THE POWER OF THE DRAGON

Develop Strength Bruce Lee’s Way..

"While Bruce was in Hong Kong filming in late 1971 or early 1972, he had his weight
equipment and training gear shipped to him," says Ted Wong, who met Lee in 1967 and trained
with him for more than six years.

"He wanted to stay in shape. So we packed his bags, but we did not send any clothes because
he said he could buy them cheap in Hong Kong. We just packed training equipment. When he
saw all the bags filled with training equipment, he laughed and said, ‘Now I’m going to be able
to do lots of training.’" And train he did.

"Bruce considered training number one," says Wong. "He was constantly training. When he
watched TV or went to the movies, he conditioned his knuckles. When he was driving, he
worked the hand grips. If he walked to a bookstore and came to a hill, he always ran. He NEVER
wasted time.

" Why was this man so obsessed with training? Several reasons.

A Mad Man Is Born

First, according to Lee, training was important because you couldn’t perform up to your
capabilities if you weren’t in shape, Wong recalls. "Lee felt you had no business being in the
martial arts if you weren’t in shape," says Wong. "If you weren’t in shape you couldn’t be 100
percent efficient."

Second, he had lofty goals. "He wanted to be the best," says Wong. "He wanted to be the best
martial artist." And no one could dispute that he was. Lee’s Thoughts on Strength To get in
excellent shape, Lee felt you needed strength, Wong notes. "He considered strength training very
important," Wong says. "He was constantly looking for ways to improve, including weight
training and isometrics."

Although Lee felt strength was important, he did not believe bodybuilding was the answer,
Wong says.
 How to Build Strength
"He felt it was important to have definition, but he did not feel you had to overboard," Wong
says. "He did not feel it was necessary to develop large muscles. On the other hand, strength and
definition enhanced certain functions, such as kicking and punching." And Lee’s conditioning
entailed more than hand grips, sit-ups, weights, running and conditioning drills.

"A lot of the time he read books and analyzed different arts," Wong says. "He had a keen eye
and an analytical mind. He did a lot of researching." While you may never develop Lee’s skills,
you can certainly train the way the "Little Dragon" did. Following are a few of the exercises Lee
used to develop power.

Lee’s Strength Routine

Barbell Push

This exercise strengthens your arms, forearms, shoulders, biceps, lats, triceps, chest and abs.
"This exercise works almost your whole body," Wong says. "It’s really good; it’s effective. But it
is also very difficult. Although Bruce lifted a lot of weight, most people can’t.

I remember trying to lift what he used, and I couldn’t even hold it." To begin, stand with your
feet slightly wider than shoulder width. Squat, grab the barbell with an underhand grip and stand
up. Keeping your elbows by your side, raise the weight straight out, hold for a second, return and
repeat.

Do three sets of 8 to 12 repetitions. When you’re done, do three sets of 8 to 12 reps with an
overhand grip.
 Punching With a Dumbbell

This exercise improves your shoulder endurance, which is vital for sparring.

"Bruce did this drill a lot." Wong says. Hold a five-pound dumbbell in each hand, assume a
fighting stance and alternate throwing punches with each hand. "Do these moderately fast,"
Wong says. To prevent an injury, however, don’t throw your punches too fast. Do two to three
sets, 10 to 15 reps per set.
One-Hand Dumbbell Drill This drill strengthens your wrist, which means your punches will be
stronger. Lee used this exercise to enhance his one-inch punch, Wong notes. "When your wrist is
strong, you get more power," he says. "And it’s good when you’re in close range because there
isn’t much room for your wrist to travel.

This is a good drill for the one-inch punch." To begin, stand with your feet about shoulder-
width apart, and hold a five-pound dumbbell in your right hand. Keeping your arm to your side
and using only your wrist, raise the dumbbell as high as you can and lower it as far as you can.
Do two sets of 25 reps. When you’re done, do two sets of 25 reps, moving your wrist from side
to side as far as you can.

Isometrics
 "This is isometric training for power punching," Wong says. "It was one of Lee’s favorite
drills because it built speed and punching power at different ranges." To do this, you can use a
jump rope, a karate belt or a strand of rope. To begin, assume a fighting stance and hold the rope
in both hands.

Place your left hand behind your back, wrap the other end around your shoulder and throw a
short-range punch. Hold it for five seconds, extend your punch to ¾ distance, hold it for five
seconds, extend it to full range and hold. For each arm, do five sets of five reps.

Board Isometrics
This drill is for leg strength and mobility. "This exercise really puts pressure on your knees,"
he says. "It’s intense." To do this drill, you’ll need a four-foot long board with a shoulder harness
strapped in the middle.

To begin, assume a fighting stance on the board and place the harness around your neck.
Exerting a constant upward pressure, lean forward and then lean back. "This drill enables you to
develop explosive power and to close the gap [more efficiently]," He says. Do three sets of one
minute. As you improve, increase your time.

Hand Isometric Drills

This drill strengthens your forearms, which is great for trapping and punching. You will need
the board for this exercise also. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, wrap the straps
around your forearms and exert pressure upward. Do three sets of one minute. Don’t rest more
than one minute between sets.

Bully Xtreme For Punching

 This drill also strengthens your punching power. To do this drill, you’ll need a Bully Xtreme,
which you may be able to purchase online at www.BullyXtreme.net.

