Dwayne Johnson—The Rock is one of the best-known people on the planet, not only for his acting skills but also for his muscular, well-defined physique, which has become his trademark. No matter which film he appears in, he knows how to prepare properly for every role and play it better than anyone else.
“My training and diet routines change for different roles. The role itself determines the kind of training I do. For Hercules, I followed a 22-week program, while for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, it was 14 weeks,” The Rock shared in an interview.
What is Dwayne Johnson’s story—from wrestler to actor?
Dwayne Johnson got into training when he was just 13. At the time, his family had to move to another city because they couldn’t afford the rent. To cope mentally, he decided to start going to the gym. Following in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, he became a popular professional wrestler in the World Wrestling Federation. By 1998, he was already a WWE champion under the name Rocky Maivia. After 2001, he turned to acting. His first leading film role was in The Scorpion King, followed by The Rundown, The Tooth Fairy, Doom, The Fast and the Furious, Walking Tall, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Hercules, G.I. Joe, and others. He returned to wrestling in 2011 and won several awards between then and 2014.
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Although he eventually decided to focus on acting, the 118-kilogram movie star, who is 195 cm tall, has to continually adjust his diet and training to look his best for each role. For example, for Hercules, he increased his training to six days a week, with one rest day, over a period of six months. This helped him gain weight and build even more muscle.
Among experienced wrestlers, the six-day training routine is the most popular. This routine helps build muscle mass, with one day of rest for full recovery.
Read more: How to build muscle mass?
However, exercise—especially at the intensity The Rock trains—can put the body under significant physiological stress. This can lead to injuries such as fractures, muscle strains, and joint pain. That’s why the body needs to recover with at least one lighter day each week.
What training routine does Dwayne Johnson follow?
The Rock starts his day at 4 a.m. with a cup of coffee, followed by a 50-minute cardio workout. Wearing headphones and listening to his favorite music, he goes for a morning run through the streets of his Florida neighborhood. Then comes breakfast, usually oatmeal.
After that, he heads to the gym for his daily workout, which lasts about an hour and 15 minutes. Each session targets a specific muscle group, depending on the day. Most exercises (unless otherwise specified) are done for one set of 12 reps, one set of 10 reps, and one set of 8 reps, with 90 seconds of rest between sets. He increases the weight with each set.
The program The Rock follows looks like this:
Monday: Back and abs
Back Exercises
– Pull-ups
– One-Arm Dumbbell Row
– Reverse-Grip Lat Pulldown
– Seated Cable Row
– Barbell Row
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Ab exercises – Do 3 sets of 20 reps, with 60 seconds of rest between sets.
– Cable Crunches
– Hyperextensions
Tuesday: Chest and Calves
Exercises for chest
– Incline Dumbbell Press
– Flat Dumbbell Press
– Dumbbell Flyes
– Cable Crossover (3 x 20 reps, high to low)
– Cable Crossover (3 x 20 reps, low to high)
Read more: TOP 5 Exercises for a Manly Chest
Exercises for calves – Do 3 sets of 50 reps for each of the three exercises.
– Standing Calf Raise
– Leg Press Calf Raise
– Single-Leg Dumbbell Calf Raise
Wednesday: Legs and Abs
Exercises for legs – Rest 90 seconds between sets
– Machine Leg Extension (3 x 20 reps)
– Leg Press (3 x 50 reps)
– Single-Leg Leg Press (3 x 20 reps)
– Dumbbell Lunges (3 x 20 reps)
– Lying Leg Curl (3 x 15 reps)
– Romanian Deadlift (3 x 12 reps)
Read more: Leg Day: What You Need to Know About Leg Workouts
Exercises for abs
– Side plank (3 reps, hold for 60 seconds)
Thursday: Shoulders
– Machine shoulder press (5 sets)
– Dumbbell lateral raises
– Dumbbell front raises
– Bent-over cable lateral raises
Read more: TOP 5 Shoulder Exercises
Friday: Arms
– Barbell biceps curl
– Preacher curl
– Close-grip cable triceps extension
– Triceps pushdown
– Single-arm underhand cable extension
Weekend: Rest
What is Dwayne Johnson’s diet?
In addition to his training, The Rock follows a very strict diet. When preparing for a movie role, he eats 6 to 7 times a day. The aim is to get enough protein to build lean muscle mass. All meals are carefully weighed, and depend on the type of workout that day. A high protein intake and good carbohydrates are the main ingredients in The Rock’s diet, as they provide essential nutrients and energy.
Read more: What are the benefits and uses of whey protein?
His preferred foods include egg whites, filet mignon, chicken, fish, oatmeal, broccoli, asparagus, baked potatoes, rice and salad, as well as more complex carbohydrates. He weighs everything he eats.
The Rock prefers supplements such as multivitamins for overall health, glutamine to support post-workout recovery, amino acids to stimulate protein synthesis, and one protein shake a day for muscle growth and recovery.
Johnson is also famous for his epic cheat days (“dirty days”). After long stretches of healthy eating, he allows himself a cheat day when he eats whatever he wants. Once, on one such day, he ate 12 pancakes, 4 deep-dish pizzas and 21 brownies. Dirty days can actually be beneficial to some extent because, in addition to the psychological pleasure they provide, they can replenish certain substances in the body whose levels decrease during a diet—for example, thyroid hormones and leptin.
The Rock’s advice to future generations is to work out so they can feel good in their own skin.
“Training is a great support in my everyday life,” he says. “For me, working out is meditation, yoga, cycling, climbing and therapy all in one. I love it. It makes me feel good.”
See also: Actor Niki Iliev has started intensive training for his new film at “Pulse Fitness&Spa Bulgaria”