Daniel Craig Workout: How to Train Like James Bond

Bond. James Bond.

Daniel Craig, who plays the iconic secret agent, has had an impressive physique over his multiple years as an actor. And, well, why wouldn’t he? James Bond is one of the most iconic characters in cinema, and his physical feats are no joke.

While he may not be Tom Cruise with his daredevil stunts in the Mission Impossible series, Daniel Craig still looks amazing for his age. In this article, we’ll be going over the James Bond actor’s complete workout for Casino Royale, as well as tackle a bit into his diet.

Disclaimer:

As always, here’s a short disclaimer.

Celebrity body transformations are highly romanticized by Hollywood. The chicken breast and broccoli story has been beaten more times than the Cardinals in the NFL. Sometimes, it makes better press to sell a story than to report it fact for fact.

Daniel Craig is paid to look good, so while we don’t want to discredit his effort to look amazing for the role, there’s always a grain of salt with transformations like this—more on that later.

What is Daniel Craig?

Although this section is generally dedicated to figuring out an actor’s objective information, James Bond has had too many films. For this article, we’ll only cover his workout for Casino Royale (2006).

We’ll be going over Daniel Craig’s skeletal structure, a bit on his genetics, his height, and age just to name a few.

During the filming of Casino Royale, 2005, Daniel Craig was already 38 years-old, which is bordering the age gap where testosterone production begins to decline. The actor himself stands at 5’10’’, which is a great height to build a well-rounded physique.

According to several sources, the Bond actor weighed around 180lbs during the filming of Casino Royale. Considering his height and his weight, Daniel Craig’s physique for the movie was well-built—a mixture of mostly muscle and some fat.

Daniel Craig: His Genetics

Alright, here’s the thing. Despite numerous accounts of people claiming that Daniel Craig was on some sort of steroids for Casino Royale, we completely disagree.

After a closer look at his genetics, normal body physique on and off the set, we’ve got to admit it. Daniel Craig is just one of those guys that have amazing genetics. According to the actor himself, he doesn’t workout much and only puts on the weight to look good for the camera.

From an objective and front-facing standpoint, Daniel Craig has amazing chest and shoulder genetics. Although his waist could be a little better, there’s no denying that his body is perfect for James Bond. It’s buff for strength yet meaty for durability. You wouldn’t wanna be ripped at 5% body fat getting punched in the gut, would ya?

Daniel Craig’s body isn’t the biggest nor leanest, but it’s the best aesthetic for the role he’s trying to play.

Daniel Craig Workout Routine

To be honest, considering that Daniel Craig has starred in over five Bond movies, it’s actually pretty hard to look for his concise workout routine. We’ve had to scour through old sources, new articles, and even watched interviews of his direct trainer—Simon Waterson.

The workout below might not be his exact workout from Casino Royale, but considering he’s been training with Simon Waterson for almost 23 years, there shouldn’t be too much of a difference. 

Monday and Friday – Full-Body Power Circuit

Starting off and ending the week with a full-body power circuit, Daniel Craig and his trainer have his body ready from both sides of the weekend. Normally, Monday is considered a bad day for most people, cause it’s associated with getting back to work. Including full-body exercises or exercises that you personally enjoy doing on a Monday helps ease you into the weekly routine.

Full-body power circuits are exercises that target your entire body with complex movement and dynamic exercises. These include a mixture of free weight and calisthenic exercises, of which we’ll go over today:

• Clean and Press: 10 reps for 3 sets.
• Weighted Step ups: 10 reps for 3 sets.
• Pull ups: 10 reps for 3 sets.
• Incline Pushups: 10 reps for 3 sets.
• Tricep Dips: 10 reps for 3 sets.

There’s a lot to go over here. From a brief look, none of these are too complicated, which is a plus. You don’t always need complex workouts to gain muscle. That being said, let’s put on the weight and get started!

Clean and Press

The clean and press exercise is a compound movement that works out your entire body. It’s similar to a log press in powerlifting, where the goal is to bring a weight from your ankles all the way up to your shoulders.

To start, get a barbell and position it right in front of your feet. Grab the barbell a shoulder-width apart, plus a couple of extra inches. If this is your first time, I recommend you start off with just the bar or a very light weight. The movement here should be done in one fluid motion. You’ll want to grab the bar and pull it up with a pronated grip, before carrying it on your shoulders on top of your chest. Buckle your knees down to pick up the weight easier. Once it’s on your shoulders and supported by your arms, stand up straight and raise the barbell right over your head like a normal press. 

