Stephen Graham’s transformation into bare-knuckle boxer Henry ‘Sugar’ Goodson for A Thousand Blows didn’t happen overnight. The 51-year-old knuckled down for six months of intense training, sculpting the physique of a man you definitely wouldn’t want to pick a fight with. Speaking to The Independent, Graham’s trainer, professional bodybuilder Rob Thurston, explains how he did it.
Graham’s goal wasn’t to achieve a Hollywood six-pack but to build a tough, brawler’s body. ‘The vision Stephen had for Sugar Goodson’s look was a cross between Mike Tyson and infamous bare-knuckle fighter Lenny McClain,’ Thurston says. ‘He wanted a tough-fighting, tough-drinking, intimidating brawler of a man.’ The result: the broad back and thick shoulders of a man who punches other men for a living.
How Stephen Graham trained for ‘A Thousand Blows’
Graham’s training schedule was intense, with five strength workouts (two ‘push’, two ‘pull’ and one ‘legs’) and three boxing sessions each week. His programme was split into phases: a ‘cutting’ phase to drop fat, a ‘lean bulk’ phase to build muscle, and a final ‘peaking’ phase to get him camera-ready.
‘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,’ Thurston tells The Independent. ‘We used hypertrophy-focused training to build Graham’s chest, back, traps, and shoulders as much as possible.’
Stephen Graham’s ‘A Thousand Blows’ workout routine
Graham’s gym work primarily revolved around heavy strength training. He hit upper body with a selection of exercises guaranteed build thick traps, broad shoulders, and a strong back, and a comprehensive leg day saw him do leg extensions before squats to prime and pre-exhaust his quads for balanced lower-body growth.
Workout 1 – push (mondays and thursdays)
1. Cable chest press – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (90 secs rest)
2. Incline smith machine press – 3 sets x 6-10 reps with last set as drop set (120 secs rest)
3a. Cable crossover – 3 sets x 6-10 reps
3b. Push-up on dumbbells – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (90 secs rest)
4. Weighted dip – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (120 secs rest)
5a. Triceps pushdown with rope attachment – 3 sets x 6-10 reps
5b. Overhead triceps extension with rope attachment – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (90 secs rest)
6. Single-arm cable lateral raise – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (90 secs rest)
7. Overhead press on shoulder press machine – 3 sets x 6-10 reps with last set as drop set (120 secs rest)
8. Plate-loaded shrug – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (90 secs rest)
Workout 2 – pull (tuesdays and fridays)
1. Neutral-grip weighted pull-up – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (120 secs rest)
2. T-bar row (using v-handle and landmine setup) – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (90 secs rest)
3. Single-arm machine row – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (90 secs rest)
4. Wide-grip seated cable row – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (90 secs rest)
5. Cable curl – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (90 secs rest)
6a. Incline dumbbell curl – 3 sets x 6-10 reps
6b. Spider curl – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (90 secs rest)
7. Kneeling rope crunch – 3 sets x 15-20 reps (90 secs rest)
8. Incline reverse crunch – 3 sets x 15-20 reps (90 secs rest)
Workout 3 – legs (saturdays)
1. Leg extension – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (90 secs rest)
2. Pendulum squat – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (120 secs rest)
3. Leg press – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (120 secs rest)
4. Seated leg curl – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (90 secs rest)
5. Lying leg curl – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (90 secs rest)
6. Standing calf raise – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (90 secs rest)
7. Seated calf raise – 3 sets x 6-10 reps (90 secs rest)
This article originally appeared on Men’s Health UK.
