General•Workouts, exercise and best practices from leaders of Kinesthetic (Body) Intelligence
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What I would like to explore in this thread (which I have wanted to for a while) is what are some of the best ideas for exercising, strength building, and other forms of cardiovascular or muscular motion?
I would like to look at people like Bruce Lee, Morihei Ueshiba (founder of aikido), Mariusz Pudzianowski (strong man competitor), and any other martial artists, body builders or other masters of the body.
This list is extremely short and incomplete so I am hoping that others have more insights and places to look. I will begin my research now. -
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sepslugseven - February 19
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I vote for Yoga, because i don't know much about anything else and only a tiny bit about yoga even. Stretching is amazing though and the one time i did yoga consistently for a few weeks I felt incredible. Need to find a way to incorporate this into my life for sure.
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FreemanRAM - February 19
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As you know I'm currently deep into the study of my body being. I would like to offer two paths of interest:
#1 The Alexander Technique:
http://www.alexandertechnique.com/
#2 Cheng Hsin:
http://www.chenghsin.com/ -
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FreemanRAM
- February 19
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A third area which is of great interest to me is Falun Dafa:
http://www.falundafa.org/eng/home.html -
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Bruce Lee Training Philosophy
Above all, never cheat on any exercise; use the amount of weight that you can handle without undue strain.” – Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee and the Importance of Good Form when Exercising
In the Bruce Lee Workout, form is very important. Poorly executed form not only reduces the effectiveness of an exercise, but it can also cause injury by placing too much pressure in the wrong areas. Also, to cheat on an exercise, is to cheat your own body of obtaining the optimal workout during any given session.
Bruce Lee’s weight training routine evolved during his career. In his early days, his emphasis was on bodybuilding, especially forearm training, and he supplemented his diet with protein drinks.
Later on, he started to simplify his training. He realized that rather than the isolation exercises favored by bodybuilders, he needed to perform compound weight training exercises to increase his overall strength and condition.
Bruce Lee’s weight reduced after he gave up the bodybuilding routines in favor of more traditional compound and cardio training.
“Since weight training involves repetitions, a great deal of energy must be exerted. Therefore, weight training should be practiced only every other day.” – Bruce Lee
This quote is interesting, as it seems to move away from his traditional approach of not working the body so much that you are weakened. So, although he was moving away from the bodybuilding routines, he was also moving away from pure martial arts.
The Bruce Lee Workout should be intensive enough to require adequate recovery days. Bruce Lee suggested that you should train at most once every other day, or three days per week, with an extra rest day at the weekend. -
For Bruce Lee, the most important aspect of his new weight training routine was that he could still train his martial arts and practice endurance/cardio training on the other days.
Bruce Lee adopted a cross training methodology, in that he believed fitness training should have three key elements: stretching for flexibility; weight training for strength; and cardiovascular for endurance.
Read more: http://www.motleyhealth.com/fitness_and_strength/martial-arts/bruce-lee-workout#ixzz0g0KdmK8r -
“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless – like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” – Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a paragon of cool and an icon of the ultimate bad-ass. Not only were his martial arts skills incredible, but he had such an impressive physique that even bodybuilders in the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger admired him.
What’s more impressive is that Bruce trained his body without ever stepping into a gym and with very little use of weights or machines.
Here are just a few of Lee’s physical feats:
* Performed one-hand push-ups using only the thumb and index finger.
* Could hold an elevated v-sit position for 30 minutes or longer.
* Could throw grains of rice up into the air and then catch them in mid-flight using chopsticks.
* Could break wooden boards 6 inches (15 cm) thick.
* Performed 50 reps of one-arm chin-ups. -
“If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.” – Bruce Lee
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Thanks Rob checking them out!
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sepslugseven
- February 19
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Those all seem very interesting, definitely going to check out some videos and information about them. So hard to keep track of all the information that I need to go back and review.
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Rob, if you would, what kind of schedule do you create for yourself with these exercise? Do you have a morning routine and if so what is it like?
Share as much details as you're comfortable with, I'm all ears. -
Bruce Lee’s Weight Training Routine
Bruce Lee Clean and Press – 2 sets of 8 reps
The clean and press is a classic weight lifters exercise. Unlike bodybuilding exercises, which work muscles in isolation, Bruce Lee’s weight lifting/power lifting exercises work muscles together, i.e. they are compound movements. Bruce Lee performed clean and presses in a very intensive fashion, that is, without rest between reps. This made the exercise a cardio and endurance exercise as well as a weight training exercise. In the clean and press a barbell is lifted from the floor, and in one explosive movement the weight is lifted up to rest on the front of the shoulders – this is the clean. Afterwards, the weight is then pressed upwards, and held overhead. It is then lowered to the floor in one movement, and repeated. A good form is essential in the clean and press, it is also important not to attempt to lift too much weight, as injuries to the lower back are common in poorly executed clean and presses.