Repeat the steps backwards to safely get the weight down from over your head. Again, you’ll want to start off using a really light weight for this, because the movement itself takes some getting used to. Do this for 10 reps per set for a total of 3 sets.

Weighted Step ups

Step ups are a great way to strengthen your knees and exercise the calves and quads. Although the training does get easier when you’re used to your own weight, you can pick up a couple of dumbbells to increase the intensity of your training.

Simply find a bar, sturdy stool, or any elevated surface that can carry your weight. It should ideally be a foot to a foot and a half higher than the ground you’re standing on. Put your left foot (or right, up to you which foot you want to start with) on the bench and bring yourself up without the help of your other foot. Keep your neck and back straight throughout this exercise.

Repeat this exercise for 10 reps on just one foot, then do another 10 reps on your other foot for a complete set. You’ll want to repeat this for 3 sets.

Pull Ups

We’ve written about pull ups numerous times, especially for other actors like Tom Ellis and Zac Efron. Pull ups are a great compound exercise that targets your back, together with some parts of your arms.

If you’re on the heavier side or have never done this before, we recommend getting a training band or using a pull up machine to assist you. These help lessen your weight, lowering the overall strain on your back and arms. Pull ups can be tricky to do, so always observe proper form and precaution.

To start, simply look for a pull up bar and position your hands about a meter apart from each other. If this helps you visualize, put your hands up as if you were surrendering to a cop. The space between your hands should be the distance between your hands when it’s on the bar. Push your chest out and arch your back before pulling yourself up on the bar. Start off with a lighter weight or more bands until you can feel the tension on your back and not on your bicep. 

This exercise takes some getting used to, but once you’re there, repeat the pull ups for 10 reps. Daniel Craig does this for a total of 3 sets before moving on to the next exercise.

Incline Pushups

If you don’t have a chest press machine at your house, incline pushups are a great substitute for pectoral exercises. 

Just like a regular pushup, the incline version is one where you position your hands on a bench, chair, or stool that’s higher than the ground your feet are on. There’s an optimal angle for this, so just experience with the height that works best for you. Keep your hands at a shoulder-width apart and go down like a regular pushup, while keeping your elbows locked to your sides. 

Push yourself up and repeat this motion for 10 reps. Remember, pushups have the best effect on your body when you practice the proper form. At the same time, stay in the position that offers the most tension for your body and take your time pushing your body up and down. Repeat this for 3 sets total.

Tricep Dips

Last but not the least for this Monday and Friday’s workout is the tricep dips. Although biceps are more famously known when pertaining to the arm, it’s the tricep that adds almost ⅓ of your arms total definition and size.

You can do a tricep dip in multiple ways, but for simplicity’s sake we’ll be doing it with a machine. The basic motion is simple. Get on top of two bars or handles, essentially supporting your entire body weight on just your arms. Lower yourself slowly until your elbows form a 90 degree angle from the forearm to your shoulder. Raise yourself back up to complete one rep.

Do this for a total of 10 reps for 3 sets to complete the workout.

Tuesday – Chest and Back

Moving on, for Tuesday we’ve got the chest and back muscle groups to work on. These muscle groups aren’t usually worked out together, but perhaps there’s a reason for all this chaos.

Here’s what we’re looking for Tuesday:

• Incline Bench Press: 10 reps for 4 sets each.
• Pullups: 10 reps for 4 sets each.
• Incline Pushups: 10 reps for 4 sets each.
• Incline Pec Flys: 10 reps for 4 sets each.

Not a lot on the plate here, but the increase from 3 to 4 sets is sure to keep us busy. Three out of four incline workouts, which are great for targeting the chest. All in all, we’ve got a busy day ahead of us.

Incline Bench Press

Now, I would argue that this actually targets the shoulder just as much as the chest. However, the benefits of incline bench presses is that this exercise targets your upper pectoral muscles, which is what connects to your shoulders to give you that buffer look.

To start, you’ll want to incline a bench about 30 degrees up. Ideally, we recommend having a friend spot you for this workout. Start by holding the barbell with a meter of space in between your hands. Again, just imagine you’re surrendering to the police. Your hands should be that far apart. Lift the weight up slowly directly above you. Your elbows should lock at the top, before you proceed to bring the weight slowly down. Take advantage of the eccentric motion and bring the weight down slowly.

Repeat this exercise for 10 reps for a total for 4 sets.

Pull ups

Back again with the pull ups. Since we’ve already covered this, here’s a quick rundown.

