Statham’s Secrets of Superlean

Actor Jason Statham took on a brutal new training regimen and dropped 17 pounds in 6 weeks. So, what are you waiting for?

“He’s a bit lardy, isn’t he?” Jason Statham says in his gritty British voice, chuckling. He’s referring to the man in two pictures he’s holding, a pair of classic “before” shots, one from the front, one from the back. Indeed, the man in the photos has some extra dough, and not the green kind. There’s muscle there for sure, but no definition at all. Jason Statham isn’t ripping on just anyone: He’s the guy in the photos.

Jason Statham’s weight gain came the same way it does for most of us: a few too many beers and a couple of extra servings, compounded over time. Work out hard and you’ll crave calories as fuel at the same time you loathe the millstone they can form around your middle.

“I never gave a f–k about a calorie,” Statham says. “An apple? It’s good for me. I’d have five. Bananas? Eat the bunch.”

Statham was staying active at work, filming the shoot-’em-up War, in which he has his first fight scenes with a worthy adversary — Jet Li. But the pounds crept onto his torso and hung there like the remembrance of meals past.

Now Jason Statham brushes aside the ugly photos on the coffee table in his living room and gives me a dose of his current reality: He lifts up his shirt. He’s shredded — rumble-strip abs, cords in his chest, veins in his arms.

“That’s 17 pounds in 6 weeks, mate,” he says, and then plops down on his sofa again. “And that’s working out 6 days a week for, at most, about 35 minutes a day. I’ve never, ever gotten results like this before.”

That’s a bold statement from a man who used to be on the British Olympic diving team and lists mixed martial arts (that’s UFC-style fighting) as a hobby. In fact, he sounds like an infomercial. So what’s the secret?

Prepare to sweat. And hurt. And, well, eat. But only enough to stoke your fire, not smother it.

If Statham’s workout is your model, you should understand that, at times during our talk, he referred to it as horrible, nauseating, bastard, murder, nightmare, and priceless, preceding each description with the word “f–king.”

What follows are his general guidelines and some sample exercises. For a typical week’s complete workout, go here.

Note: You may not have access to the equipment needed to do some of these. The point is to find a balance of total- body work, so you can pick six basic exercises you can do at home and go full-out. Statham does one six-exercise circuit five times. Rest for as long as you need between exercises. And know your limits.

The Eating Plan Statham credits intelligent eating for his rapid weight loss. And he’s not starving: He downs 2,000 calories a day. For Statham the eating plan depends on the following execution, which he’s religious about (ahem, except for one night of beers a few weeks in).

1. No refined sugar or flour at all, ever. Bread and pasta are out, as are sweets of any kind. No fruit juices. No booze. “That’s the hardest part right there,” he says. His dessert every night is plain yogurt with fresh fruit.

2. If it goes down your throat, record it on paper. “This is the bible,” Statham says, holding up a black hardbound journal. He writes down everything he swallows, including water (he tries to drink 1 1/2 gallons a day — that’ll keep you feeling full). “Writing everything down makes it impossible for you to muck it up,” he says.

3. Spread out the calories. Statham has six small meals daily. The foods aren’t surprising — egg whites, vegetables, lean meats, fish, nuts, and protein shakes. But the 2,000-calorie limit is gospel.

Statham’s Circuit Picks: Ball Slams Pick up a 20-pound rubberized medicine ball, raise it above your head, and then smash it down on the floor as hard as you can. Do 20 reps.

Rope Climbs Do 25-foot climbs using your arms, not your legs. Aim for five reps.

Pullups Statham jumps from one pullup bar to another above it; it’s called “Dyno.”. But the traditional move still works your shoulders and back. Do 8 reps.