Bruce Lee Training Secrets (5 Principles to Make Your Training Legendary)

Do you know any of Bruce Lee training secrets? Keep scrolling to find them out.

Bruce Lee is perhaps the most famous martial artist of all time. Known for his lean body physique and incredible strength, he was a force to be reckoned with. One big fan of the martial artist is no other than Jeff Cavaliere.

Jeff Cavaliere was the head physical therapist of the New York Mets for 3 years and is now a YouTube sensation. He delivers clear information without noise on his ATHLEAN-X YouTube channel.

Cavaliere decided to explain beyond the legend’s workout, but rather get to talk about Bruce Lee training secrets and how people can implement that into their life to achieve better goals.

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Bruce Lee Training Secrets

Cavaliere divided these Bruce Lee training secrets into 5 principles.

1. Lift What Can Be Lifted

The first Bruce Lee training secrets was not about how heavy you can lift, but rather if you are able to command that weight from point A to point Z. “One of the ways he did this was by incorporating additional range of motion, or more time under tension.”

One example was the launch curl, in which you wouldn’t just curl a barbell to a traditional movement, but rather also add the extension of your arms out in front of your body that demands that the weight that you curl can be controlled at this longer moment arm.

Cavaliere explains that one way you can also do this with any exercise is to stop the range of motion at any time. With front raise, you might choose to stop halfway through before continuing the movement, or do 2 or three brief pauses before lifting it completely at eye level.

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You don’t have to do this every time. But what about doing one set of these paused reps during your dumbbell bench presses? Challenge yourself to see results.

2. Contraction Creates Command

This “contraction creates command” was a technique used by the legendary fighter and one of Bruce Lee training secrets. Always contract as much as you can for as long as you can.

For example, when doing push-ups to failure, you might think this is enough contraction for your chest workout. Bruce Lee would take it further and instead of taking a rest before hitting the next set, he would get on a kneeling position, crossing his arms in front of his body into abduction, and begin contracting his muscles.

“By simply incorporating these additional low-level, low-intensity contractions in between sets, you’re neurologically grooving that ability to create a better contraction out of a muscle.”

3. Create Strength By Not Losing Strength

To Bruce Lee, creating strength was first and foremost about not losing strength. When you are doing one exercise, there is a chance you are losing strength somewhere else without even noticing.

In simpler words, you can and should be engaging other parts of your body while performing some exercises. For the finger push-up, a staple from Bruce Lee, if you only try to use all the force on your fingers to lift your body, it might seem impossible, but if you tense up your glutes, quads, and drive your feet on the ground, it gets a bit easier. Cavaliere says the same principle can be used for other exercises such as the pull-up and side lateral raise.

Source: Edgar Chaparro on Unsplash

4. You Are What You Eat

This is one of the oldest teachings about nutrition and one that Bruce Lee took to the core.

You wouldn’t be surprised to find out he was a strong believer in eating fruits, vegetables, limiting sugar that he called “empty calories” and prioritising high protein in his diet.

5. Abs Should Be Like Steel

A strong core and abs of steel is perhaps the biggest trait of Bruce Lee. He didn’t have gigantic muscular arms or chest, but his six-pack was strong as a tree.

And no better way to define his physical ability than with the exercise known as the dragon flag which he believed was the epitome of core strength and control.

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The Dragon Flag: Benefits, How to Do It, Muscles Worked, and Progressions

To do this exercise you can’t just do it with your abs, but rather incorporate the muscles of your glutes, hip, pelvis and abs properly.

And that was Cavaliere’s take on Bruce Lee training secrets. How did you find it? If you want a deeper explanation of the subject, click on the video below.

VIDEO – Bruce Lee Training Secrets

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