One conclusion that you arrive at from the books – the films to a lesser degree – is that despite his heavy intake of vodka martinis and cigarettes, James Bond remains exceptionally fit.
Apart from golf at the weekend and being sent to Shrubland’s by M in Thunderball, we learn little about Bond’s workout routine, although we do learn that he had “founded the first serious judo class at a British public school” – a skill that no doubt came to be of use when on assignment.
The first indication of any exercise regime at all is in From Russia With Love, when Bond wakes up bored and wants to shake himself out of it – he does 20 slow press-ups, straight leg-lifts and toe touches, followed by arm and chest exercises until he he dizzy. It doesn’t sound like much, but seems to have done the trick in keeping 007 in top physical condition.
Daniel Craig’s workout
It seems fairly obvious that Daniel Craig worked out hard to get into shape for Casino Royale and is on record as saying that when he went to a personal trainer, his objective was to look as if he could kill. Craig’s personal trainer was Simon Waterson, who is ex-Royal Marines, and in addition to Daniel Craig has coached Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry amongst others.
GQ ran an article about how to get in shape like Daniel Craig, a routine that consisted of multiple sets of dips, pull-ups, lateral raises and press-ups. Craig was in the gym five days a week and gave up smoking, but the results speak for themselves. The GQ article isn’t available online, but Anthony Punshon, fitness editor at Mansized, has published a workout that is designed to get similar results.
Simon Waterson, Daniel Craig’s personal trainer, is an ex-marine and author of two books on fitness. You can buy them online from Amazon below:
Commando Workout: 4 Weeks to Total Fitness
Buy from [Amazon UK] | [Amazon USA]
30-minute-a-day Body Challenge
Buy from [Amazon UK] | [Amazon USA]
More on The James Bond Workout
Online Personal Training With Anthony Punshon
March 9th, 2007 at 17:49
Thanks for linking to our workout plan! If anyone’s got any questions about it, feel free to sign up (it’s free) and post on our message boards. If you include ‘@anthony’ in the subject line then you’ll get a quicker response. Cheers, W
March 11th, 2007 at 20:51
Always happy to link to websites with good content. I also used Anthony’s personal training by email service which was excellent, so I have no hesitation in recommending Mansized or Anthony.
March 14th, 2007 at 00:23
Cheers M! We build on the plans over time based on what Mansized visitors ask so if you’d like us to flesh out any details we’re more than happy to help.