Bruce Lee Barbell Squat – 2 sets of 12 reps
The squat is one of the most important compound exercises in the Bruce Lee Workout, especially for martial artists. It develops a solid base and core. In the standard squat, which should always be performed in a squat rack for safety, a barbell is placed across the shoulders and a squat is then performed. Bruce Lee advised there should be no pause in the lowest position, instead as soon as your thighs reach a horizontal position, you should rise again to a standing position. The squat works the hips, glutes, hamstrings, calves and quads. -
Bruce Lee Barbell Pullovers – 2 sets of 8 reps
The barbell pullover is a weight training exercise that is less common these days. It is the classic rib-box expander. To perform a pullover you should lie on a flat bench, hold a barbell with a shoulder width grip overhead, and then lower it backwards behind your head, keeping the elbows slightly bent. The bar should be held as far back as it is comfortable. Some people can touch the floor behind them with the bar, but this is not recommended without adequate training. Use a light weight to start with, as this is a deceptively difficult movement.
Bruce Lee Bench Press – 2 sets of 6 reps
No weight training session would be complete without a bench press. Many martial artists actually advise against the bench press as it expands the rib cage, which is a weakness in fighting. Bruce Lee taught that a fighter should aim to develop a solid set of ribs, which can take strikes. Performing many bench presses and pullovers can open the ribs too much, so if you plan to fight competitively, do not place too much emphasis on these exercises.
Bruce Lee Good Mornings Exercises – 2 sets of 8 reps
Bruce Lee was a fan of the good morning exercise. The exercise involves holding a barbell across the shoulders and then bend forward, keeping the legs and back straight. This exercise can be very dangerous if you do not warm up and attempt to use too much weight. Really good mornings can be performed with good results with just an empty bar. Bruce Lee damaged his back doing good mornings exercises. -
Bruce Lee Barbell Curls – 2 sets of 8 reps
Curls are the other staple weight training exercise along with bench presses. Everyone seems to want bigger biceps. For martial arts styles that involve grappling, grabbing, pulling and throwing, a good pairs of guns come in very useful. So perform bicep curls in each training session to build up the guns.
Bruce Lee Workout aims to increase your pulling power.
Read more: http://www.motleyhealth.com/fitness_and_strength/martial-arts/bruce-lee-workout#ixzz0g0W0Tu2N -
Bruce Lee was a big proponent of holistic or total fitness. His workouts included strength, speed, endurance, and flexibility training.
Here’s just a few of the ways you can start getting stronger, faster and more toned without ever stepping into a gym:
1. Calisthenics. There are so many different bodyweight exercises out there, but we’ll start with the basics.
For the lower body: lunges (http://www.frixo.com/sites/fitness/exercises/lunge.html) and squats (http://www.frixo.com/sites/fitness/exercises/squat.html) are a good start.
For upper body: pull-ups, push-ups, and shoulder press ups.
For your core: crunches, chops, and reverse crunches will get you going.
What’s great about bodyweight exercises is that they build functional strength. They’re natural movements you would use in real life situations like sports, self-defense, gardening, or doing chores.
Plus when you do bodyweight exercises, you force your body to use more supporting and balancing muscles than you would on machines.
You can find hyperlinks to pictures and read the whole article here: http://zenhabits.net/2009/03/how-to-get-bruce-lee-like-strength-without-ever-going-to-a-gym/ -
2. Isometric exercises. These are basic bodyweight exercises, but where you hold your body in a static position. Examples of these are the frog sit, v-sit, horse stance, hanging from a pull-up bar, and the plank. Calisthenic exercises will improve muscle strength over a range of motion, but isometric exercises are great for joint and stabilizing strength.
3. Range of motion and flexibility. The best exercise I’ve found for range of motion and flexibility is yoga. The best thing about yoga is that no equipment is required and you can find tons of free resources online for yoga routines. Check out Anmol Mehta’s Yoga Illustrations to get you started.
4. Balance. Balance is the ability to keep your equilibrium when your center of gravity is thrown off-balance. There are many ways you can practice balance every day (we won’t get into tight rope walking here). When you’re putting on your shoes or getting dressed, do it on one foot. Walk on the curb and try to walk in a straight line without stumbling. Or if you’re really ambitious, there’s always pogo sticking and unicycling.
5. Dynamic exercise. Dynamic exercise is anything where you’re not performing routine after routine. Things are in flux and constantly changing. You’re moving in more natural movements, rather than continuous repetition of fixed patterns. I recently started doing Jeet Kune Do in the park every weekend. It’s a great way to get a good work out and learn self defense.
You can find hyperlinks to pictures and read the whole article here: http://zenhabits.net/2009/03/how-to-get-bruce-lee-like-strength-without-ever-going-to-a-gym/
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