It takes 50 minutes for Stephen Graham to take his bow as bare-knuckle boxer Henry “Sugar” Goodson in A Thousand Blows. It’s worth the wait.
The 51-year actor is almost unrecognisable as he steps out from the shadows and slowly swaggers to the ring – the camera following from behind as his broad and brawny back fills the lens. This shot, and the muscle that dominates it, have been months in the making.
“The vision Stephen had for Sugar Goodson’s look was a cross between Mike Tyson and infamous bare knuckle fighter Lenny McClain,” his trainer and professional bodybuilder Rob Thurston tells me. “What he didn’t want was a shiny, six-pack, Hollywood physique – he wanted to create a tough fighting, tough drinking, intimidating brawler of a man.”
The show launched on February 21, and a predictable string of rave reviews soon followed. However, few people foresaw the onslaught of Google searches for “Stephen Graham workout” that came with it – a job well done for Thurston.
Now, speaking to The Independent, the trainer has revealed the exact workouts and training techniques Graham used to create his imposing new physique.
Typical training week
Transformations take time. For six months prior to filming, Graham committed to five strength training workouts (each lasting no more than an hour) and three boxing sessions per week.
His weekly gym time included two push days (focussing on the chest, shoulders and triceps), two pull days (focussing on the back, biceps and abs) and one leg day (“development here was less of a priority for this role”).
“Remember, we weren’t training to actually box three-minute rounds, but to drop body fat and add maximum muscle bulk in a relatively short space of time,” says Thurston. “We used a style of hypertrophy-focussed training that would build Stephen’s chest, back, traps and shoulders as much as we could.
“Also, now he’s in his 50s, we had to be mindful of injuries. This meant no explosive or plyometric style training was used – instead, the focus was on using a slow, controlled tempo with gradual progressive overload.”
Over the course of the six months, Graham’s training followed a formula which may sound familiar to bodybuilding fans. The first three months represented a “cutting” phase focussed on dropping body fat, the following three-month “lean bulk” phase aimed to add muscle while keeping body fat levels low, and a final five-day “peaking” phase was added to give the actor the pumped up look of a bare-knuckle boxer.
“During the initial cutting phase we mostly worked in the 10-15 rep range, and in the later stages we incorporated some supersets and drop-sets to add further intensity and volume,” says Thurston. “Then, during the ‘lean bulk’ phase, we focussed more on heavy basic training in the six to 10 rep range, using progressive overload and working to muscular failure to help drive maximum muscle hypertrophy [AKA muscle growth].”
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Stephen Graham’s A Thousand Blows workouts
The workouts below are those Graham used during the “lean bulk” phase of his training, with the goal of building as much muscle as possible. Before you get started, there are a few key phrases Thurston says you need to familiarise yourself with.
Training to failure: Each set in this workout should be taken to momentary muscular failure or MMF – in other words, the last few reps should feel hard. To spot this, Thurston recommends looking out for an “‘involuntary slowing-down of the concentric or lifting phase of an exercise”.
“Without pushing through those last few hard, burning reps, you don’t cause the required signal for your muscles to adapt and become bigger and stronger,” he explains. “If you get eight reps with good form, go for the next one. But there should be no squirming out of position, cutting the range of motion short or swinging the weights up to get the rep – we want to ‘stay where we start’ and squeeze out maximum reps with perfect form.”
Progressive overload: If you train effectively and fuel yourself adequately, you will build strength and muscle. As you grow stronger, you need to adjust your training over time to suit your newly-improved capabilities – this is progressive overload, and the easiest way to apply it is by gradually lifting more weight.
“Once you can surpass the top end of the recommended rep range in good form – for example, you can perform 11 reps when the target is six to 10 – you should increase the weight by around five per cent for the next workout,” Thurston says.
