A lot of people have been asking about the Daniel Craig workout and diet since Skyfall just came out recently. There is no doubt Daniel Craig has done it again by getting into tremendous shape for the new bond movie.
Skyfall is Daniel Craig’s third time playing James Bond. Craig’s first time was Casino Royale and his second was Quantum of Solace.
In both movies, Daniel Craig came in for filming in amazing physical condition.
The Daniel Craig workout allowed Craig to muscle up significantly for Skyfall. This was most likely a challenge for Craig because he let himself wither away in his previous movie, Cowboys and Aliens. Therefore Craig would have to start from scratch to build up his scrawny body.
Also, at the age of 43, Craig feels he is already getting too old to cope with the extreme physical demands of playing James Bond.
The Daniel Craig Bond Workout
With little information on Daniel Craig’s actual workout routine, I can only speculate as to what he actually did. Fortunately, I have helped hundreds of men transform their bodies into the condition of Daniel Craig, Ryan Reynolds, and Chris Evans.
As well, I have gotten into very similar condition as Daniel Craig as demonstrated below. I would say the only difference is that I am carrying about 7 more pounds of muscle.
That being said, I have a good idea of what most celebrity workouts look like, as well as what it takes to achieve a body like Daniel Craig.
In order to trigger muscle growth, Craig had to lift heavy weights 3-4x per week. At the age of 43, Daniel Craig was unable to handle or even benefit from training 5-6x per week. This is because as you get older your recovery abilities become reduced.
As a result, Craig needed to limit the training sessions to being 45-60 minutes and training no more than 3-4 per week.
The following is my spin on the Daniel Craig workout routine:
Workout A – Chest & Triceps
- Incline Barbell Bench Press: 4 sets x 6-10 reps (3 minutes rest between sets)
- Flat Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets x 6-10 reps (3 minutes rest between sets)
- Low Incline DB Flyes: 4 sets – 12, 10, 8, 6 (30-60 seconds rest, same weight each set)
- Skull Crushers: 3 sets x 6-10 reps (2 minutes rest between sets)
- Rope Extensions: 2 sets x 8-12 reps (1-minute rest between sets)
Workout B: Back & Biceps
- Weighted Pull-ups: 4 sets x 6-10 reps (3 minutes rest between sets)
- Deadlifts: 3 sets x 4-6 reps (3 minutes rest between sets)
- Cable Rows: 4 sets – 12, 10, 8, 6 (30-60 seconds rest, same weight each set)
- Barbell Curls: 3 sets x 6-10 reps (2 minutes rest between sets)
- Incline Dumbbell Curls: 2 sets x 8-12 reps (1-minute rest between sets)
Workout C: Shoulders & Legs
- Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 4 sets x 6-10 reps (3 minutes rest between sets)
- Lateral Raises: 3 sets x 8-12 reps (2 minutes rest between sets)
- Upright Row: 4 sets – 12, 10, 8, 6 (30-60 seconds rest, same weight for each set)
- Bulgarian Split Squats: 3 sets x 6-10 reps per leg (2 minutes rest between sets)
- Standing Single Leg Calf Raises: 3 sets x 10-15 reps per leg (1-minute rest between sets)
Notes on the Daniel Craig Bond Workout:
Work out 3x per week on non-consecutive days. There are many benefits to training with this frequency.
Example – Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
What About Abs?
Abs should be trained 2-3x per week for maximum development.
For a great abs workout routine that will build a fully developed 8 pack, then try my V-Abs Workout.
How Small Was Daniel Craig Before His Transformation For Skyfall?
Daniel Craig stands 5’10 tall and was down to 160 lbs for Cowboys and Aliens. As you can see Craig appears very slim and lacks the muscular and dominant look that he displayed as James Bond.
Craig actually lost weight on purpose for this role as he felt he needed to be scrawny to play a cowboy. He accomplished this by eating a low-calorie diet in conjunction with absolutely no weight lifting.
Consequently, he lost a good deal of muscle. The studio head was not happy with Craig’s weight loss and thus ordered him to gain weight for Skyfall.
What is the Daniel Craig Diet for Skyfall?
Daniel Craig desperately needed to gain some serious muscle for Skyfall. His bosses actually wanted him to gain 15-20 lbs before filming began. Fortunately for Craig, he had muscle memory on his side.
Therefore he would be able to gain muscle quicker than expected once he starts hitting the weights and upping his calorie and protein intake.
Step 1: He Increased His Calorie and Carb Intake
Daniel Craig was very lean after filming Cowboys and Aliens. Since he was so skinny his body had actually become primed to build muscle and gain weight. You see after a period of intense calorie restriction all kinds of anabolic hormones and receptors get up-regulated. Therefore once you begin eating normally again you are able to direct a lot of nutrients to build muscle.
With that said Craig still needed to be careful not to consume too many calories. At the age of 43, Craig is more susceptible to fat gain due to lowered testosterone levels. Therefore he needed to keep his calorie intake close to around maintenance.
For building muscle 16 calories per pound of target bodyweight is a good amount to shoot for. Depending on your activity levels you may need to go lower or higher. For Daniel Craig’s target weight of 180 lbs, this amounts to 2880 calories per day.
When eating at a calorie surplus or maintenance you should be getting most of your calories from carbs. Carbs will help maximize your glycogen stores which will maximize the anabolic growth signaling. In addition, plenty of carbs will give you more energy to train hard and plenty of carbs will improve sleep and rest.
Step 2: He Made Sure He Got Adequate Protein
Consuming plenty of protein is very important for building quality muscle. Daniel Craig made sure to include plenty of protein into his diet to allow for muscle growth to occur optimally. In addition, protein can be very helpful to avoid gaining fat.
This is because protein is the most filling macronutrient. Low protein meals tend to welcome overeating. As well protein is very hard to store as fat because it is so metabolically costly.
High protein intake was a key strategy in Daniel Craig’s transformation. Younger folks can tend to get away with less protein and still build muscle efficiently. However, as you get older giving protein more priority helps to build muscle while avoiding fat gain.
A good protein intake to shoot for is 0.8 grams per pound of goal body weight. For Craig’s goal weight of 180 lbs, this was 144 grams of protein per day.
What Was His Weight and Body Fat % In Skyfall?
In Skyfall Daniel Craig muscled up to 180 lbs at 5’10. Craig’s body fat percentage is around 10% which is considered very lean. Craig has visible abs, a clean line down his chest and a very defined jawline. These three traits are very indicative of a low body fat percentage. 10% body fat is a great goal for guys to shoot for.
At 10% and solid muscle development, you will blow most people away. As well, maintaining a low body fat will ensure that you look great in nice, stylish clothes by having that crisp GQ look.
Now if Craig was 8% body fat or lower we would see more vascularity through his arms, legs, and lower abs. As well his abs would be much more shredded. This level of definition while impressive is probably not necessary. As well, if you drop down to 6-8% body fat you start to appear quite a bit smaller. This is because it can be rather challenging to hold onto muscle at such a low body fat.
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