James bond casino royale workout
We asked him how training Craig changed from Casino Royale to – even though he had to remain tight-lipped – his final outing in No Time To Die.
Before Casino Royale
“As an ex-military man, I think I was uniquely placed to understand the discipline, mental strength and stamina required in order to train to become the ultimate cinema super spy, James Bond. Luckily, Dan was no shirk when it came to hard work, so I devised a programme that had diversity and would suit the role of Bond, pushing him to his limits and beyond, like the character demands.
“Dan had briefed me on his goals and was determined to get stuck in. No stone was left unturned in terms of developing speed, strength, stamina and a sharp, focused mind. I'm a stickler when it comes to attention to detail, so posture, definition, movement and confidence were at the top of the list. I also wanted functioning muscle – there's no point in having great muscles if they can't be used in a beneficial way like speeding across the ground, climbing, jumping and fighting.
“The workouts were a blend of powerlifting, with a lot of compound exercises thrown in. This allows you to work out extremely hard with heavy weights, and because it's so intense the heart rate is elevated. Therefore, you are working not only on the development of nice lean muscle tissue, but you're also getting a bit of cardio as well and keeping your body fat down.
“After a few sessions it was clear Dan was a tough, athletic guy, so I decided the way to get the best results was to add a motivational element – ie, competition. I always recommend if you can work out with a friend then it's ten times easier, so rather than just coach him, we actually trained together, pushing each other that bit further.
“After a few months of training, Dan was lifting and performing like an athlete. He had full focus on what he wanted and the discipline from me to help him execute it. Even now, I still can't believe the physical changes he achieved. It just shows that with will power and dedication you can achieve anything.”
From Casino Royale to Quantum Of Solace
“If you have amazing athletic performance, your aesthetic looks great because of performance. We never train for aesthetic, we train for athleticism. Nothing about the way he looks is that conscious; it's about what he needs to do on a daily basis.
“The workouts would change because the output required would change. For Quantum Of Solace there would be more cardiovascular and agility-based work so he can get up and down off the floor, leap round corners, dive through windows, get in and out of cars easy. Everything becomes faster and more efficient. The nature of that performance then has a calorific burn on the body, which means the body would drop weight because you've kept your nutrition very similar. As long as your output exceeds your input, you're going to maybe drop a few pounds and look a little bit leaner, more athletic.”
From Quantum Of Solace to Skyfall
“All my workouts are relevant to what Daniel is going to have to do, what they're going to ask of him as far as stunts go, and portraying speed. It's about breaking down the script, seeing what he has to do, whether that's sprinting up stairs, over balustrades, rolling, getting up and down off the ground very quickly, fight choreography, and then in the room I try to condition those sequences in the workout.