Grab the pull up bar with your hands a meter away from each other. Use a machine or some bands if this is your first time to avoid injury. Arch your back and push your chest forward before pulling yourself up. You should feel the tension build on your back as you pull yourself up and lower yourself down.

Repeat this for 10 total reps for 4 complete sets.

Incline Pushups

Another repeating exercise from Monday. Incline pushups are a great way to isolate the upper pecs to accentuate your chest and shoulder muscles.

Start by grabbing a bench, stool, or chair. Just like a regular pushup, you’ll want to position your hands shoulder-width apart and keep your elbows tucked to your sides. Bring yourself down and take your time on the way up to take advantage of the eccentric motion. 

Daniel Craig does 10 reps of this for 4 sets total.

Incline Pec Flys

Pec flys are a great exercise to build your pectoral muscles, especially the muscles closer to your underarm.

To do this, you’ll want to start by lying on a bench with two dumbbells on each hand. From there, position the dumbbell to your side with your arms outstretched in a neutral grip and your elbow slightly bent. Carry the weight all the way up to the top, right in front of your chest and face, with your arms straight at the end. 

Repeat this for a total of 10 reps. Do this for 4 sets and you’ve got Tuesday checked off your list. Your chest should feel like a burning tight mess after this entire routine!

Wednesday – Legs

As expected and as you should, James Bond does not skip leg day. Working out your legs is an essential muscle group, otherwise you’ll look like Gru from Despicable Me. 

For Wednesday, here’s what we’re doing for your legs:

• Squat: 10 reps for 4 sets total.
• Straight-Leg Deadlift: 10 reps for 4 sets total.
• Hamstring Curls: 10 reps for 4 sets total.
• Weighted Lunges: 10 reps for 4 sets total.

We have three compound exercises here, so we’ll have some complicated movements to go over. All in all, the squats, deadlift, and other workouts on this list make up a great leg-day workout.

Squat

The squat is a great exercise for your quads and glutes. It’s a staple exercise for powerlifters and bodybuilders.

Start by going up to a squat rack and positioning the bar behind your neck, resting right beside your nape—on top of your shoulders. If you have a buddy with you, ask him to spot you. Better yet, if this is your first time, use a lighter weight. Squats can be easily underestimated and if your squat rack doesn’t have a safety bar to catch your weight if you buckle down, you’re going to have a bad time.

Slowly lower the weight by bending your knees while keeping your back straight. Your knees shouldn’t be any farther than your feet. Come back up to complete one rep. Do this for 10 reps for a total of 4 sets. 

Straight-Leg Deadlift

The straight-leg deadlift is another name for the Romanian deadlift, where you pull up a bar without bending your knees. 

You can do this with a dumbbell, but this is conventionally done with a barbell, so we’ll do it with that. Start by positioning your feet right behind the barbell, just like a conventional deadlift. Now, instead of buckling your knees to pick up the weight, try to keep your knees and back straight while bending over your hips to pick up the weight. You can bend your knees a little bit to pick up the weight once your hands are close, but straighten them out once you’ve gripped the barbell. After that, with your butt and the power of #nohomo, clench your butt cheeks together and straighten your back to bring the weight up and complete the deadlift.

Lower the weight the same way you lifted it up. It doesn’t have to touch the ground, but lower it as far back as you can while keeping your back and knees straight. Repeat this for 4 sets at 10 reps each. 

Hamstring Curls

Hamstring curls are an excellent exercise to isolate your hamstrings. Now, there are two ways you can do this. 

Either you lay down on your stomach or find a seated hamstring curl machine. The basic movement involves you curling your hamstrings, essentially bringing your ankles as close to your butt as you can. Different machines will offer a different position to do this. If you have no machines at home, you can dangle a dumbbell in between your feet and still do a hamstring curl with your stomach on the bench.

Repeat this for a total of 10 reps and 4 sets.

Weighted Lunges

The last exercise for today. Lunges are a complete compound exercise for the lower body. Need a challenge? Hold on to a pair of dumbbells and you’ve got yourself an even harder exercise.

Have you ever had to unstick your testicles from your thigh by taking a huge step forward? Come on, we’ve all done it. Well, lunges are basically just like that. While holding a pair of dumbbells, take a step forward. Both your knees should have a 90 degree angle, one perpendicular to your body and the other parallel directly underneath your torso. Take the step back and return to your original position.

Repeat that step 10 times for one leg and then another 10 times for the other. That counts as 1 set, so do that for a total of 4 times to complete the exercise. 

Thursday – Shoulders and Arms

Whew. It took a while, but we’re here. The shoulders and arms are among the most enjoyable muscle groups to work out. There’s something manly and inherently masculine about flexing your biceps and working out your deltoids.

