As his 60th birthday looms on the horizon, Jason Statham is in reflective mood.

Streaming platforms have provided him a new lease of life in recent years, and he currently finds himself slap-bang in the middle of an action movie triple-header — the Stallone-penned A Working Man, Mutiny, and the eagerly anticipated The Beekeeper 2.

But beneath the surface, tension flows.

The gravel-voiced action hero confesses that Father Time and lingering injuries have left his body incapable of the speedy recovery that he once took for granted, and he’s rather pissed off about it. Statham recently overhauled his entire workout program in a bid to counteract those obstacles, and today he’s going to talk us through all of those changes.

We’ll also be discussing some of the superb workout plans that he used in preparation for his most iconic roles; The Transporter, The Expendables, The Meg, and more!

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Jason Statham

“Jaysun Fackin Stayfum” is one of the world’s most recognisable actors.

But that wasn’t always the case — here’s five little-known facts about Britain’s biggest action hero.

Bursting Onto The Scene

It took a few years for Statham to grow into the top tier action star he is today.

After bursting onto the scene as a cockney wideboy in Guy Ritchie’s cult classic Lock, Stock, And Two Smoking Barrels, he reunited with Ritchie for Snatch (2000), before picking up supporting roles in Ghosts Of Mars , The One, and a memorable cameo in Mean Machine (2001).

Then came the role which changed everything. Luc Besson cast Statham as Frank Martin in The Transporter (2002), giving him his first real opportunity to carry an action movie as the leading man.

A mysterious British mercenary fetching “high value packages” under the noses of French authorities, Frank’s life seemed to be going pretty well — seriously, what a house! — until one of those shipments turned out to be a lady, breaking one of his “golden rules”, and sending him into full action hero mode.

Cue lots of impressive kicking, punching, and generally looking annoyed at everybody.

Statham displays an athletic, physically fit body in The Transporter which seemed light years away from that of his roided up rivals at the time, and it’s precisely the type of shape you’d expect from a character with an extensive military background.

The over-the-top bodybuilding physiques which ruled the 1980s landscape were no longer the only template for a bankable action star.

Audiences wanted legitimacy, and they found it in Statham.

Building The Transporter

Statham already had an unusually strong athletic base when he landed the role.

“I was ready from day one, physically, it was just a case of polishing and judging the distances and reaction times for the fight scenes. We worked on that every day for six weeks.”

– Jason Statham

Statham’s insistence on handling all of his own stunts set him apart from his contemporaries.

“My goal was to be different from everyone else. I’ve never been a bodybuilder or been big, but I have skills that not many of those guys can offer. One of those is my athleticism. I performed all my own stunts for The Transporter. I felt it was important that the audience believe I can actually do the things you see in the movie, you know?”

– Jason Statham

As such, Statham chose not to focus entirely on training in the gym, and also included a daily stretching routine to boost his flexibility, plus challenging underwater swimming drills to improve his explosiveness.

This unique trifecta helped him chisel a body with a sense of realism his rivals lacked.

Statham used a training style known as Reverse Pyramid Training.

He would perform 1-2 warm-up sets for each exercise, with around 60% of the weight he intends to use on his first proper set. When the proper working sets arrive, he will use as much weight as he can handle with good form — and if he fails to achieve the rep target, he will apply the rest pause technique (take a 10-second breather then go back in and finish it off). If he successfully completes all the reps in one attempt he will look to increase the weight next time.

You can see his training split and workouts below. I’ve only included the gym sessions here — not the swimming or stretching routines — because that’s what 99% of readers are after.

The Best Is Yet To Come

The unexpected success of The Transporter thrust him into the limelight.

In the space of three years Jason had gone from selling dodgy goods on the streets of London to rubbing shoulders with some of the world’s biggest movie stars, and he struggled to get used to his new surroundings.

“Moving to the US was a big shock to my system.

It pays more (laughs), and you definitely get pampered more — too much, actually! Back home someone would just shout, “Fuck off and get back to work!”

At first, I really struggled being around big stars who I’d only ever seen in movies. A few of them were real dickheads, which disappointed me, but Brad Pitt was much nicer than I was expecting.

Funny story; when he walked onto the set of Snatch, I turned to my agent all excited and said, “Fuck me, it’s Brad Pitt!”, and he actually heard me. That was our first interaction; I was fucking dying with embarrassment (laughs).”

