| According to various sources on the internet, a 1996 | | | | Elsewhere in the book, Oyama said that he would |
| article in Iron Man Magazine revealed Bruce Lee's | | | | bench press 175 pounds 500 times a day. |
| workout. In addition to his cardio and karate | | | | Then there are karate-specific exercises such as |
| workouts, Lee lifted weights three times a week and | | | | straw striking and exercises that are specific to |
| performed the following routine:clean and presses 2 x | | | | board and stone breaking abilities. All this was in |
| 8squats 2 x 12barbell pullovers 2 x 8bench presses 2 | | | | addition to practicing forms, sparring, etc. |
| x 6good mornings 2 x 8barbell curls 2 x 8 | | | | Comparing Lee and Oyama |
| Unfortunately, he injured his back doing good | | | | Now, what strikes me as the essential difference |
| mornings, which nearly ruined his career. Otherwise, | | | | between Lee's and Oyama's workout styles is |
| his weight training was successful in that it is credited | | | | volume. Lee's weight training routine is relatively brief, |
| with helping him add 30 pounds of solid muscle to his | | | | and he avoided lifting on days of heavy martial arts |
| relatively small frame. | | | | training. |
| Although Lee is the most famous martial artist ever, | | | | While Lee might do an exercise for 2 sets of 8 reps |
| it may be that the strongest was a man named | | | | (which is fairly typical), Oyama would do it for |
| Masutatsu Oyama. Therefore, it will be interesting to | | | | hundreds of reps. Clearly, Oyama's is a more |
| contrast Lee's workout with Oyama's. | | | | time-consuming approach that would require a lot of |
| The Karate Bull-Fighter | | | | dedication. |
| Oyama was one of the first to bring Karate to | | | | If you look at pictures of these men, they have |
| America and founder of the Kyokushin style of | | | | quite different builds. For Lee, his training goal was |
| Karate. His 1958 classic "What is Karate?" was one of | | | | apparently to add bulk. Before the weight training, he |
| the first books on the subject written in English, and | | | | weighed only 135 pounds, and he added 30 pounds |
| designed to make the subject accessible to | | | | of solid muscle. |
| westerners. | | | | Oyama, on the other hand, was obviously a stockier |
| Oyama initially became famous with stunts such as | | | | fellow, and talks in his book about losing weight |
| bull-fighting Karate-style. Unlike Mexican bull-fighters, | | | | during periods of intense training. Judging from |
| he would actually wrestle the bull to the ground and | | | | pictures of him with other people, I would say that |
| break off one of its horns. (He wasn't too popular | | | | he was probably slightly taller than Lee (who was 5' |
| with animal rights activists in Tokyo.) | | | | 8"). Although Oyama was of average height, he |
| Oyama's Strength Training | | | | doesn't look like a small guy when standing next to |
| According to Oyama's 1958 book, strength and | | | | American professional wrestlers, boxers, and |
| speed are more important than skill for Karate, and | | | | strongmen. |
| speed more important than strength. Also, he said it | | | | Possible Conclusions |
| was very important to practice jumping. | | | | The point is not to compare them as saying one was |
| Here are some recommendations he gives in "What is | | | | better than the other. I do wonder what affect their |
| Karate?" (He doesn't give an exact workout.) | | | | training style had on the way they looked and how |
| Running - 4km per day | | | | much was just genetic. |
| Rope-skipping - 20 minutes per day | | | | At any rate, if Oyama struggled to keep his weight |
| Dumbell arm exercise (shoulder press?) - 200 times | | | | down, it sounds like high volume training helped him |
| Dips - 100 times | | | | to achieve that. Lee, on the other hand, seems to |
| Push ups (with hands in fist) - 300 times | | | | have been naturally lean and wanted the weight |
| Inclined push ups - 100 times | | | | training to bulk up (probably to look better on |
| Jumping side kick over 4 foot vaulting horse | | | | camera). Too much volume might be |
| Inclined dumbell bench press | | | | counter-productive to that goal. |
| Exercises requiring a partner: | | | | So, maybe the lesson in this is that if you want to |
| Hitting bag with upper elbow and side of elbow - 200 | | | | lose weight while simultaneously getting stronger, it |
| times each | | | | might be worth considering an old-fashioned high |
| Practicing jumping kick with bag | | | | volume workout routine, assuming you can make |
| Exercises for neck (with partner) | | | | that kind of dedication. On the other hand, if your |
| Leg exercise (squat with partner on back) | | | | goal is to look like Bruce Lee... well, all I can say is |
| Back and Abdomen exercises with partner | | | | "good luck"! |