The transcript below is from the video “Jet Li Workout And Diet | Train Like a Celebrity | Celeb Workout” by Celeb Workout.

Celeb Workout:

In today’s episode, you’re going to see the workout for one of the most famous Asian actors in Hollywood, Jet Li. Get ready to find out his workout routine and diet. Before we start this video, I want to say a huge thank you to my subscribers. This channel is a labor of love. If you have a favorite celebrity you’d like me to cover, let me know in the comments below. And if you’re new to the channel, thanks for tuning in. Now back to the video.

Li Lianjie better known by his stage name Jet Li, was born on April 26, 1963 in Beijing, China. He is a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism. Li, as a Buddhist, believes that the difficulties of everyday life can be overcome with the help of religious philosophies. He has 4 daughters. 2 from his first wife with whom he divorced in 1990 and 2 from his second wife with whom he got married in 1999.

In his free time, he likes to play badminton and table tennis, ride his bicycle, read and meditate. And a little known fact, he collects rare tibetan beads. He says he is never bored in his free time. One of the most famous Asian actors in Hollywood, Jet Li is known for his impressive Wushu Chinese martial arts demonstration.

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Li was 8 when his talent for Wushu was noticed as he practiced at a school summer course. He then attended a non-sparring Wushu event followed by joining the Beijing wushu Team. He had it really rough when he was training Wushu.

Li is a master of several styles of Wushu. Li competed against adults and was the national all-around champion from 1975 to 1979. Unfortunately, he retired from competitive Wushu when he was only 18 due to a knee injury but became an assistant coach of the Beijing Wushu Team for a few years. He believes that Wushu is more about inner harmony than power or speed. Surprisingly, he has never used his martial arts skills in a real life fight and prefers the peaceful resolutions of conflicts.

The fame gained by his sports wins led to a career as a martial arts movie star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce. Soon, everybody was calling him by this new name, which was also based on the nickname “Jet”, given to him as a young student due to his speed and grace when training with the Beijing Wushu Team. He made his debut with the 1982 film Shaolin Temple.

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Like other popular Asian actors such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, Li has also made his mark in the American entertainment industry. With his remarkable martial arts exploits and excellent acting skills, he was able to make an impact in the American film industry. His rise to fame was almost instantaneous as most of his movies were blockbusters. Soon, filmmakers signed him to co-star with some great Hollywood actors, catalyzing his journey to stardom.

Jet Li is one of the few Chinese actors recognized around the world, largely because of his Hollywood movies. In 1998 he made his international film debut in Lethal Weapon 4, which also marked the first time he has ever played a villain in a film.

In 2001 he appeared in two more films; The One, which was the first of his films with Jason Statham and Kiss of the Dragon. In 2002, the martial arts epic film Hero was released in the Chinese market. Li took on a more serious role in the 2005 film Unleashed, where he portrayed an adult with the mentality of a child, who has been raised like an animal. Although his martial arts skills were used extensively, it was a somber film with more depth than had been previously seen in Li’s films.

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In 2006 the martial arts film epic Fearless was released worldwide. Li stated back then that this will be his last martial arts epic, which is also stated in the film’s television promotions. However, he wanted to continue his film career in other genres. Specifically, he plans to continue acting in epic action and martial arts films, dealing more with religious and philosophical issues.

In late 2007, Li returned to China to participate in the China/ Hong Kong co-production of the period war film The Warlords. This film with its focus on dramatics rather than martial arts, netted Li the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor. Li and fellow martial arts veteran Jackie Chan finally appeared together on screen for the first time in The Forbidden Kingdom. Their fight in the movie was truly epic.

Li was cast as the emperor of China for the 2020 live-action movie Mulan. He really loves this movie. He has been in a lot of films but according to him, everything he has ever wanted to tell the world can be found in 3 of them. The message of Hero is that the suffering of one person can never be as significant as the suffering of a nation. Unleashed shows that violence is never a solution. And Fearless tells that the biggest enemy of a person is himself. Li thinks that the greatest weapon is a smile and the largest power is love. Jet Li is an idol for many of his fans. There is a lot that could be said about Jet Li’s career. After all, he has 40 years of work behind his back. But his workout mindset is as interesting as his life. So let’s dive right into it.

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Jet Li’s Workout Mindset

Jet Li is a martial arts master. As one, his body and mind should be worked on a daily basis. He created a fitness and healthy system called Wuji in order to help other people be more healthy. It is about cultivating your boundless wellness, rejuvenation and spiritual connection. You can do this by focusing on 3 main areas; internal martial arts such as Tai Chi, the spiritual practice of Kunlun system and a collection of healing therapies. The word “wuji” consists of two Chinese characters meaning boundless and infinite. Of course, like every person that works out for years, Jet Li has his own secrets when it comes to training and self-defense. Let’s start with the ones for training.

