Bruce Lee Ab Exercises

More than any other part of his body Bruce Lee was known for his highly developed abs. In Lee's personal library he had many different muscle magazines and other sources of information about working out. Lee had a separate file on ab workouts. Lee was always changing his exercises but he had five main ones that he regularly did. Note that he rarely did all 5 in one day. Bruce had these things to say about abs:

"Exercise the abs daily and with patience. Results will soon come."

"The abdominal and waist region coordinate all parts of the body and act as the center or generator. Therefore, you can promote the ability to control the body's action and master your will more easily."

1. The Sit-Up
Instead of doing just a standard push up Bruce modified the ordinary sit up to make it more effective for him personally. You can do sit ups many ways but Bruce Lee used an abdominal board with a slant. He would do high repetitions of 15-20. At the height of the sit up hold the contracted position for a few seconds and release. Lee also performed a twist at the height of the sit up that helps trains oblique muscles as well.

2. Leg Raises
Lee also enjoyed Leg raises for their simplicity and their impact on the lower abdominals. To perform this exercise you must lie flat on a workout bench and raise your legs about 20 inches past parallel. He would perform as many repetitions as possible. Lee would perform a variation of this exercise where he would use a chin up bar and raise his legs to a 90 degree angle.

3. The Twist
Lee would perform this exercise standing although it is possible to perform it sitting as well. The twist is very efficient for developing for the oblique muscles. To perform this exercise stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Holding a Bo staff, stick, light bar, or broom handle and bend forward as much as possible while still performing a twist. If you must start completely erect that is ok too. Lee would do this from a bent position and touch the right end of the bar to his left foot and the left end of the bar to his right foot. He would do 50 reps minimum and later used a bar with weights. Be careful if you choose to add weights to the bar because it can result in a lower back injury.

If you wish to read the rest of Lee's abdominal workouts you should check out The Art Of Expressing The Human Body. You can learn tips about how to perform these and additional abdominal exercises.

Coming soon: Bruce Lee Forearms, The Secrets Of Isometrics, and Martial Arts Training.

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Exercise 1a	Time	Exercise 1b	Time
Jump Rope	1 Minute	Groin Stretch	1 Minute
Forward Bend	1 Minute	Side Leg Raise	1 Minute
Cat Stretch	1 Minute	Jumping Squat	1 Minute
Jumping Jacks	1 Minute	Shoulder Circling	1 Minute
Squats	1 Minute	Alternate Splits	1 Minute
High Kicks	1 Minute	Leg Stretch(a,b)	1 Minute

Exercise 2a	Time	Exercise 2b	Time
Waist Twisting	1 Minute	Leg Raise	1 Minute
Palm Up Curl	1 Minute	Reverse Curl	1 Minute
Roman Chair	1 Minute	Sit Up Twist	1 Minute
Knee Drawing	1 Minute	Leverage Bar Twist	1 Minute
Side Bending	1 Minute	Alternate Leg Raise	1 Minute
Palm Down Curl	1 Minute	Wrist Roller	1 Minute