– Jason Statham

In the years that followed, The Stath established himself as the #1 action movie star of his generation, churning out a string of solid titles; including an unusual villain role in Cellular, the bonkers Crank, and cult classic Death Race.

Two more appearances as the mysterious Frank Martin in The Transporter 2 (2005) and The Transporter 3 (2008) further cemented his position.

During this period, Statham also dramatically tightened up his training and nutrition, dropping an impressive 17lbs in six weeks and becoming considerably leaner.

“I like to change my workout routine all the time.

People find it weird, especially other actors, but I’ve always found that my body responds best when my mind is stimulated.

So when we start looking back at some of my old training programs from this era, you’ll notice that each project uses a quite different structure; even though my overall goal was largely the same — train to be more explosive, diet to get leaner.”

– Jason Statham

Here’s a week-long snapshot from the ever-changing program he used while preparing for movies such as Crank, Death Race, and The Transporter 3:

The Expendables

In late 2008, Sylvester Stallone recruited Statham for an ambitious new action movie he was preparing to write, direct, and star in.

His stellar work within the action movie genre had caught the attention of Sly, who was enjoying a career resurgence of his own thanks to the surprising triumph of both Rocky Balboa (2006), and Rambo IV (2008).

With Jet Li already on board, Sly hoped to bolster his next project even further by adding Statham into the mix.

The more they fleshed out the idea, the bigger it grew — the final draft added Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Terry Crews, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, making it (quite literally) the biggest action movie ensemble cast of all time.

We now know this project as The Expendables.

Stath tells us that it didn’t take long for things to get competitive in the weights room…

“I remember walking into the gym on day one, and Sylvester was already there — sweat pouring off him, it looked like he’d been there for hours.

I shit myself, to be honest (laughs)!

I was floored by how much more ready he looked; forearms as thick as my legs. I left the gym that morning thinking, “Well, I’d better get my fuckin’ act together in a hurry!”

In hindsight, I was probably a bit naive when I signed up for this one. I expected everyone to be best mates because we all make similar type of movies, but instead it got very competitive, very fast. There was lots of bruised egos in that gym — especially me when I first saw Sly! (laughs)”

– Jason Statham

By this point, Statham was already working with former Navy SEAL Logan Hood, who had helped him prepare for both Death Race and Transporter 3, and the pair set about trying to make sure the Brit wouldn’t look like an odd piece of a jigsaw in the final product.

Here’s a sample week from Statham’s later Expendables 3 preparation:

Welcome To The Top Table

The success of The Expendables cemented Jason Statham as one of the biggest action stars of the 2010s.

The first half of the decade brought a steady run of leading roles, including The Mechanic (2011), Safe (2012), Homefront (2013), Parker (2013), Hummingbird (2013), and Wild Card (2015).

His move into genuine blockbuster territory gathered pace with Furious 7 in 2015. He returned as Deckard Shaw in The Fate Of The Furious (2017), starred in The Meg (2018), and then teamed with Dwayne Johnson for Hobbs & Shaw (2019).

“I pre-judged The Rock, for some reason, and I was dead wrong.

Maybe I was expecting him to do loads of traditional gym stuff, but when I arrived on set he was tackling some horrible-looking prowler pushes that made me feel sick!

We talked about his NFL and wrestling background, and how he tries to incorporate specificity into his workouts. Make no mistake, that’s an elite athlete right there. His mentality is second to none — seriously, his coach could ring him at 2am and tell him to do some walking lunges, and he’d probably just ask how many sets.”

– Jason Statham

Shark thriller The Meg enabled Statham to fall back on his prior diving experience, working his way through a series of challenging underwater stunts that most actors would’ve had no choice but to hand over to a double.

As expected, Statham brought more variety into his preparations.

“During The Meg we decided to make gymnastics rings a much bigger focal point.

I was lucky enough to find a good house during filming, with a big space for a gym, so I created this cool setup with bars and rings in the back yard.

I absolutely loved it, because it felt like I was learning a new skill, not just exercising.

Provided you have the space, the rings are a great tool. They offer so many benefits in terms of shoulder mobility and core strength. The shoulder is such a complex joint that requires a decent amount of maintenance — especially in my line of work — and weights just don’t take it through the full range of motion.”

– Jason Statham

“I used to train with a great lad called Logan Hood. He was a machine. He was a SEAL and my ego would push me to try to better him. It’s no fault of his, but technique sometimes goes out of the window when you’re trying to lift heavy weights and do a single-rep max.

