Bruce Lee s abdominal muscles were quite exceptional.

They were very well defined, well developed, and very solid. Lee s waist was very thin, with almost no fat at all. Bruce Lee followed some simple rules to ensure that his abs stayed in great shape. The main rules are: Diet is the most important thing when building abs. Learn how to eat in order to build muscle and keep off fat. The Atkins approach is a great way to lose the f at. Losing fat is the second key. If you have a layer of fat over your abs you will never see them no matter how good they are. Work your abs like any other muscle. Add weight constantly so you don t stagnate. Bruce Lee Abs Tips Bruce Lee himself often used to comment on how he trained his abs. In doing so h e helped people build their own. Bruce learnt how to build abs from champion bod ybuilders, and spent many years perfecting the art of abdominal development. He believed that the abs were a vital to providing balance and strength in the body . The abdominal and waist region coordinate all parts of the body and act as the ce nter of generator. Therefore, you can promote the ability to control the body s ac tion and master your will more easily. Bruce Lee. One of the best tips that he offered and which has been tried and tested is that one should always curl your body up as if rolling up a newspaper when doing a c runch. Do not sit up and down like a see-saw but curl your upper body up startin g with your head, then neck, then chest. Keep your abdominals engaged (tensed) a nd your attention focussed on them at all times. Do not simply go through the mo tions. Lee concentrated on five exercises for stomach and abdominal development. He fou nd that these were the best exercises to help build and maintain perfect six-pac k abs. He would also only perform 1-3 different exercises on any one day, and ve ry rarely perform all five in the same session, or on the same day. Bruce Lee s most common abs exercises: Waist twists - four sets of 90 repetitions. Sit-up twists - four sets of 20 repetitions. Leg raises - four sets of 20 repetitions. Leaning twists - four sets of 50 repetitions. Frog kicks - four sets of 50 repetitions Also Bruce liked to perform the follow stomach exercises: Roman chair sit-up Leg raises (excellent for the lower abs) Side raises Bruce Lee s Abdominal Training Tips: It is important to work fast while concentrating on good form. When you can no l onger perform any more full repetitions, continue with smaller movements, such a s abdominal crunches, which give improved muscle development and definition. Bruce Lee was also a firm believer in static concentrations, which involve tight ening the stomach muscles for short bursts and then relaxing. Most importantly, Bruce Lee taught that abdominal exercises never reduce the wai st, i.e. thee is no reduction in belly fat. For this, diet and nutrition is key. Lee further developed this routine, adding additional sets of sit-ups, side bend s, leg raises, flags, twists and back bends to his abdominal workout regimen. The f

lag exercise was a particularly difficult drill Lee devised for working the abdom inal. While lying on a bench, he would grasp attached uprights with both hands a nd raise himself, supported only by his shoulders. Then, with his knees locked s traight and his lower back raised off the bench, he would perform leg raises. Bruce Lee s Success with Abs Training In addition to what we have learnt from Bruce Lee, there have been many other tr ied and tested methods of exercising and bodybuilding. Here is a summary of the concepts required for developing excellent abs: Bruce Lee preformed both cardio and weight training (high and low intensity) eve ry single day. In doing this he lost a lot of muscle but mainly he burned off fa t. This was the main reason that his abs looked so good. There was barely a shre d of fat covering them. Bruce ate a good diet and a lot of protein. He was an advocate of eating a post workout protein shake and used to experiment with lots of different ingredients. Recent research has proven that post workout shakes drunk within 30 minutes of exercise provide maximum benefit. Lee firmly believed that proper nutrition was essential for developing the perfe ct set of abs. What you eat determines the thickness and density of the outer ti ssue covering the abdominal muscles. Once the belly fay has been worked off thro ugh calorie controlled dieting and aerobic and endurance fitness training, the a bs are then relatively easy to maintain through a good healthy diet and regular abdominal exercising. He did a lot of martial arts and was especially adept at kicking. Lots of the mu scles used to power a kick come from the stomach region and as such he worked hi s abs out in different ways. He was constantly changing his abs routine which kept his abs guessing and helpe d him to achieve a very complete development. Bruce Lee s final advice is to exercise abs daily, and that with patience and pers everance, results will be seen in time. With the new year comes new challenges. If one of your goals is to attain well d efined abdominal muscles, then the Bruce Lee Abs Workout is a great place to sta rt.