Dwayne Johnson is a fitness God. Whether it was reaching peak shape to star in WWE, building bulging biceps to become one of Hollywood’s highest-earning actors (he’s grossed a mighty $10.5bn worldwide) or launching his Project Rock workout range, Johnson is a man of many talents and it’s all been aided by his stunning physique.
Commitment, hard work and a ferocious desire to be the best has put Johnson on an incredible journey millions aspire to follow. Below we take a look at the secrets behind his success…
Diet
Can you smell what The Rock is cookin’? Well, it’s usually five meals a day (though when he prepared for his role in Hercules, that was boosted up to seven meals and more than 4,000 calories). Personally organising all of his meals, Johnson enjoys getting plenty of protein from steak, chicken, halibut and egg whites. Other, more green things which feature on his list include broccoli, asparagus and leafy salads.
However, despite owning a physique that doesn’t seem to have an ounce of fat on it, Johnson will allow himself the odd cheat day and even claims to be able to pack away four double dough pizzas, 12 pancakes and 21 brownies. We feel sick just thinking of such an intake! Variety, though, is the spice of life and eating clean can get pretty dull.
Workouts
Johnson trains six days a week and is hugely committed to hitting his targets. You’ve seen him so won’t be surprised to read he dedicates a day at a time to his back, his shoulders, his chest. And, like every good gym rat, he never, ever misses leg day. Johnson generally sticks to four sets of 12 reps with 60 to 90 seconds of rest.
“I can't imagine my life without training, honestly,” he told The Things in September. “And for getting results - as with anything in life, but especially with working out - there's no substitute for hard work. I get busy with a nice session of clangin' and bangin' - epic pain, epic results.”
Weights
Cardio is extremely important but you aren’t going to get The Rock’s physique without some serious help from the weights. Johnson believes you need to stay on your toes if you want to grow and insists on variety in his routines.
"My workout is constantly changing and adapting,” says Johnson who utilises a host of weights in his routines and mixes things up with dumbbells, cables and barbells. Romanian deadlifts, bent over barbell rows, dumbbell shrugs, standing military presses and reverse machine flyes are just some of the different exercises Johnson carries out to best utilise his gym workouts.
Intense Cardio
They say the early bird catches the worm and this is true of Johnson, who often wakes at 4am and gets straight to it. "I love putting in that hard work as early as possible to get my day started off on the right foot, mentally and physically," he once told bodybuilding.com.
In the morning, he will do half an hour to 50 minutes on the elliptical cross-trainer to get the blood pumping after a coffee, though if he is away, which is often for one of the most famous actors on the planet, he will take to the road and run. Then, it’s time for breakfast - those pancakes couldn’t taste sweeter.
Keeping Focus
It comes as no surprise that Johnson is oft-named among the most inspirational people on the planet (topping the lists usually) - everyone wants to be The Rock, after all. “I treat training like a metaphor for life - the dedication, the determination, the desire, the work ethic, the successes and the failures - I take them all into life,” he says. While exercise is paramount to Johnson’s success, a clear mind is also vital - you can be as strong as an ox naturally, but without the right attitude, you won’t get the results.
As the man himself once said, “Be the person that when your feet touch the floor in the morning the devil says, ‘aw sh*t, they’re up.’”