He eventually went back in the military, and that was a big thing for me, because suddenly I had to figure out where I was going wrong.

I got on the phone with a different coach, Kelly Starrett, and started talking about a few injuries. He was just superb in his knowledge. I began implementing a lot of stuff that he was talking about and all of a sudden I started moving a lot better. He really drove home the things that I was already trying with mobility work and the rings, moving away from all the heavy weights.”

– Jason Statham

Around this period, Statham was regularly sharing exercises such as ring chin-ups, prowler pushes, L-sits and rowing intervals in his own training.

* Load the sled with your body weight. Push forward for 20 sec, then turn around and push it back to the starting line for 20 sec, then rest for 20 sec. That’s one set.
^ Start with a 60-sec warm-up, then perform 10 rounds of 30-sec hard effort and 30-sec recovery.

King Of The Franchises

One thing that often goes under the radar is just how many successful action franchises Statham has built around himself.

Over the years he has returned for sequels in The Transporter, Crank, The Expendables, The Mechanic, The Meg and the Fast & Furious universe — and The Beekeeper is now joining that list, with a sequel scheduled for January 2027.

The latter became one of Statham’s biggest recent successes, earning around $162.6 million worldwide from a reported $40 million budget.

However, it hasn’t all been good news for the chiselled Brit.

Now in his mid-50s, he began to notice signs of age catching up with him, forcing a few necessary changes to the strength-based exercises that have been regular staples in his plans over the last two decades.

“When I was doing the first Expendables, Sly made a joke about how his muscles feel older and rustier than the dumbbells in the gym — and now I know what he means!

There’s nothing more frustrating for an athlete than feeling like your body can’t do the things you want it to. It’s mentally crippling.

You can’t try to force your way through it, because you’ll get injured, so instead you adapt. I began focusing more on developing my core strength and improving my fitness levels. That’s why I’m carrying a bit less muscle mass nowadays. It’s helped me to get even better at my day job, and I’m safer from injury.”

– Jason Statham

In order to craft his new routine, he asked for assistance from former taekwondo champion James Moontasri.

“Jason arrived in phenomenal shape, as he always does.

We trained at 5am most days. Each session was a mixture of lifting weights, martial arts, and dynamic stretching. The order would vary depending how Jason felt on the day — sometimes there would’t even need to be words exchanged between us, I could just tell when he wanted to start by hitting something, and I’d pick up the pads.

The benefit of working with someone like Jason, who is a skilled martial artist, is that we can train three or four hours without anyone getting bored. He likes to execute everything he does to perfection, and sometimes that means throwing a kick or a punch for hours in order for it to be flawless in the sequence..”

– James Moontasri

Ever the optimist, he sees the bright side of adaptation.

“As frustrating as ageing is, I still love learning new skills. Plus, the enforced restrictions have given me a chance to re-introduce some water-based cardio back into my routine, because it’s great for loosening off the muscles. It feels like I’ve come full circle.”

– Jason Statham

Statham also continued trying to master those pesky rings.

“Jason can crush pullups and muscleups like crazy, and he does them on the gymnast rings. He’s got a full routine that he’ll do on his own before we work together, and it’s pretty intense. I think being able to push yourself in isolation is a great personality trait, that not many people have.”

– James Moontasri

Here’s an example of the training Statham and Moontasri used while preparing for The Beekeeper:

* Complete each exercise back-to-back, with 15 seconds rest between each move. Rest for 1-minute after the third exercise. That’s one round.
^ Complete all four exercises back-to-back, resting or 15 seconds between each move. Rest for 2-minutes after the fourth exercise. That’s one round.

Statham And Steroids…?

Steroid use has long been associated with Hollywood physique transformations, particularly within the action genre, so it’s hardly surprising that Statham has faced the same speculation.

But the truthful answer is rather boring: we don’t know.

I can’t find any reliable interview or public record in which he has admitted using anabolic steroids, HGH or testosterone replacement therapy. Equally, it’s impossible to determine whether somebody is drug-free simply by looking at their physique.

Statham has maintained a relatively lean, athletic build throughout his career rather than pursuing the extreme levels of muscularity seen in some action stars, but that still tells us nothing definitive about PED use.

So unless Statham ever chooses to discuss the subject himself, claims that he is either “definitely natural” or “definitely on gear” are pure speculation. That’s not quite as riveting as revleaing “Jason Statham’s secret steroid cycle”, admittedly — but it’s considerably more accurate.

