Dwayne Johnson is one of those stars who has always been in shape. Starting out as a wrestler for WWE, the now-actor claimed 10 world championships before becoming one of Hollywood’s top action heroes.
Although The Rock is known for his ripped physique, he took it to a whole new level for his most recent film Black Adam, in which he played the DC Comics villain of the same name. The character is said to have the strength, stamina, and power of Egyptian gods, and so the actor decided to go all out when it came to his training.
“Everyone is always asks, ‘He’s already so fit, what more can you do?’ He’s the only actor out there who, in real life, looks like a superhero,” says Johnson’s strength-and-conditioning coach, Dave Rienzi.
Yet, the pair developed a routine that focused on giving the actor even more muscle. As muscle takes time to grow, a full year was spent dedicated to building muscle mass, before a further six months was spent on creating muscle definition and leanness.
A calorie surplus was key to building muscle, so the 50-year-old actor would consume seven meals a day. He had a daily calorie intake of 4,000-6,000, including 500 grams of protein and post-workout supplements like creatine. To ensure that he was lean, though, The Rock performed fasted cardio and always hit the StairMaster before breakfast.
“When you look at a superhero type physique in the comic books, it’s always big round shoulders, a wide back with a narrow waist and round chest,” Reinzi says. “We did a lot of heavy back training to create more width and that V-taper look we were going for.”
Training took place six days a week, but as you can see from how good Johnson looks in the movie, it was all worth it.
