Dwayne Johnson, popularly known as The Rock, doesn’t require an introduction. Anyone with working eyes can notice his sculpted, gigantic body. However, while his bone structure gives him a giant look, his large muscle mass results from his hard work and determination in following his diet routine.

If you admire his body and would want to follow in his footsteps so you can build muscles like him, we’re here for you. Our guide talks about The Rock’s Workout Routine and diet plan.

PS: It isn’t easy, but doable with the right attitude and determination.

About Dwayne Johnson

Born in 1972, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a former college football player, an actor, and former WWE wrestler. He has made a career through his muscular body. His nickname “The Rock” was from his WWE days and has stuck with him. After he quit wrestling, Dwayne became involved in movies and is now a major actor in many films every year.

He came from a pro-wrestling family as both his grandfather, father, and several of his uncles were professional wrestlers. The Rock won the WWE championship severally and is regarded as one of the most outstanding wrestlers of his time.

Johnson played football when studying at the University of Miami, but injuries ended his hopes of making it in the NFL. 

When it comes to diet and workout routine, Johnson says he adjusts it to match his role. For example, to prepare for Hercules’s movie, he had to look ‘big and mean,’ and so he had a 22-weeks diet whereby he ate 6-7 times a day to hit all his targets.

The Rock Workout Routine

If you want to follow the Rock workout plan, you’ll undoubtedly get the body you want, but don’t think for a second that the ride will be smooth. The Rock workout routine is pretty demanding and thus calls for total dedication.

As aforementioned, The Rock’s training routine depends on the role he’s Set to play and thus varies in intensity. That said, all his workout routines are always intense. His day starts with 30-50 minutes of cardio on an elliptical cross trainer in the morning, after which he eats a protein-rich breakfast.

After that, he heads to the gym, where he lifts super heavy weights. This is a routine he follows religiously for six days a week. His workout focuses on different muscle groups.

Before discussing the basics of his workout, we must mention that The Rock is 6’5″, and his body is heavily built. Therefore, ensure you proceed with moderation regarding your foods and the weights you lift.

With that in mind, we can now discuss the basics of one of Dwayne Johnson’s workout routines:

Day 1: Chest and upper body

The Rock starts his routine focused on the chest region. Here are the four exercises Johnson integrates into his chest workout routine:

• 5 sets of incline dumbbell press (4-12 reps)
• 5 sets of dumbbell bench press (4-12 reps)
• 4 sets of cable crossover (12 reps)
• 4 sets of pushups (15 reps)

Day 2 – Legs

The Rock’s legs workout routine consists of four exercises:

• 4 sets of leg press (16-25 reps)
• 4 sets of smith machine lunges (8 reps)
• 4 sets of lying leg curl (6-12 reps)
• 4 sets or Romanian deadlift
• 4 sets of hack squat
• 6 sets of standing calf raise (16 reps

Day 3 – Abs and Arms

Dwayne Johnson is known for his sculpted arms, which he rarely hides. Here are exercises in his arms workout routine:

• 3 sets of barbell curl (10-12 reps)
• 4 sets of hammer curl (10-12 reps)
• 3 sets of triceps pushdowns (10 reps)
• 4 sets of spider curl
• 4 sets of Russian twists (20 reps)
• 4 sets of rope crunch (20 reps)
• 4 sets of hanging leg raise (20 reps)
• 4 sets of dip-triceps version

Day 4 – Back

The Rock’s back-focused workout routine consists of 4 exercises that include:

• 5 sets of wide-grip lat pull down (4-12 reps)
• 4 sets of barbell shrugs (15 reps)
• 4 sets of single-arm dumbbell row (15 reps)
• 3 sets of inverted row
• 4 sets of pull-ups
• 4 sets of back extension

Day 5 – Shoulders

The noticeable shoulders of The Rock are primarily a result of these six exercises:

• 3 sets of seated military press machines (12 reps)
• 3 sets of dumbbell lateral raises (8 reps)
• 5 sets of shoulder shrugs (4-12 reps)
• 3 sets of  dumbbell front raise (8 reps)
• 4 sets of neck machine (12 reps)
• 5 sets of rear delt cable raise(4-12 reps)

Day 6 – Leg day

• 4 sets of leg extension (15-20 reps)
• 4 sets of hamstring curl (8-12 reps)
• 4 sets of barbell squats (8-12 reps)
• 4 sets of leg press (25 reps)
• 4 sets of walking lunges (20-25 reps)
• 4 sets of standing calf raise (50-75 reps)
• 4 sets of Romanian deadlift (8-12 reps)

Day 7 – Rest Day

The above is just one of the many workout routines The Rock follows. Let’s talk about his diet.

