’t have to eat three to four times a day. You could eat one to two times a day. It’s not really that important but I do want to mention what he did specifically. Final thing about Bruce Lee’s diet regimen, this guy believed in everything in moderation including moderation. So he was known to eat a little MacD’s, a little McDonald’s, a little McDizzle from time to time just because he knew it wasn’t sustainable to only eat “healthy foods” all the time, right.
He knew that he had to give himself the latitude to eat foods that he really enjoyed and for that man, once in awhile that was McDonald’s. For you, I don’t know, maybe burger and fries. You pick.”
DIET BREAKDOWN RECAP
1.Eat the right amount of food (calories & macronutrients)
2.Remove dairy from 80% of your diet
3.Supplement your diet when necessary with nutrient-dense whey protein shakes with blended vegetables & fruit
4.Eat enough meals to hit your calorie + macronutrient goals (for Bruce that was 3-4/day)
5.Sustain your nutrition regimen by allowing yourself to cheat once in awhile
THE BRUCE LEE WORKOUT PROGRAM
“Let’s go through the Bruce Lee workout program. This guy was moving constantly. Obviously, he did his ninja training but on top of that, he was also doing weight training two to three times a week where he would do squats, bench press, deadlifts, and of course, those curls for the girls. He also did a lot of high-intensity interval training similar to what we do here at Zen Dude Fitness.
He would do wind sprints but he’d also do jump rope training, which of course is what we do here at Zen Dude Fitness on the reg. So, if you wanted to get this regimen going yourself? What you’d be doing is lifting similar to him which is two to three times a week with the four main lifts like bench press, squats, maybe some curls or deadlifts — your pick. Then on top of that, you’re doing high-intensity interval training which can be sprint or you could pick a jump rope up like we always do and do three to four of those workouts a week.
On top of that, Bruce Lee was always moving. He was so active. If he didn’t have a gym available to him, he’d find the closest hill and start sprinting up it. That’s what we want you to understand about Bruce Lee’s regimen is that he was constantly moving. He was incredibly active and when he didn’t have the gym available to him, he still found a way to get a workout in. Bruce Lee believed you should train how you fight, all-out effort like your life is on the line and we believe the same.
When you’re doing your high-intensity training, you should be going all-out effort. Give it everything you have and you’re going to be able to create that same chiseled look. Bruce Lee also was all about training his core. He recommended doing at least three times a week and he’d do things like side bends for five sets, sit-ups for five sets, and leg raises for five sets. You can do reps around 25-50 depending on your skill level.”
WORKOUT PROGRAM RECAP
1.Lift weights 2-3X/week (Bench press day, squat day, deadlift & bicep curls day)
2.Hi-Intensity training 3-4X week (Sprints &/or jump rope)
3.Stay extremely active regardless of your circumstance (This could be going for long walks or anything)
4.Train with all-out effort (Like your workout is a fight)
5.3X/week train your core (3 X 25-50 reps for side bends, sit-ups & leg raises)
“Finally, Bruce Lee was all about training his mind. He believed that the mind created the body. So he also did visualizations where he imagined creating the physique and the performance that he wanted. Most of all, Bruce Lee maintained his physique by being consistent. He always got his workouts in. He was always conscious of the way he ate and he maintained his consistency no matter where he was in the world.”
BODY BREAKDOWN RECAP
- Dial in your Bruce Lee diet
- Get your Bruce Lee workout program implemented
- Start to train your mind like you train your body
- Above all else, stay consistent and you will arrive at your set goal