Statham’s Impressive Martial Arts Background

One of the things which has always separated The Stath from many of his onscreen rivals is that he has a genuine athletic and martial-arts background.

He has trained extensively in kickboxing, boxing, grappling and jujitsu, while karate and Wing Chun have also formed part of his martial-arts training over the years.

“Growing up, I always preferred watching actors who were closer to the real deal. People like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan were my heroes. Even Sly — fair enough, he’s not an actual boxer, but the level of training he put in for those Rocky sequels was incredible.”

– Jason Statham

These skills aren’t merely something he learned for the movies. Statham has continued training between projects, describing martial arts as a genuine passion and regularly working with experienced fighters and coaches to expand his skill set.

That helps explain why his fight scenes have always looked more convincing than the usual Hollywood combination of clever editing and a stunt double wearing the star’s haircut.

“You can’t acquire a new skill by doing the same old shit. I like to do stuff that will improve my martial arts or boxing, something that will give me a usable skill. If you can throw a punch like this, bang! Or throw a punch like that, bang! You can develop the fluidity that Bruce Lee had, that very explosive power. I’m always trying to develop explosive power, core strength, coordination, and reflexed.”

– Jason Statham

Statham’s Approach To Diet And Junk Food

Statham’s diet philosophy is refreshingly uncomplicated.

He focuses predominantly on nutritious whole foods — fish, chicken, nuts, beans, oats and vegetables — while leaving a little room for occasional treats, such as chocolate.

He has described his diet as “95% good food”, rather than following an obsessively rigid meal plan.

Hydration is another priority. Statham has said that he drinks a minimum of three litres of water each day.

“Luckily, I actually enjoy things like Miso soup, brown rice, and steamed vegetables.

That makes it relatively easy for me to cut fat when I need to.

But, just like my training, I like to have as much variety in my daily diet as possible to prevent it getting boring. The only hard rules are that I will always come in below 2000 calories, and always hit my daily protein target.”

– Jason Statham

Junk food is never too high on the agenda, but Statham has ways of squeezing it in when he feels like he needs it.

“I’m quite robotic during prep. It took years to develop that discipline, and the thing that made the biggest difference — for me, at least — was closing the kitchen at 7pm.

After a few weeks, those late-night junk food cravings just started disappearing. Also, if I do happen to eat something a little bit naughty, it would be during the day when I’m still very active so I can burn it off.”

– Jason Statham

There’s nothing physiologically magical about 7pm — overall calorie intake still matters far more — but for Statham it appears to have been a very useful behavioural rule for cutting out unplanned snacks.

“A long-term transformation comes down to one thing; mentality.

I don’t mean being tough, I mean reprogramming the way you think about food, so that your diet becomes less about “how long can I resist junk food?” and more about “let’s hit some goals.”

I like to make little deals with myself — “I’m not gonna eat that cake, because I’d like to lose a bit of blubber, and this blubber is actually fucking depressing me MORE THAN not being able to eat that cake!”

Framing it this way gives me personal accountability, and that’s one of the best ways to change your mindset and stop returning to the bad habits that’ve held you back in the past.”

– Jason Statham

Here’s a sample day of eating Statham described in 2007, while preparing for The Transporter 2:

What Supplements Does Jason Statham Use?

This is one area where the internet gets surprisingly murky.

Plenty of websites claim Statham uses whey protein, creatine, pre-workout products and various vitamins, but I can’t trace those claims back to a reliable interview with Statham himself.

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t use supplements — he may well do — but there isn’t enough reliable information for me to tell you exactly what’s sitting in his kitchen cupboard.

And considering the FTC has previously taken action against companies using bogus Jason Statham endorsements to sell muscle-building supplements, I’d be particularly wary of any website claiming to reveal his “secret stack”.

The less exciting answer is that everything we can reliably document about Statham’s physique points overwhelmingly towards the boring stuff: consistent training, plenty of protein-rich whole foods, calorie control when he needs to get lean, and years of athletic practice.

If you’re interested in supplements that actually have decent evidence behind them, you can find my recommendations here.

So there you have it!

Now you know all about how Jason Statham got in great shape for all of his most popular movie roles — training secrets, diet plans, and even a few interesting facts!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this extensive training breakdown. Be sure to share it with the Statham fan in your life, because you’ll make their week giving them all this info. Finally, if you intend to use what you’ve learned today to achieve your own body transformation, reach out and keep me informed with your progress.

Unfortunately, the only thing I can’t help you with is the damn voice.

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