Published on January 13th, 2012 | by Paterson Prosper

Jason Statham’s take on exercise – “Get serious. Do 40 hard minutes, not an hour and half of nonsense.”

The Men’s Health interview is here and his mentality has been driving my workouts for years now. It’s amazing. I thought some of you guys might appreciate it. I hope this helps to spur a few of you on at the gym today.

He has built his body through brutal intensity and a perpetually changing workout regimen. He focuses on practical skills, not mirror muscles.
“Musclemen grow on trees,” he says. “They can tense their muscles and look good in a mirror. So what? I’m interested in practical strength that’s going to help me run, jump, twist, punch.”
True to that, Statham follows a simple rule: if you’re going to train, train hard. And train with a purpose. It all stems from an uncompromising mental approach.
“I’m a firm believer in attitude,” he says. “Some people just don’t have that desire, and they need a good kick up the arse. Look, you’ve come to train… let’s fucking train! Your body is like a piece of dynamite. You can tap it with a pencil all day, but you’ll never make it explode. You hit it once with a hammer: Bang! Get serious. Do 40 hard minutes, not an hour and half of nonsense. It’s so much more rewarding.”
When the role calls, Statham learns the advanced applicable skills. Wushu stick fighting, jiu jitsu or knife throwing, say. But the basics of his athleticism are simple body-weight exercises and plyometrics. He keeps his metabolism high and his famed agility up to scratch with fast, hard circuits that require almost no equipment.
“I’ll jump rope, then do squat thrusts, burpees, [squat thrusts in which you thrust your legs out, back to your chest, then leap in the air], star jumps, push-ups, tuck jumps [jump up, lift your knees to your chest, and straighten to land], and step-ups,” he says. The technique of each is as intense as the circuit itself: “If I’m doing a push-up, I go down slowly and then Bang! push back up as explosively as I can.”

via Men’s Health