When Daniel Craig first appeared emerging from the ocean in Casino Royale in 2006, the fitness world took notice. Here was a Bond who actually looked like he could kill someone — not the suave, slightly soft secret agent of previous iterations, but a genuinely lean, muscular, physically imposing man.
What made it more remarkable was his age and starting point. Craig was 38 when Casino Royale filmed, and had been noticeably slim in previous roles. The transformation was real and dramatic — and it sparked a question that’s been asked ever since: how exactly did he do it?
The answer evolved significantly across his five Bond films. What worked for Casino Royale wasn’t what prepared him for No Time to Die fifteen years later.
By his final outing as 007 at age 52, Craig and his longtime trainer Simon Waterson had completely overhauled the approach — shifting from heavy lifting to a smarter combination of strength, conditioning, and agility work that produced arguably his best physique of the entire Bond era.
Here’s the full picture — the workouts, the diet, and what natural lifters can actually take from it.
The Man Behind the Physique: Simon Waterson
Every Craig Bond transformation was built by the same man: Simon Waterson, a former British Royal Marine Commando who has also trained Chris Evans for Captain America and Jake Gyllenhaal for multiple roles.
Waterson explains the conscious evolution across Craig’s Bond films: “On Casino Royale, you could see that he comes out of the water and he’s bigger, more imposing — he looks like he could k*ll people. In Quantum of Solace, he’s faster and more efficient… the same with Skyfall and Spectre.”
“His physique is there to perform a function,” Waterson has said — which is the key principle behind every Craig Bond workout. It was never about aesthetics for its own sake. It was about building a body that could credibly perform the physical demands of the role.
That philosophy is worth keeping in mind when you apply any of this to your own training.
The Casino Royale and Skyfall Era: Heavy Lifting Phase
For his early Bond films, Craig trained 3-4 times per week using a traditional bodybuilding split — heavy compound movements, progressive overload, and a clear focus on building mass and definition simultaneously.
This made sense for the goal at the time. Craig needed to add significant muscle to a naturally slim frame. He’d lost a lot of size filming Cowboys and Aliens on purpose — deliberately restricting calories and stopping all weight training to play a lean cowboy — and then needed to rebuild that mass quickly for Skyfall.
The phenomenon of muscle memory worked in his favor. Having built that muscle once before, his body was able to rebuild it significantly faster the second time around once training and nutrition were dialled back in.
The Skyfall-era Daniel Craig workout split looked like this:
Workout A — Chest and Triceps
- Incline Bench Press: 4 sets x 8-12 reps, 2 minutes rest
- Bench Press: 4 sets x 8-12 reps, 2 minutes rest
- Incline Dumbbell Flyes: 4 descending sets — 12, 10, 8, 6 reps, 30-60 seconds rest
- Skullcrushers: 4 sets x 8-12 reps, 2 minutes rest
- Rope Extensions: 3 sets x 8-12 reps, 90 seconds rest
Workout B — Back and Biceps
- Weighted Pull-ups: 4 sets x 8-12 reps, 2 minutes rest
- Deadlifts: 3 sets x 4-6 reps, 3 minutes rest
- Cable Rows: 4 descending sets — 12, 10, 8, 6 reps, 30-60 seconds rest
- Barbell Biceps Curls: 4 sets x 8-12 reps, 2 minutes rest
- Incline Dumbbell Curls: 4 sets x 8-12 reps, 2 minutes rest
Workout C — Shoulders and Legs
- Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 4 sets x 8-12 reps, 2 minutes rest
- Lateral Raises: 4 sets x 8-12 reps, 2 minutes rest
- Upright Row: 4 descending sets — 12, 10, 8, 6 reps, 30-60 seconds rest
- Bulgarian Split Squats: 4 sets x 8-12 reps, 2 minutes rest
- Standing Single Leg Calf Raises: 5 sets x 15-20 reps, 1 minute rest
Space these three workouts on non-consecutive days — Monday, Wednesday, Friday works well. Sessions were kept to 50-60 minutes maximum. At his age, handling more volume than this produced diminishing returns and increased injury risk.
The No Time to Die Evolution: Smarter Training at 52
By the time No Time to Die filmed, Craig was 52 years old and the approach had changed significantly. The heavy bodybuilding split of the Skyfall era gave way to a more functional, conditioning-based program that prioritized what Waterson called “explosive moments” — building a body that could perform, not just look impressive.
Craig significantly ramped up his fitness routine with high intensity for No Time to Die, as he wanted to do as many stunts as possible himself, without stunt doubles. The movie was packed with a variety of elements — movement, strength, agility, and speed — so his fitness routine was focused on exercises that helped him perform these movements efficiently.
The No Time to Die training combined two distinct elements:
Agility and Conditioning Circuit: Light resistance band training, cone exercises, BOSU ball exercises for stability, plyobox movements, and hurdles — plus action choreography to perform fight scenes and action sequences.
Strength Superset: Exercises included low cable chest fly, abdominal rollouts, BOSU mountain climbers, standard pull-ups, Russian twists, bicep curls, TRX rows, pistol squats, kettlebell side bends, windshield wipers, reverse cable fly, hanging leg raises, and bodyweight dips.