First of all, you should go for explosive workouts. For his cardio he jogs and rides a bike. But when it comes to maintaining the speed and explosiveness that he’s become famous for, he plays badminton. His second secret is to think in a happy way. He believes that workout is that much more beneficial if you have a handle on the stress before you start sweating. Last but not least, Jet Li thinks that everyone should accept the fact that meditation is critical to control the mind. Of all of his conditioning techniques, Li prefers meditation over any other and practices it at least an hour a day.

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When it comes to self-defense, Li, as you can imagine, also has a few moves. But now it’s all about finding his self-defense secrets. His first one seems easy. You just have to keep it simple. No need to make your life harder, right? His second secret is, you might not expect this because I sure didn’t, but it’s to watch the Discovery channel. To develop a heart that’s strong enough to stare a man out of attacking him, Li watches nature documentaries. Last but not least, his third secret is to change speeds. Asian people are not very tall and when it comes to moving someone from the way that is bigger than them, you gotta use tricks. First, you go very slow and then all of a sudden, you go fast and that will surprise your opponent. Do you want to find out his workout routine after hearing all of this? Because it’s time for you to hear what Jet Li does in a week for his workout.

Celeb Workout:

Jet Li’s Workout Routine

I can’t turn you into Jet Li overnight. Suddenly becoming a Chinese martial arts master would probably be the easiest way. But short of that, I can do the second best thing which is to tell you about his weekly workout plan and leave the sweating for you to do. Listen carefully since you’re about to hear the weekly workout plan of this legend.

Monday

● Calisthenics A, martial arts and meditation.
● Squats: 6 sets of 20 reps
● Pull-ups: 6 sets of 10 reps
● Standard push-ups: 6 sets of 10 reps
● Hanging leg raises: 6 sets of 10 reps
● Burpees: 6 sets of 10 reps
● Bench dips: 6 sets of 10 reps

Tuesday

● Calisthenics B, martial arts and meditation
● Diamond push-ups: 5 sets of 8 reps
● Biceps pull-ups: 5 sets of 10 reps
● Inverted rows: 5 sets of 12 reps
● Jumping lunges: 5 sets of 20 reps
● Plank: 5 sets of 30 seconds

Wednesday

● Calisthenics C, martial arts and meditation
● Pistol squats on each leg: 5 sets of 5 reps
● Incline push-ups: 5 sets of 5 reps
● Clap push-ups: 5 sets of 5 reps
● Narrow grip pull-ups: 5 sets of 5 reps
● Burpees: 5 sets of 20 reps

Thursday

● Calisthenics D, martial arts and meditation
● Squat jumps: 4 sets of 15 reps
● Wide arm push-ups: 4 sets of 15 reps
● Parallel bar and ring dips: 4 sets of 15 reps
● Leg raises: 4 sets of 15 reps
● Windshield wipers: 4 sets of 15 reps
● Side plank: 4 sets of 30 seconds for each side

Friday

● Calisthenics E, martial arts and meditation
● 50 meter duck walk
● Box/ bench jumps: 15 reps
● Push-ups: 10 reps
● Inverted rows: 10 reps pull-ups 10 reps
● Leg raises: 15 reps
● Plank: 15 seconds

Saturday

Yoga and meditation. Saturday is only for yoga and meditation.

Sunday

Rest day. On Sunday, Jet Li lets his body rest. Of course, it doesn’t work to only have a good workout routine but also a certain diet that works for your body. Let’s look into his diet regimen.

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Jet Li’s Diet

For centuries, for reasons both economic and historic, the traditional Chinese diet has been primarily vegetarian, featuring lots of vegetables, rice and soybeans and containing only shavings of meat for flavoring. The traditional Chinese diet is really healthy. So it’s not surprising that he is a vegetarian. Sadly, I couldn’t find his diet regimen because it seems like he doesn’t have one. But I can share some health benefits from being a vegetarian.

It boosts your immune system and we all know how important that is. It also keeps your weight down because veggies are low on calories but keep you full longer. Plant-based foods decrease the clogging of arteries. So that means there is a chance you might live longer and being a vegetarian, also reduces stress and anxiety. In fact, almost the opposite body type to Jet Li, Arnold Schwarzenegger recently said that he’s a vegetarian.

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You might also be interested in checking out his video on my channel. Now, I am not trying to say you should become a vegetarian or try to go vegan. I am simply stating facts. Jet Li puts really hard work on staying healthy and if you want to have his results, then eating healthy and working out is a big part of it.

As always, thank you for watching this episode. Let me know in the comments which celebrity you would like to see next. Please make sure you like and subscribe to this video and channel since that’ll help us make more content like this for you to enjoy.