Assume a fighting stance, hold the bow straps in each hand, and throw as many punches as
you can, as fast as you can. "Do these real fast, and do as many as you can," Wong says. Do two
to three sets. You can throw backfists or straight punches.

Bully Xtreme for Trapping Power

Again, you will also need the Bully Xtreme for this drill, which strengthens your forearms for
trapping, grabbing and hitting.

Assume a fighting stance, place one end of the Bully Xtreme against your abs, and hold the
other end at about head-height. As quickly as possible, pull the top part toward your abs, return
and repeat.

Building Abs Of Steel

Bruce Lee felt that the stomach area was one of the most ignored areas that most people,
including martial artist have. He believed as many have found out… that the stomach is the
center of power. Today more and more people are realizing this. Recent scientific results have
proven that we must build the “Core” to truly be strong.

Here are some great ab exercises using the Bully Xtreme to target the entire midsection. ( the
beauty of the Bully Xtreme is that you need no other special equipment and you can use it
anywhere… while watching TV etc.) The reason we like the Bully Xtreme so much for targeting
the midsection is because of how safe the movements are. As opposed to sit ups, if not done
properly, can cause neck, back or shoulder strain and even injury. You don’t have any of those
problems with any of the Bully Xtreme Ab exercises. Here’s a sample few to get you started on
your way to a flat, lean six pack abs

Bully Xtreme For Six Pack Abs

Get on your knees and with elbows locked grasp the cables and push down on the cables while
maintaining your elbows locked. Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions. This exercise strengthens the entire
stomach range very quickly and better than doing sit-ups but, without the inherit risk of neck
injury that sit-ups cause.
 Lower Abs

This movement is very effective for targeting those hard to hit lower ab muscles. Just sit down
on the floor place the bully between your legs and as in the previous exercise…with elbows
locked grasp the cables and push down on the cables while maintaining your elbows locked.
Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions
 Upper Abs

This is one of the best exercise to really strengthen and blow torch the fat away from the upper
ab region. Simple place the Bully Xtreme in front of your feet. Have your feet close together.
With elbows locked grasp the cables and push down on the cables while maintaining your
elbows locked. Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

There are a total of 9 exercise that you can do with the Bully Xtreme for the abdominals alone!
You can workout your abs up to 3 times per week, but let me warn you the first time you follow
this turbo charged Ab strengthening program you will be SORE! So go easy the first few times
around.
 Building Knock-Out Power
What made Bruce Lee a great all around fighter was that he did not just depend on his lighting
fast and deadly kicks. He developed the same lethal skills with his hands. Even though he was
formally trained by Master Yipman in Wing Chun. He preferred and perfected his “western”
style of boxing. Jeet Kune Do (Bruce’s own style… a style without a style) incorporates western
boxing as it’s primary hand fighting technique.

Straight Punch Power

Here is a very simple movement that can dramatically increase your straight punch power.
Place the Bully Xtreme in the position shown and punch out straight with your right hand. 10
repetitions and then change hands and do 10 repetitions with your left hand. Do 3 sets for each
hand.
 Uppercut Knockout Power

Here is a excellent movement that will have you knocking your opponent out in seconds. Grasp
the Bully Xtreme as shown and with elbows bent punch upwards. Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
This exercise will also shape and build your biceps and forearm muscles!
 Lethal And Lighting Fast Kicks
How do you develop those amazing Bruce Lee Kicks? Well here are some exercises that can
do just that.

The Deadly Front Kick

Here is where we separate the men from the boys. The straight kick is considered one of the
most effective weapons in any martial artists inventory. Just watch the UFC and see the
successful mixed martial artist apply this weapon of mass destruction.

Position the Bully Xtreme as shown above. Sit down on a chair. (This exercise is very similar to
doing leg extensions on one of those expensive pieces of equipment at a gym. Not for you… you
can do this one anywhere. ) Place your left foot on the bottom cable and your right foot.. (the
instep) on the top cable and lift your foot upwards (with your knee bent) repeat on other leg. Do
3 sets of 10 repetitions
 The Lethal Side Kick

Here’s a way to power up your side kick by targeting your abductor muscles. The abductors
main function is to move your legs outward to the side. This occurs during the side kick
movement requiring you to move from side to side. Lets get going and develop that devastating
side kick power.

Place the Bully Xtreme as shown. Place your feet close together and separate your legs. Perform
this exercise by opening and closing your legs slowly. Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions
 What Made Bruce Great?
So what made Bruce Lee as great as he was? Strength training? Genetics? Intensity? "I think
there are a lot of factors, but I think it was his drive," Wong says. "For example, he always told
me you had to put 100 % effort into everything you did. He said, ‘When you throw a punch, put
everything into it. Don’t just go through the motions.’

Also his willingness to try new ways to exercise and target the muscles from new and different
angles. Incorporating Bully Xtreme type training helped him accomplish that, and it can help you
as well.

Frank Sherrill is a former U.S. Army Ranger, martial arts expert and the creator of the Bully
Xtreme Portable Home Gym which offers up to 600 pounds of resistance and 82 muscle pumping

exercises. Frank has written hundreds of articles. Learn how to build your body and turbo-charge
your metabolism without drugs, using his little know secrets by visiting Bully Xtreme. To receive
Frank's 4 free muscle building eBooks and free monthly newsletter, visit www.BullyXtreme.Net