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In order to save the world on a regular on-screen basis, you have to stay jacked. This is how Dwayne Johnson does just that.
Single-handedly save California from devastation San Andreas style. Or enjoy a rough and tumble with Jason Statham like in Fast & Furious 7. OK, so these aren't classes you can take at your local gym. But here's a quick taste of how Dwayne Johnson keeps his muscles rock-hard.
Johnson has been known to wake up at 4 a.m. to work out. When he's filming, the early workouts are necessary with his intense filming schedule. But even when he's off the clock, he enjoys a good session to kick his day off right.
Dwayne Johnson eats about seven times a day. His metabolism is getting just as good of a workout as he is. With all of the extreme sweating, he pumps up his calorie intake to keep those muscles growing.
So what exactly does The Rock eat all day? Lot's of fish. For breakfast he has 10 ounces of cod, two eggs and two cups of oatmeal. Throughout the day he eats more cod alongside sweet potato with veggies or rice with veggies. Later in the day, he'll switch the cod out for a steak nuzzled up to a baked potato. Then, for his latest meal he enjoys an egg-white omelet with veggies, casein protein and omega-3 fish oil. Finger-lickin' good.
That's 50 minutes of cardio before the workout on a specific body part, typically a jog in the "unforgiving Miami sun." Some time on the treadmill or elliptical also work, as The Rock has both of these contraptions in his home gym.
The Rock's training and diet do vary depending on the look he's seeking for a particular film. For his role in Hercules, he worked out on a six days on, one day off schedule for six months.
OK, not really. But The Rock's workout is a pyramid structure. He begins with a higher amount of reps and a lower amount of weight. Each week for a month, he increases the weight while decreasing the reps. When a new month begins, he starts all over again with more reps and more weight. For a movie, The Rock will plan out three or four months (or pyramids) to prep.
While many a gym rat enjoys series of four rep workouts, Johnson opts for sets of three once he gets into the swing of things (near the end of a month, or pyramid). Those sets are separated by shorter rest periods: 30-60 seconds a piece.
The Rock's typical workout (as described in Muscle & Fitness, Men's Health and Bodybuilding) is as follows: one hour of cardio plus a five minute warm up. one and a half hours of varied weight lifting focusing on a specific area of the body.
Dwayne Johnson works his biceps and triceps the same day, and trains his calves three times each week. His legs are the luckiest of limbs, getting two dedicated days each week. No word yet on how often Mark Wahlberg is around to spot him.
Practicing stunts as part of a movie-prep workout is serious business, but also a fun way to switch things up from the normal gym routine. Leave it to Dwayne Johnson to practice jumping from buildings and running from explosions between leg lifts and bench presses.
Normally, Dwayne Johnson is training for a specific movie. In an epic kill-two-birds-with-one-stone move, he practices fight choreography as part of his training regimen. This isn't really a stretch for The Rock, as his WWE days were packed with fight training.
Just like learning fight choreography, The Rock practices wielding weapons as part of his workout, too. For films like Hercules, learning how to use the weapons of the gods was essential to his role. It just so happened to help tone his arms as well.
Gym time is serious business, so get those headphones on. For Johnson, working out is a form of meditation. He's focused on the task at hand for 90 minutes to an hour and 45 minutes.
Dwayne Johnson trains hard, but he listens to his body. For instance, he never brings the bar down behind his back in order to protect his rotator cuff. In college, he suffered a knee injury, so he avoids squats while working out. That doesn't mean he skimps on his (two) leg days, though. He practices a number of different lunges and leg lifts to keep those things toned.