Bruce Lee created a martial art called “Jeet Kune Do” or “Way of the intercepting fist”. However, as well known as he is in the martial arts… he is highly regarded for his physical abilities and the ripped physique of him. Bruce Lee’s body has become an icon of what an action star should look like today.
Let’s face it, the public is no longer willing to accept an actor who dons a “muscle suit”. From Brad Pitt to Will Smith, it seems like every A-list Hollywood actor has been emulating Lee’s kind of muscular yet ripped physique. What made him great was a combination of his training and his diet program.
The Bruce Lee Diet Plan
Lee always ate a lot of Chinese food that is high in fiber.
Some high-fiber foods are:
* Fruit
* Vegetables,
* breads,
* Beans
* Cereals
These foods are also rich in antioxidants and will help cleanse your body.
Like many bodybuilders today, he usually eats 6 times a day. This kept his blood sugar stable and his metabolism blazing at a higher rate. He was also a big fan of keeping his body properly hydrated; In general, he drank 11 to 12 glasses of water per day.
Also, from his bodybuilder friend… he learned the importance of maintaining a high-protein, low-carb diet. (Bruce Lee loved protein supplements and he usually had 1-2 protein shakes a day.)
The key to gaining muscle, in addition to exercising, is to consume enough protein. Protein constitutes between 15 and 20% of our body weight. The bottom line is that protein is indispensable and is the raw material needed to build muscle and other body tissues.
Of course, in its day one of the most popular protein supplements was casein. Today, we know that whey protein can keep us in a state of positive nitrogen balance easier and faster than using just casein protein.
The Bruce Lee workout
His workouts were intense. Even Joe Weider… “The King of Bodybuilding” commented that Bruce Lee’s body was light years ahead of his time. Bruce incorporated many different components into his exercise program. Isometrics, free weights, yoga, and bodyweight exercises, just to name a few. Bruce Lee gave up free weights very early in his training. He felt that having large bodybuilding muscles was not an advantage for a martial artist. He focused more on what he called “Functional Strength.”
He realized early on that isometric exercise could give him superior strength gains. He also used an “Isometric Power Rack” for a while in his training program. If something defines Bruce Lee, it is his ability to think outside the box. His mindset of… “use what works and discard what doesn’t” has made him an innovator in many different fields.
For example, Bruce used every known isometric exercise device available in his training, including a device that was later called the Tensolator. The use of isometric exercise equipment was something he made part of his training routine. And, in fact, so have many mixed martial arts practitioners today!