This is a fundamentally different approach from the Skyfall era — less barbell work, more movement quality, more conditioning. The result at 52 was a physique that looked as good as Casino Royale but moved significantly better.
The lesson for natural lifters: as you age, the smartest approach shifts from pure loading to a combination of strength and movement quality. Craig’s willingness to evolve his training rather than keep grinding the same heavy program is a big part of why he could still look like Bond at 52.
Related: How to build muscle after 50
Recovery: The Part Everyone Ignores
After workouts, Craig refuelled with a plant-based recovery shake using nut milk, protein and greens, plus a shot of turmeric root juice as a natural anti-inflammatory and a probiotic shot to bolster immunity.
Recovery methods included light stretching, foam rollers, and percussive massaging. Before filming sessions, he completed a stretching routine along with muscle activation exercises for the stunts to be performed that day.
The recovery protocols weren’t an afterthought — they were built into the daily schedule as seriously as the training itself. At 52, with a full filming schedule on top of daily training, recovery wasn’t optional. It was what made the training sustainable.
Daniel Craig’s Diet Approach
During the Skyfall rebuild:
Craig needed to regain 15-20 pounds of muscle he’d lost filming Cowboys and Aliens. The approach was straightforward but precise:
- Calories: 15-17 calories per pound of goal bodyweight. For his target of 180 pounds, this meant approximately 2,700-3,000 calories daily
- Protein: 0.8 grams per pound of goal bodyweight — 144 grams daily at his target weight
- Carbohydrates: Prioritised as the primary calorie source to maximise glycogen stores, support training intensity, and optimise recovery
The emphasis on carbohydrates is worth noting — Craig wasn’t following a low-carb or keto approach. He was eating a relatively high-carb diet specifically because it supported his training performance and recovery.
During No Time to Die filming:
Craig’s daily diet during filming included kimchi, eggs, avocado, turmeric shots, and rye bread with black coffee before shooting. Post-workout nutrition included protein shakes with milk, green vegetables, and probiotic shots with turmeric root juice.
Cleaner, more whole-food based than the mass-building phase — appropriate for maintaining a lean physique during filming rather than building mass.
What Craig’s Transformation Actually Looked Like
By the time Casino Royale filmed, Craig stood 5’10 and weighed approximately 180 pounds at around 10% body fat — up from 160 pounds during Cowboys and Aliens. Visible six-pack, defined chest separation, a lean and strong jaw line.
10% body fat is an excellent and realistic target for most dedicated natural lifters. It’s the point where muscle definition becomes clearly visible without the extreme dietary restriction required to get to 6-8%, which starts to cost muscle mass and becomes very difficult to sustain.
His final Bond physique for No Time to Die was arguably leaner and more athletic-looking than his Casino Royale debut — remarkable for someone 15 years older, and entirely the result of smarter, more evolved training rather than working harder.
What Natural Lifters Can Take From This
Train 3-4 times per week. Craig never trained more than four sessions per week across any of his Bond preparations. More than this at his age produced diminishing returns. For most natural lifters over 35, this is the sweet spot.
Keep sessions to 50-60 minutes. Quality over quantity. Longer sessions don’t produce better results — they produce more fatigue and slower recovery.
Evolve your training as you age. The heavy bodybuilding split that works at 35 isn’t necessarily what works best at 50. Craig’s shift from barbell-heavy training to more functional, movement-based work for No Time to Die is a model worth following as you accumulate years of training.
Protein and carbs are both essential for body recomposition. Craig wasn’t low-carb. He was eating sufficient protein and using carbohydrates strategically to fuel training and optimize recovery.
Recovery is training. Craig’s turmeric shots and foam rolling aren’t vanity extras — they’re what allowed him to sustain a year of intense physical preparation at 52 without breaking down.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Daniel Craig’s workout for Casino Royale? Craig trained with Simon Waterson using a 3-day push/pull/legs split focused on compound movements and hypertrophy — bench press, weighted pull-ups, deadlifts, and shoulder pressing. Sessions were kept to 50-60 minutes, 3-4 times per week.
How long did Daniel Craig train for each Bond film? Preparation varied by film but typically involved several months of dedicated training before filming began, with training continuing throughout the production schedule.
What did Daniel Craig eat to get in shape for Bond? During mass-building phases, Craig consumed approximately 2,700-3,000 calories daily, prioritising protein at 0.8g per pound of bodyweight and carbohydrates as his primary energy source. During filming, his diet shifted to cleaner whole foods including eggs, avocado, kimchi, and protein shakes.
How much did Daniel Craig weigh as James Bond? Craig weighed approximately 180 pounds at 5’10” during his Bond films, at around 10% body fat — up from 160 pounds during his leaner roles like Cowboys and Aliens.
Did Daniel Craig use steroids for Bond? Craig has never been asked or confirmed this directly. His transformation is consistent with what a dedicated natural lifter with elite professional support — including personal training, nutrition coaching, and full-time recovery protocols — can achieve. The timeline of his transformations and the muscle amounts gained are within natural limits.
What trainer did Daniel Craig use for Bond? Simon Waterson, a former British Royal Marine Commando, trained Craig for all five Bond films. Waterson also trained Chris Evans for Captain America and Jake Gyllenhaal for several roles.
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