Drop-set: A few of the exercises below require you to perform the last set as a drop-set. To do this, immediately after hitting MMF with your final set, drop the weight you’re lifting by 25 per cent and immediately complete another set to failure. At this point, drop the weight by another 25 per cent and perform one final set to MMF, then take a well-earned breather.
Superset: If the exercises below are labelled “a” and “b”, you need to perform them as a superset. This means completing both movements back to back with no break in between, then taking the allotted rest time.
Tempo: With this style of bodybuilding training, it’s not just what you lift, but how you lift it.
“Perform the exercises with a slow, controlled tempo, lifting for around two seconds and lowering for around three seconds,” Thurston advises.
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Push workout (Mondays and Thursdays)
|
Exercise |
Sets |
Reps |
Rest |
|
1. Cable chest press |
3 |
6-10 |
90 seconds |
|
2. Incline Smith machine press |
3 (perform the last set as a drop set) |
6-10 |
120 seconds |
|
3a. Cable crossover |
3 |
6-10 |
– |
|
3b. Press-up on dumbbells |
3 |
6-10 |
90 seconds |
|
4. Weighted dip |
3 |
6-10 |
120 seconds |
|
5a. Triceps pushdown with rope attachment |
3 |
6-10 |
– |
|
5b. Overhead triceps extension with rope attachment |
3 |
6-10 |
90 seconds |
|
6. Single-arm cable lateral raise |
3 |
6-10 |
90 seconds |
|
7. Overhead press on shoulder press machine |
3 (perform the last set as a drop set) |
6-10 |
120 seconds |
|
8. Plate-loaded shrug |
3 |
6-10 |
90 seconds |
Pull workout (Tuesdays and Fridays)
|
Exercise |
Sets |
Reps |
Rest |
|
1. Neutral grip weighted pull-up |
3 |
6-10 |
120 seconds |
|
2. T-bar row (using V-handle around a barbell in a landmine set-up) |
3 |
6-10 |
90 seconds |
|
3. Single-arm machine row |
3 |
6-10 |
90 seconds |
|
4. Wide grip seated cable row |
3 |
6-10 |
90 seconds |
|
5. Cable curl |
3 |
6-10 |
90 seconds |
|
6a. Incline dumbbell curl |
3 |
6-10 |
– |
|
6b. Spider curl |
3 |
6-10 |
90 seconds |
|
7. Kneeling rope crunch |
3 |
15-20 |
90 seconds |
|
8. Incline reverse crunch |
3 |
15-20 |
90 seconds |
Leg workout (Saturdays)
|
Exercise |
Sets |
Reps |
Rest |
|
1. Leg extension |
3 |
6-10 |
90 seconds |
|
2. Pendulum squat (can be swapped for a hack squat or Smith machine squat with feet slightly in front of the bar if your gym doesn’t have a pendulum squat set-up) |
3 |
6-10 |
120 seconds |
|
3. Leg press |
3 |
6-10 |
120 seconds |
|
4. Seated leg curl |
3 |
6-10 |
90 seconds |
|
5. Lying leg curl |
3 |
6-10 |
90 seconds |
|
6. Standing calf raise |
3 |
6-10 |
90 seconds |
|
7. Seated calf raise |
3 |
6-10 |
90 seconds |
Main training goals
“Early on, we discussed that first scene where you see Sugar pushing through the crowd as he walks to the ring,” says Thurston. “We wanted it to look like a Mike Tyson ring walk, with intimidatingly thick traps and shoulders in that lumbering walk. Then he enters the ring and you realise it’s Stephen.”
He prescribed “heavy row movements like the old-school T-bar row and heavy machine shrugs to build upper back and trap thickness”, then added weighted neutral grip chin-ups and single-arm rows “to build width.”
“Being careful with a previously injured shoulder, we also used single-arm cable side lateral raises and moderate-weight machine shoulder presses, using lighter loads and drop-sets, to help add those defined shoulder caps.”
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How long did it take?