The Rock Workout Principles

• Go heavy. The Rock is quite distinct from many Hollywood stars as he’s known to lift super heavy weights in the gym. Unlike most Hollywood stars who lift for aesthetics, the Rock lifts super heavy weights to build strength and endurance that matches his size
• High resistance training. The Rock follows typical bodybuilding training involving intraset stretching, supersets, drop sets, and other hypertrophy and advanced training methods.

We must mention that following The Rock’s workout routine to the letter would not be a wise decision for beginners and intermediate lifters. Pushing your body’s limit with Johnson’s workout program might indeed be all fun at the start, but you may find yourself out of the gym for weeks. The Rock is heavily built and follows advanced training programs. Therefore, start slow and work with a professional. 

Remember that the Rock’s physique is down to a combination of factors that you may not have – genetics, discipline, access to the best training equipment, healthy foods, and world-class trainers. Therefore, use his workout routine as a template instead of following it to the letter.

Take a look at the below inspirational video to see how far The Rock really goes with his training:

The Rock’s Diet Plan

The Rock goes hard in the gym, but at the same time, he knows the importance of eating right. You cannot get a body structure like Dwayne Johnson’s if you are not feeding your muscles right. That’s why The Rock is serious with his diet plan. However, this too keeps changing depending on the role he’s about to play.

Sometimes he may have a crazy diet. For example, when prepping for the Hercules role, The Rock was reported to be eating up to seven times a day, averaging 4,131 calories a day, which is twice the recommended caloric intake for average men.

He eats five meals a day on a typical day – no wonder he’s insanely big from head to toes. His meals are protein-rich – think fish, eggs, green veggies, whole grains, and more proteins.

Here’s Dwayne Johnson’s Five-Meal Diet Plan when he’s not training for any role.

Meal 1 

• 10 oz. of steak
• 3 egg whites
• 1 glass of watermelon juice
• 1 whole egg
• 2 cups of oatmeal

Meal 2

• 2 servings of chicken
• 2 bell pepper
• 3 cups of mushroom
• 2 scoops of protein shake
• 3 cups of broccoli

Meal 3

• 2 whole eggs
• 8oz of salmon
• 2 cups of rice medley
• 3 cups of broccoli
• 8 asparagus tips

Meal 4

• 1 glass of orange juice
• 8 asparagus tips
• 3 baked potatoes
• 10 oz. of steak

Meal 5

• 10 egg whites
• 20 grams of casein protein

7- Meal Plan Diet

We mentioned earlier that The Rock adjusts his diet depending on the role he’s about to play. Here is an example of a 7-meal plan diet for when he wants to bulk up:

Meal 1

• 10 Oz cod
• 2 cups of oatmeal
• 2 whole eggs

Meal 2

• 8 oz. cod
• One cup of veggies
• 12 oz. sweet potatoes

Meal 3

• One cup of veggies
• 2 cups of white rice
• 8 oz. of chicken

Meal 4

• One cup of veggies
• 2 cups of rice
• 8 oz. cod
• 1 tablespoon of fish oil

Meal 5

• Spinach salad
• 12 oz. of baked potato
• 8 oz. steak

Meal 6

• 2 cups of rice
• 10 oz. cod
• Salad

Meal 7

• 10 egg-white omelet
• 30-grams casein protein
• One tablespoon of omega-3 fish oil
• One cup of veggies, including peppers, mushrooms, and onion

The Rock’s Diet Details in Summary

• Proteins are muscle food. Johnson eats a lot of protein to grow and maintain his muscles
• Vegetables like broccoli, salad, and asparagus provide fiber and micronutrients to the body, so you don’t experience malnutrition
• Don’t skip carbs
• Have a cheat day to thank your body for endurance. If you follow The Rock on his Instagram page, you probably already know that he usually has insane fun eating his cheat meals. He can eat a giant pizza, 12 pancakes with syrup and peanut butter, sushi, pasta, 6 cookies, and bagels, all in a single sitting. His cheat meals are even more popular than his diet plan.

Wrapping It Up

To be like The Rock, you need a lot of discipline in terms of your workout routine and diet plan. The good thing is that Johnson has proven that it’s possible to bulk up and have a sculpted body without using steroids.

Again, we’ll reiterate that if you’re a beginner or intermediate lifter, you should not copy everything he does, especially in portions of foods you eat and weights you lift. Give your body time to acclimatize and gradually build up.

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