As for those ripped martial artists: Without exception, they have a rigorous workout routine that is separate from their normal martial arts practice, and they're very careful about what they eat. (Nutritional advice is beyond the scope of this Web site, though I plan to post a few books on the subject that I liked.) Bruce Lee, that paragon of chiseled kung fu perfection, ran several miles every day, lifted weights, put himself through a brutal ab routine, and did various calisthenics and isometrics. That's in addition to his hours of technique and sparring practice. Similarly, Rickson Gracie's chiseled physique is not just a result of his Gracie Jujitsu practice, though you can indeed work up quite a sweat during BJJ training sessions. While Rickson is fairly close-mouthed about his physical regimen, it is reportedly incredibly grueling and involves a lot of bodyweight exercises. And we all know how hard even amateur boxers work out. Mike Tyson (or any other boxer whose physique you might admire) does not get those muscles by just doing speed bag work or other boxing drills. He spends lots of time on general physical preparation, such as roadwork, pushups, situps, and rope skipping.
It is also worth noting that the current (male) ideal of physical fitness -- lean, chiseled abs, abnormally large pecs and an extremely prominent inverted triangular torso -- is artificial, and a social perception of fitness. (Even the fighters I mentioned above -- Bruce Lee, Rickson, and Tyson -- don't really conform to that ideal.) Why? Well, men who are truly functionally fit -- able to explode with power, grind through hour-long combat matches (or, more practically, do heavy manual labor all day long) -- don't look like a Men's Fitness cover model, unless they put in extra time to sculpt their body to do so. A lot of old-time wrestlers and karate stylists (people like Frank Gotch, Gene LeBell, and Mas Oyama, for example) would make 99 percent of modern-day "fitness gurus" and trainers look like arthritic 80-year-old ballerinas in terms of strength, endurance (both muscular and cardiovascular), and speed. But if you look at pictures of them, they don't look like a Calvin Klein underwear model in the slightest.
