Daniel Craig Workout: Skyfall [James Bond]

Daniel Craig’s body became famous in Casino Royale, when female audiences around the world gasped (simultaneously) as Craig pulled himself out of the water in the Bahamas. Craig clearly put in some long hours at the gym to build his physique for the James Bond movies. You can tell just by looking at him in his suit that he packed on some serious muscle. We searched far and wide for resources to bring you the official Daniel Craig Workout.

Day 1: Chest and Shoulders

The first thing you notice about Craig in Skyfall is that all his muscles, particularly his pectoral muscles, are flat and functional.  Muscles tend to look this way when barbells are used (instead of dumbbells), because working a barbell through a full range of motion allows for the muscle to get a flatter, sleeker appearance.  Dumbbell use, on the other hand, generates a contraction based more on volume, and gives the pectoral muscles more of a ‘puffed’-out look.  Neither is better than the other, but Craig clearly stuck to barbell training in preparing for Skyfall.  This exercise day is based around a relatively heavy barbell bench, with a strong emphasis on going for a full range of motion throughout the whole exercise.

• Barbell Bench Press 3 x 6-10
• Incline Barbell Bench Press 3 x 6-10
• Machine Pectoral Fly 2 x 12-15
• Lateral Raise 3 x 12-15
• Front Raise 3 x 12-15
• Machine Rear Deltoid Fly 3 x 12-15
• Alternating Decline Situps 2 x 15-20

Day 2:  Back and Arms

Craig’s back is big and thick, and as such we’re going to be using heavy, compound movements for your back.  We want to focus on a full range of motion, going as hard as you can without sacrificing form.  Craig’s arms are also big and thick, so we’re going to be working those after the back routine, to maximize arm thickness.

• Pullups 5 sets to failure
• Dumbbell Rows 3 x 6-10
• Machine Back Row 3 x 6-10
• Barbell Bicep Curl 3 x 12-15
• Tricep Pushdown 3 x 12-15
• Dumbbell Hammer Curl 2 x 20
• Tricep Machine Extension 2 x 20
• Hanging Leg Raise 3 x 15-20

Day 3: Cardio

Today’s workout will vary, depending on how your training is going.  You’ll start off the workout doing thirty minutes to an hour of steady cardio (i.e. run, elliptical, bike), and then work on any body parts you feel like need work.  For instance, if you’ve noticed that your traps have been lagging, throw in some dumbbell shrugs afterwards.  Today would also be a good day for some stretching, yoga, recovery work (like foam rolling), all depending on how you feel.  Just make sure you get some solid cardio in today, because that’s what will burn fat and show off your hard-earned musculature.

• Cardio 30 – 60 minutes
• Optional weight work
• Optional recovery work
• Ab Wheel Rollout 5×10

Day 4: Legs and High-Intensity Interval Training

While Craig wasn’t too top-heavy for Skyfall, he still needed a strong pair of legs to get to his peak level of athleticism.  Today, we’ll dobasic leg work, enough to get them strong and defined, but not too big.  Afterwards, you’ll throw in some HIIT work to torch off some of the more stubborn fat that doesn’t come off from regular cardio.  You can do legs first or HIIT first; I prefer to do legs then HIIT, but every body is different and you can decide for yourself.

• Barbell Squat 2 x 10
• Weighted Lunges 2 x 10 (2 sets for each leg)
• Hamstring Curl 2×10
• Calf Raise 3×12-15
• Sprints 5-10 sets of 100 meters

This has been a guest post from Russell Wolf. If you’re interested in contributing to ConFITdent, please message us on Facebook.