Even Mr. Lee couldn’t escape the draw of bodybuilding.

Bruce Lee, the martial arts phenom whose life ended just on the cusp of becoming a worldwide superstar was truly a man of many talents. His proficiency in the combat arts were also equally matched by his acting ability, creative and artistic vision, and his poetically brilliant philosophy. But besides the martial arts Lee had also made waves in the bodybuilding world as an intriguing influential figure.

Now I know what you’re thinking. Bruce Lee wasn’t a bodybuilder nor did he have the massive figure associated with the sport, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t a major influence. Lauded for having zero percent body fat, the man was clearly a workout machine who used many different methods to get in shape including traditional bodybuilding lifts like squats and bench pressing.

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Bruce Lee was also known for having a high protein diet much like that of pro bodybuilders. His frame was considerably smaller than the average bodybuilder but he still needed to sustain a high protein count due to his own martial arts training and conditioning program. Lee’s physique was also often revered for being ripped and striated. It’s definitely good to have a certain level of body fat, but what made Lee so unique was the fact that he didn’t have an ounce of fat on him, pretty much making him all muscle.

As documented by John Little on Mike Metzner’s website, while trying to develop his martial arts training program that would later be named Jeet Kune Do, Lee subscribed to a number of bodybuilding and fitness magazines as they were the only sources of fitness information at the time. He was even documented as having read Eugene Sandow’s Strength & How to Obtain It published in 1897. Lee was a believer in acquiring functional strength that would help in perfecting his martial arts system.

What prompted this interest in physical conditioning? After engaging in combat with a fellow kung fu practitioner, a ramification for his decision to continuing to teach non Chinese the Chinese martial arts, Lee was disappointed in his performance. Even in victory he acknowledged that he was physically lacking particularly in the conditioning department. His hunger for knowledge brought him to bodybuilding, weightlifting, and other forms of strength and conditioning avenues.

Just as in bodybuilding, Lee’s thoughts on martial arts combat was that you must train your entire body in order to be a force. Lee trained his abs daily hoping to transform the muscle group into armor, Lee’s thoughts being that they were the most important muscle group to train for combat. This in turn gave him well defined abs that anyone would hope to attain. It was quite obvious that he trained just as diligently in perfecting his body as he was in perfecting his martial arts and it’s what made him such a force in the fitness community.

Bruce Lee was advocate for knowledge, a man believed in not only training the physical, but the mental as well. He was man who pushed past social norms in order to obtain an understanding of the human body and the human condition in order to help others come to the same realization. He was a stubborn man insofar that he was willing to break the rules in order to enlighten himself and others. His mental and physical fortitude should be an inspiration for not only bodybuilders, but anyone who wishes to become the best version of themselves they can be.

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Cover photo courtesy of Fan Pop