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Bruce Lee on limits framed in an story about running. (i.imgur.com)

submitted ago by VaccusMonastica

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[–]mattyramus 74 points75 points ago

If I had a dollar for every time this has been on r/fitness, r/running and r/getmotivated I would have about $17

[–]lwrun 22 points23 points ago

Enough to buy a framed print of the poster for your wall so instead of just looking at it every day on reddit, you can also see it when you walk by it.

[–]kibitzorchampion of exercise 7 points8 points ago

Bruce lee posters About $10. Buy a $1 sharpie and have someone with neat handwriting write the story on it.

[–]SadlyIamJustaHead 14 points15 points ago

I'll do it for $6.

[–]FiveChairs 10 points11 points ago

Sadly, you are just a head.

[–]p00f1ng3r 5 points6 points ago

idk. no matter how many times it gets posted it always inspires me at least a little.

[–]deputy1389 2 points3 points ago

well, I feel like shit and I wasn't gonna run today until I saw this.

[–]knarfreyom 4 points5 points ago

Repost it is, but message is good.

[–]BantamBasher135 4 points5 points ago

I have this printed out taped above my desk. It is my daily motivation.

[–]georgia10 11 points12 points ago

As if Bruce Lee needed anymore reasons to be an amazing person. Can you imagine being able to just spend time that is always in that mindset. Just incredible.

[–]af_mmolina 5 points6 points ago

He had him down to a 21 minute 5k, and he couldn't bust out a couple more miles? I would have told that guy the same thing! Bruce knew he could handle it.

[–]TerminalCorporal06 3 points4 points ago

If this guy is running so hard he's about to have a heart attack and die, how does he have the wind to make full-sentence statements?

[–]GrooGrux 2 points3 points ago

Source: http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Expressing-Human-Body/dp/0804831297

[–]roterghost 4 points5 points ago

Good for him, but not necessarily for everyone. As much as Bruce Lee is a hero in my mind, I've never been able to translate this particular anecdote to be personally motivational.

If you can't push yourself to run past your physical limit, risking serious injury, then you may as well be dead?

[–]ForthewoIfy 29 points30 points ago

The anecdote isn't about getting past a physical limit; it's about getting past a mental limit. The dude was afraid of having a heart attack from running 2 more miles. He needed to get past his unfounded fear of dying to enable him to get more out of himself.

The way I see it, people settle for comfort a lot of the times, and progress very slowly because they're afraid of the pain they'll feel when they get out of their comfort zone. The anecdote is about getting out of the comfort zone.

The guy wasn't told to run with a broken leg. All we know he was old and out of shape. If he could run 3.5 miles, I really doubt that 1.5 more miles would have literally killed him. However I have no doubt that the last 1.5 miles were a lot more uncomfortable than the first 3.5.

[–]af_mmolina 5 points6 points ago

That's what I was thinking. He had this guy was running 3 miles in a very good time, Bruce knew he could handle a couple more!

[–]mastigia 1 point2 points ago

I think you got the right of it.

[–]Flamingtaco33 15 points16 points ago

He means any limits, not just in running.

[–]phbohn2 8 points9 points ago

I keep trying to push myself to get taller!

[–]ForgetISaidAnything 15 points16 points ago

Try pulling.

[–]swohio 7 points8 points ago

Pretty sure if "pulling" made limbs grow, there would be no need for "enhancement" products.

[–]vowell1055 1 point2 points ago

I'm so glad it doesn't...

[–]Eviljim 1 point2 points ago

He was not talking about running. He was talking about life.

[–]genericdave 3 points4 points ago

A man must constantly exceed his level.

Why? And why is it important that this be the case in all areas rather than in just some that you choose?

You can do as you like, Bruce, but when it comes to running, I'm more interested in enjoying myself than killing myself over something like my mile time.

Edit: fixed some nonsense.

[–]WumboJumbo 0 points1 point ago

Because to excel is to be great. Bruce wanted to him to be great. Even if that great doesn't get him to the Summer Olympics, it gets him past where he is at that moment in time.

[–]genericdave 1 point2 points ago

See, that sentiment makes much more sense. The "push yourself to the brink or what you do is worthless" mentality is exactly what put me off of running when I was younger. I don't find that line of thinking inspirational. It just makes me enjoy things less if I think that way.

