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It was shown in beginning of Batman Begins that during his exile (during his days as vagabond/thief) Bruce had nothing to eat and no place to exercise or workout. He could not even afford proper lunch or dinner. He was shown to share an apple with a kid, who seemingly was a street dweller. Later during his time with Ra's Al Ghul, he was shown in good shape.

Despite enduring such times, also if he had nothing to eat during those days and in the prison, he managed to not only survive but also maintained his physique.

How did he maintain his body and remember all the previous physical training being in such hostile places?

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    I guess it falls into the acceptable fiction part of a movie. It is hard to argue every single detail of a movie whether they are realistic or not.
    – Yu Zhang
    Commented Oct 1, 2018 at 22:23
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    Mind over body mate.. that's the only thing he had
    – Vishwa
    Commented Oct 2, 2018 at 3:47
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    @YuZhang, I just wanted to know if that is actually possible in real life
    – KumarAnkit
    Commented Oct 2, 2018 at 6:28
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    What we saw in the movie are just the highlights. Training time of Bruce is a long story that is hard to know clearly.
    – user65709
    Commented Oct 2, 2018 at 8:05
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    You could ask the same question about the Dark Knight Rises. He's spent eight years shuffling around with a cane and then suddenly he's kicking ass and taking names as Batman again.
    – Darren
    Commented Nov 12, 2018 at 16:17

3 Answers 3

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In this article it's explained how Jacques Sayagh, a homeless man living in France, maintained a bodybuilder physique.

The article suggests that it's his 'heart and determination' that keeps him going - we certainly see those characteristics in Bruce.

In terms of equipment, we see that Jacques uses body-weight training, and simple resistance bands.

In the article it's partly explained that Jacques relies on vegetables and protein mix to maintain himself, with money from busking:

His diet is less clear - although it appears he eats a lot of green beans and cabbage and puts any money he has into buying whey protein, slow releasing casein protein and creatine for strength gains.

It's not hard to imagine Bruce getting caught up in a gang (something we see in Batman Begins), who could potentially buy/steal a tub of protein power to snack on, and therefore allow him to maintain his physique during his time on the street.

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also if he had nothing to eat during those days

We see many scenes of Bruce's life on the streets. The first scene is him starving, but the scenes afterwards show him being rewarded for stopping a pickpocket, or committing crimes himself. While he wasn't committing crime for the financial gain, he can still have sustained himself off of it.


How did he maintain his body and remember all the previous physical training being in such hostile places?

Don't forget why Bruce went into exile in the first place. He specifically sought out to understand criminals, but as the prison scene shows, he also looks for criminals to fight.

That will definitely be a good workout.

From the script:

Ducard And when you left Gotham, what were you seeking?
Bruce To lose myself. I couldn’t do anything as Bruce Wayne. I felt useless.
Ducard You sought knowledge of the criminal world?
Bruce I needed to understand the thoughts and feelings of those who stand in the shadows. The first time you’re forced to steal not to starve you lose many assumptions about the simple nature of right and wrong.
I needed to feel the fear before a crime, and the thrill of success, without becoming one of them. I thought I would find something. I thought I would learn what I needed to do with my skills and my anger.
But the harder I looked the less I know. Until I wasn't even sure what I'd been looking for in the first place. And I was lost.

During this explanation, there are many scenes taking place of Bruce's life in exile. But the last one is the most poignant: Bruce is arrested by the police, who are going to take him to prison. Bruce specifically states he's not a criminal, which the cop dismisses as he point out the crates he tried to steal - the crates are labeled as property of Wayne Enterprises.

Bruce intentionally let himself be incarcerated. He carries rage that he does not know how to act on. We then see him lure a criminal bully into a fight only to absolutely dominate him.

Fighting is good exercise.

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Who is really to say he had nothing to eat? I mean he did end up getting that Apple. He even was nice enough to share it. I am sure he didn’t eat every day but he ate. Also the training is hard to really say how much time has passed and how deep into it he really is.

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