Thurston worked with Graham for six months ahead of the show to achieve his target physique. The pair trained together where possible, with Thurston also giving the actor a programme he could follow in hotel gyms, helping him fit sessions around his “hectic” filming and travel schedule.
“We had three key phases to his training and diet plan,” Thurston says. “The first was a three-month ‘cutting’ phase designed to strip away excess body fat and show better muscle definition in his midsection, chest and shoulders. This was followed by a three month ‘lean bulking’ phase, where we added more muscle size while maintaining his reduced body fat levels from phase one.
“And the final little secret is a ‘peaking’ phase that started five days out from filming the fight scenes. For this, we started by depleting his muscle glycogen through reduced carbohydrate intake and higher volume, lower intensity training for three days. This was followed by two higher carb rest days, to allow his muscles to fill out to the absolute maximum with muscle glycogen. Then, finally, we did a short period of pumping up with press-ups and pull-ups just before going on set. This really showed up in his bulked up look as he stalks into the ring in that first fight scene.”
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Diet
During the three-month “cutting” phase, Graham was consuming a little over 2,000 calories per day across five meals. Within these, he aimed to include 200g of protein, 200g of carbohydrates and 50g of fat. Combined with his efforts in the gym and weekly boxing training, this diet resulted in a daily calorie deficit of roughly 750 calories.
“The aim was to lose approx 1.5lb per week, and 14-18 lbs of body fat over the first three months, without sacrificing any muscle tissue,” Thurston explains.
As the pair transitioned into the muscle growth-focussed “lean bulk” phase, Thurston gradually increased Graham’s daily calories to around 3,000.
“We wanted to [eat enough to] support better recovery and muscle growth, with carbohydrates increased to around 400g and fats up to around 60g, while keeping protein at 200g,” the trainer explains. “We also included creatine monohydrate at 5g per day, along with whey protein shakes to help drive performance in the gym, as well as muscle recovery and growth.”
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The key to the transformation
Yes, Graham made use of ice baths, saunas and sports massage to help him stay fighting fit during the training and filming process. But the key to his success, Thurston says, was his commitment and consistency.
Case in point: when travelling for work, he would always book a hotel with a gym, or at least a gym nearby, to ensure he never missed a workout.
“Stephen treated his training like any other part of his preparation for the role – he saw it as a crucial part of the Sugar Goodson character, and paid close attention to getting every detail right,” Thurston explains.
“He’s extremely coachable, and I think he enjoyed the challenge of tackling progressively heavier loads, like the infamous weighted dips you’ve seen on the Graham Norton show, with a 30kg chain draped around his neck, or weighted chin-ups with an extra 20kg plate tied around his waist – that earned some impressed looks from regular gym users.”
Of course, no one is immune from distraction; that’s why Thurston always has a stopwatch handy.
“If his usual bit of banter gets going, he knows when I tap my watch it’s time to get back to work,” the trainer jokes.
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What next?
With filming wrapped and the series released, now would seem like the perfect time for Graham to take his foot off the gas, on the training front at least. Indeed, there have been actors and trainers I’ve chatted with in the past who admitted heading straight to a kebab shop after their “top-off” scene was shot.
But that’s not been the case for Graham. Instead, he says exercising in this way has become part of his life.
“We still get together at my gym at least once a week, when Stephen’s not travelling,” Thurston says. “I initially designed the program so he could still stick to in hotel gyms during all the trips and filming he does throughout the year. It mostly uses cables, a Smith machine, dumbbells, an adjustable bench, chin-ups and dips – basics found in most gyms, without the requirement for specialist equipment.
“Then, after filming was completed, I helped design and equip his new home gym – based on the pieces mentioned above, along with a treadmill and exercise bike for cardio – so all the family can train there now too. That will also help him fit in sessions around his hectic schedule.”
On this evidence, it would appear both Graham and Thurston plan to preserve and enhance their fine body of work. And for those already eagerly awaiting A Thousand Blows’ second series, this is excellent news.
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