"Being great is worth striving for" is a much better concept, to my mind.

[–]WumboJumbo 0 points1 point ago

But if you're not working toward being great, then you might as well be dead is what Bruce means.

Or as Donald Glover says "I don't do anything to be just 'that dude.' I don't think anyone should ever strive to be 'that dude.'"

[–]genericdave 1 point2 points ago

But if you're not working toward being great, then you might as well be dead is what Bruce means.

And that's exactly the thing I'm taking exception to. I think the person running is more important than his mile time. If someone just runs because they enjoy it and they couldn't give a shit about how fast or far they're going, I don't see how that would make them worthless or essentially like being dead.

[–]WumboJumbo 1 point2 points ago

Why do anything if not to make yourself better? If you do it for fun, good. Do it for fun, better. If you're not constantly striving to be better, then you might as well be. I don't know where you are taking exception to this... it sounds like you just really don't like being dead. :p

[–]genericdave 0 points1 point ago

it sounds like you just really don't like being dead. :p

Well, I suppose I've never tried. Maybe it'll be nice. Then again, maybe it won't be anything.

[–]encore_une_fois 2 points3 points ago

Ignore mumbojumbo. You're totally right, sometimes things can be done just for their own sake. But I think the general philosophy is "have something to strive for". It's a good life strategy, though by no means the only one.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points ago

Well he may well have trained himself to death, so this makes a lot of sense.

[–]ForthewoIfy 9 points10 points ago

His death was not related to his training. He took a pill that he was allergic to, but didn't know it beforehand.

[–]piescream 0 points1 point ago

Painkillers, the irony - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee#Death

[–]Whit3y 5 points6 points ago

and he fucked up his back real bad doing "good mornings"

[–]Triseult 7 points8 points ago

Gosh, you're right! That invalidates anything Bruce Lee has ever said.

[–]encore_une_fois 5 points6 points ago

No, but it could be relevant to a philosophy of "ignore all limits".

[–]Whit3y 2 points3 points ago

not really, it just shows you that he is human after all

[–]albinocheetah 1 point2 points ago

Thank you for bringing some common sense back to this discussion.

[–]feltman 1 point2 points ago

I'm pretty much over Bruce Lee at this point.

[–]Gaurwath 2 points3 points ago

Classic.

[–]round2ftw 0 points1 point ago

Since when does "just under 8 minutes a mile" translate into a 21 minute 3 mile?

[–]deputy1389 5 points6 points ago

well 7 is just under 8 so, he's still right.

[–]round2ftw -1 points0 points ago

No, 7:59 is just under 8. You run those and you run a 23:57 3 mile, compared to a 21:00 3 mile at 7 flat pace. 2:57 is a huge time difference in a 5k/ 3 mile run.

My point is, to any real runner, there is a BIG difference between the minute mile paces. Not that it matters, it's probably a typo or misquote anyway.

[–]herman_gill -1 points0 points ago

Bruce Lee ran slower than high school girls.

[–]ankisethgallant 27 points28 points ago

He had to save some energy so he could fight off 1,000 thugs at any given moment in time.

[–]Black6x 9 points10 points ago

This is the important thing to remember. Those high school girls only needed to be good at one thing. For Lee, running was an additional thing to be good at something else. Call me when those high school girls hit like a ton of bricks.

[–]ForthewoIfy 6 points7 points ago

In that case couch potatoes will be beasts when they unleash all that stored energy they didn't consume at the gym.

[–]hnim 9 points10 points ago

To be fair, high school girls are fucking fast. There was a freshman girl who was probably 14 who ran a 5k under 17.

[–]TheDentite 6 points7 points ago

I hope she managed to get away.

[–]all_knowing_fish 1 point2 points ago

Yes they are, I can never catch them.

[–]TheFoodScientist 4 points5 points ago

So what? I run slower than high school girls. Since when did r/running upvote judging others?

[–]kibitzorchampion of exercise -1 points0 points ago

So you're saying you're in middle school?

[–]herman_gill -2 points-1 points ago

Sorry about you sub man =/

Are you thinking about maybe making it self-posts only, or do you think it's too far gone at this point?

[–]kibitzorchampion of exercise 1 point2 points ago

Not yet. /r/fitness made theirs self post only, and i think it's sort of boring for that reason

[–]herman_gill -1 points0 points ago

Touche. I stopped actually reading /r/running for the most part after most of the posts were pictures of people's most recent run on their iPhone apps, or posts about how people finished C25K or ran their first marathon.

