Training Like “The Rock”

As I near the end of my 30th year, which I bemoaned in a previous post (A Letter To My 60-Year Old Self), I am making a concerted effort to reach my peak physical condition.  Call it a 1/3 life crisis.  But you could really just call it an effort to exercise regularly.

You will not find me in the next local marathon, a “Tough Mudder” event, or an “Iron Man” competition, but throughout this past year I have tried to go to the gym more consistently.  I am inspired for a whole host of reasons, not all of them vain.  Obviously, I want to look fit and lean, but I would not consider myself a spornosexual (metrosexual is sooo 2002).

The other day I came across this article from earlier in the year by Bodybuilding.com: Train Like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson!  I’ve always admired The Rock.  I still remember first seeing him as a wrestler, asking everyone, “Can you smell what the Rock is cooking?”  His eyebrow move should have been trademarked.  The Rock had a presence few other wrestlers at the time possessed, and the crowds loved him for it (see here).

When I read the article about his workout routine and diet, my admiration and respect for him soared to new levels.  No wonder this guy has been able to reinvent himself over the years.  He could have dissolved into irrelevance and bygone ages so many times over, but he remained hungry and persistent, even when it seems that today, at age 46, he’s reached the apex of stardom.

He credits a large portion of his success to training.  And by the looks of it, he’s in even better shape than he ever was as a WWF wrestler in the early 2000s.  His instagram account showcases his insane workouts and fan favorite “cheat meals”, which typically consist of a sushi train and massive peanut butter cookies with “real” peanut butter.  During the rest of the week is diet is much more bland and basic, consisting mainly of protein (go figure) and almost no carbs.

The Rock’s dedication to training, along with his natural charisma, has allowed him to transform his career from wrestler and D-list actor, to a blockbuster superstar with a reputation for saving film franchises (e.g., Fast and the Furious).  Through it all, he’s suffered 5 knee surgeries, 2 ruptured discs, and a ruptured Achilles, in addition to a quad and adductor torn off his pelvis and 3 emergency hernia repairs simultaneously (that’s just his lower body).  It now takes him about 30 minutes to warm up, but he keeps at it with undying tenacity, despite physical ailments and schedule constraints (he’s recorded himself exercising at midnight just to fit it in).

While you may not turn into The Rock if you begin a consistent workout regiment, you will improve your overall livelihood.  The benefits of exercise are endless and obvious.  So here’s to training like The Rock, and always working to reinvent yourself.