Look at Bruce Lee. That power. That speed. Bruce Lee knew how to maximize his use of the nervous system. “From the thought to the fist, how much time is lost?” he would ask. Then he would figure out how to reduce it.
To get that speed and power you need to influence your nervous system. Once I read Pavel’s Power to the People, I understood how Bruce Lee did it. In Power to the People, Pavel emphasizes two exercises. The deadlift and the side press. Doing the side press with an Olympic barbell, as specified, would make it more difficult, but you can definitely substitute a kettlebell or a dumbbell.
This idea—take two powerful exercises and using simple cycling methods, you can get incredibly strong. Add in special things like flexing your butt, squeezing your sphincter, flexing your abs, crushing the barbell with your grip–and you begin to learn to influence the nervous system to give you more power.
This simplicity is key. I like variety of exercises and movement based training. But it’s good to realize the simplicity that gets results. One more thing to add to this is walking.
You don’t have to rely on just two exercises and my typical routine includes more than two. For example:
- Swings
- Alternating military press
- Dumbbell rows
- Squat holds
- Hindu push ups
This is totally doable taking maybe 30 minutes and done for two days a week. The real key is to make sure you’re getting enough activity. Especially as an office worker. That’s where the walking comes in.