I've also noticed how /r/advancedrunning is pretty dead most of the time (same as /r/adancedfitness). I think it'd be nice if there were a new sub created similar to how /r/weightroom was created. That might be nice. Maybe /r/crosscountry or /r/racing or something like that...

[–]vedran_ 1 point2 points ago

He routinely performed v-sits. Now, do me a favor, try it yourself.

As much I as love running, it is not the only measure of fitness.

"When you're talking about fighting, as it is, with no rules, well then, baby you'd better train every part of your body!" Bruce Lee

[–]herman_gill -2 points-1 points ago

I'm out of shape as fuck and I can do V-sits, Dragon Flags, and a half-decent tuck (or frog) planche no problem. There's a bunch of things that he could do that were super impressive, simply performing a V-sit isn't one of them.

[–]vedran_ 0 points1 point ago

What sport did you train as a kid? Gymnastics? I consider my self to be in god shape, can run 5k under 21min, 21k in 1h36min , 40 push-ups, but I can't come close to a v-sit.

[–]herman_gill -1 points0 points ago

I ran cross country in high school (4:39 mile, 16:10 5K... 5K specialist obviously), and my total last time I checked in April (which actually went down significantly since an injury and 6 months of laziness after) is 275Squat/205Bench/355Deadlift (ie: weak) @170 pounds. I guess we have different standards for what we consider out of shape :P

[–]Stepdeer 3 points4 points ago

Yeah while the quote is good, the running part attached to it just isn't very impressive at all.

[–]unbuklethis 0 points1 point ago

Words, wisdom and nature like this is also why he's a legend

[–]MrJackTrade 0 points1 point ago

I love Bruce Lee. I love his take on life. I love how he did not constrict himself to one form of martial arts or really one form of anything. That being said, this is bad advice for a lot of people. I consider Bruce Lee to be peak physical shape. But if you look at the research, old people need to be careful with how much stress they put on their heart.

Once you get to a certain period in your life, you need to start to scale back the extent and intensity of your work outs. I've been running since I was 13. I've been on teams and part of running clubs since then. There is no way for me to come up with an exact number for the amount of older gentlemen that had heart attacks while running. It is a high number.

That being said it's a good quote, outside of running for old people.

[–]anon515 0 points1 point ago

But isn't that the point? That it's better to die than to live in fear of dying? Old, young, weak, or otherwise?

[–]MrJackTrade 0 points1 point ago

If a 50 year old man runs a couple miles a day, not too hard. Nice easy pace. He will probably be fine. But I can't tell you how many times one of these guys goes out and tries to do more than that, really pick up the pace and then drop from a heart attack.

I think there is a clear distinction between fear and knowing your limitations. Don't be afraid but don't go drinking bleach either.

[–]anon515 0 points1 point ago

That is a very reasonable answer.

[–]kadargo 0 points1 point ago

Bruce Lee is still very important today to the culture of Hong Kong. My wife is from HK, and she, like many other Hongkongese are addicted to Kung Fu literature and movies. It was Bruce Lee who most helped to promote the genre.

[–]keyboar -1 points0 points ago

I'm going to try and wear my Pink Bruce Lee Shirt every time I attempt a personal record; it would just be fitting.

[–]jasher 0 points1 point ago

Oh so punny:)

[–]GIVES_YOU_AIDS -4 points-3 points ago

He also died at 33, I wouldn't take advice from him.

[–]Krebs402 1 point2 points ago

He died a legend. I'd rather live a short life and be remembered/ praised for years to come, than live a long life but be forgotten within a decade.

[–]GIVES_YOU_AIDS 1 point2 points ago

Well you don't have AIDS, do you?

[–]corman3000 0 points1 point ago

Pretty fuckin' funny

[–][deleted] -1 points0 points ago

I saw this before around here and it comes to mind when I need it the most - when I'm setting new limits while running.

Dying is definitely a possibility but let's be honest... more often than not it's just your body being a pain in the ass to you and telling you you can't when you definitely can. Either way it's still better to die while improving yourself than living stagnant without trying to achieve your potential. I couldn't agree more with what is written there.

I don't have kids and no one depends on me so it may be easier for me to think this way.

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