Daniel Craig has done it again by getting into tremendous shape for the new bond movie. Skyfall is Daniel Craig’s third outing playing James Bond. Craig’s first was Casino Royale and second was Quantum of Solace. In both movies Daniel Craig came in for filming in amazing physical condition.
Muscling up for Skyfall would be Craig’s biggest challenge yet. This is because Craig 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. As well at the age of 43, Craig feels he is already getting too old to cope with the extreme physical demands of playing James Bond.
Daniel Craig Height and Weight – Before Filming 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.
Gaining Muscle 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 – Increase 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 building 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 body weight 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 signalling. In addition plenty of carbs will give you more energy to train hard and plenty of carbs will improve sleep and rest.
Step 2 – 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.
A high protein intake was a key strategy in Daniel Craigs 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 one gram per pound of goal body weight. For Craig’s goal weight of 180 lbs this was 180 grams of protein per day.
Step 3 – Intense Strength Training Regime
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 you need to limit the training sessions to no more than 3-4 per week. As well you need to limit the duration of each workout to 45-60 minutes.
Step 4 – Supplementation
When you’re in a crunch to build muscle quickly there is only one legal supplement to turn to. Unless you’ve been living under a rock you probably know that supplement is creatine. In fact creatine is the only supplement scientifically proven to help build muscle. With that said taking plain ol monohydrate doesn’t quite cut it. The absorption process of monohydrate is rather inefficient and thus causes the infamous creatine bloat. There is a solution however to build rock hard muscle without the water retention and bloated look. If you are a professional fitness model you probably know exactly what I am talking about. Check out the improved creatine to build shredded muscle.
Daniel Craig Height, Weight and Body fat Percentage in Skyfall
In Skyfall Daniel Craig muscled up to 180 lbs at 5’10. Craig’s body fat percentage is around 10-11% which is considered very lean. Craig has visible abs, a clean line down his chest and a very defined jaw line. These three traits are very indicative of a low body fat percentage. 10-11% body fat is a great goal for guys to shoot for. At 10-11% 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.
Daniel Craigs Workout for Skyfall
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. Therefore I will provide a workout routine to build a physique like Craig. Let’s get started
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)
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)
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)
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:
Workout 3x per week on non consecutive days. Example – monday, wednesday and friday. If you really want to step it up you can run a 5 day schedule and workout 3x in 5 days. I only recommend doing the 5 day schedule for short periods of time. No more than 8-12 weeks at a time. During this period you should be getting plenty of sleep and rest and you must be diligent with your diet.
Ex:
Day 1 – Chest & Triceps
Day 2 – Back & Biceps
Day 3 – Rest
Day 4 – Shoulders & Legs
Day 5 – Rest
For maximum muscle building I recommend taking a good quality creatine supplement. Hypergain is by far the best creatine supplement I have ever used. I have been able to gain muscle and increase definition with hypergain.
If you are having trouble getting enough protein in your diet from food alone then consider taking a protein supplement. Your best bet is to get a time released protein formula that includes fast, medium and slow digesting protein. This will keep you fuller longer and will provide your muscles with an extended supply of amino acids. My favorite protein supplement is iso-fuel. If you gain fat easily then substitute one of your meals for 2 scoops of protein. If you have trouble gaining weight then add 1-2 protein shakes to your normal diet. For best taste I like to mix these shakes with unsweetened almond milk.
What about abs?
Abs should be trained 2-3x per week for maximum development. For a great abs workout routine that will build a full developed 8 pack then try my V-Abs Workout.