For Thursday, here’s what we’re looking at:

• Incline Biceps Curls: 10 reps for 4 sets each.
• Triceps Dips: 10 reps for 4 sets each.
• Lateral Raises: 10 reps for 4 sets each.
• Shoulder Press: 10 reps for 4 sets each.

Not too shabby. Daniel Craig has some excellent exercises here, particularly the incline bicep curl. Seems like the man really enjoys his inclines.

Incline Bicep Curl

The incline bicep curl is a better way to do a bicep curl, because your body’s position relative to your arm forces the bicep heads to stretch. This engages the muscle more than the regular curl.

You’ll want to start by looking for an inclined bench, preferably one that’s raised 45 degrees up. Hold a dumbbell on each hand and let them dangle to the side. This is the resting position. Now, raise the dumbbells up like a regular curl without moving your elbows any higher or closer to your body. 

Repeat this exercise for a total of 10 reps, with 4 sets before moving on to the next exercise.

Triceps Dips

We’ve seen this one before, so here’s a quick rundown.

Start by getting on top of a tricep machine. If you’re using your body weight, you’ll want to position yourself above the bars with only your two arms supporting your entire weight—elbows locked and arms straight. From there, slowly lower yourself down until your elbow forms a 90 degree angle, before coming back up.

You’ll have to do this exercise for 10 reps for 4 sets.

Lateral Raises

A workout that’s suitable for his physique. Daniel Craig has a wide frame, and his shoulders are a big contributing factor to that. 

A lateral raise works your lateral deltoid, which is the shoulder muscle to the side of your body. With a dumbbell or cable machine, simply raise your hand straight up until your arm is parallel to your shoulder blades. You’ll want to focus on the form and motion of shoulder workouts, because a heavy weight can cause a nasty injury.

Daniel Craig does this for 4 sets with a total of 10 reps per set.

Shoulder Press

The shoulder press develops your anterior deltoid, which is the front of your shoulder. It’s a compound exercise that also targets your lateral deltoid and triceps as well.

Carry a manageable barbell up to your chest, resting on your upper pectorals and shoulders. Do this with a pronated grip and keep your hand about a meter apart from each other. Raise the barbell up and above your head, with your elbows locked and arms straight. Lower the bar slowly to avoid injury and to take advantage of the eccentric motion.

Finally, repeat this exercise for 10 reps for a total of 4 reps. That completes the Thursday workout!

Friday – Full-Body Power Circuit

In case you missed it, the Friday exercise is the exact same exercise as the Monday routine. It’s a full-body power circuit, so just scroll up to review the exercises for Friday.

Saturday and Sunday – Stretching and Light Cardio

Recovery is just as important as a good workout. Without the right recovery, you’re going to have a bad time next week. Daniel Craig balances his workout routine and gives himself a break to do some stretching and light cardio on the Saturday and Sunday. You can take a walk or do a quick 30-minute jog for these two days.

And that about wraps up his workout routine! Before we end this article, let’s address some pain points about Daniel Craig’s physique that gets a lot of debate.

Daniel Craig: Natty or Not?

Because the James Bond actor has never had the same amount of muscle since his first entry in Casino Royale in contrast to his recent movies, there’s been a lot of debate as to whether Daniel Craig used steroids or not.

Although the man doesn’t seem to enjoy working out as much as we do, we’ve got to him the natural card here. Daniel Craig is completely natural.

The man’s genetics are just too good, even when he isn’t working out. Outside of James Bond films, Daniel Craig still observes a great physique, even without training for his roles.

Daniel Craig: Realistic or Not?

We believe that Daniel Craig’s body is definitely realistic. It’s something you can achieve and isn’t something that you’ll have a problem with maintaining, since he doesn’t have such a low percentage of body fat.

All in all, it’s a perfectly utilizable, strong, and agile secret agent body. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Daniel Craig

How old was Daniel Craig in Casino Royale?

The actor was 38 years-old during the filming of the movie. 

Is Daniel Craig’s workout hard?

The James Bond workout is relatively simple and easy to follow. Although the movements aren’t too complicated, it is a 5 out of 7 day workout schedule. 

A Final Word From Energetic Lifestyle

Daniel Craig’s workout is a full plan that targets his entire body. An average person can pick up this training regime with a little bit of practice, but overall it’s a very doable routine.

The main challenge you’re going to run into if you emulate this workout is the consistency of working out from Monday to Friday. You don’t have to workout everyday of the week to look like James Bond.