PUMPED
WWE is a world where larger than life characters become superstars before your very eyes, but 25 years ago at Survivor Series, perhaps the biggest star wrestling has ever seen was born.
The Rock waltzed his way into a traditional five-on-five Survivor Series match and the legendary Jim Ross proclaimed ‘that’s a blue chipper right there!’
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The Great One would go on to be the last man standing in the Survivor Series match inside Madison Square Garden and within two years he’d be WWE champion.
The Brahma Bull was only 26 years old when he reached the top in WWE and he’d go on to be a 10-time World champion, five-time Tag Team champion and two-time Intercontinental champion before departing in 2003, or 2004 if you include his WrestleMania 20 return.
He also claimed glory at the 2000 Royal Rumble, coming in 24th to eliminate four rivals before winning. The latest edition of the traditional Battle Royale is coming up this weekend.
The Rock was billed as 275lbs in his prime around the turn of the millennium. He was billed as the same weight when he returned to the company in 2011 and he was considerably bulkier at that point.
It’s widely believed The Rock’s weight was actually closer to, if not 275lbs upon his return and his initial run with the company saw him tip the scales around 250-260lbs.
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Rock’s ‘Iron Paradise’ is his mobile gym that he takes with him everywhere to assure he can always get a workout in no matter how busy he gets. He’s often working out at 4am in the morning to make sure he can lift before a day of filming begins.
Dwayne Johnson, The Rock’s real name, has always been addicted to working out thanks to his father, Rocky Johnson, applying a similar mentality. But, he only really started to beef up in 2010 as he prepared for the latest installment of The Fast and The Furious.
He would return to WWE one year later to guest host WrestleMania and would wrestle John Cena a full year after that. One more year on from that, Rock was cast as Hercules and once again, his body was important.
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Speaking of the Hercules role, Rock was said to have eaten up to seven protein-rich meals a day in preparation.
That amounted to a whopping total of 4,131 calories, which is basically twice the recommended average for men. When not in training, he normally eats about five meals a day.
Rock's next major role sees him become the superhero Black Adam. For the part, the former WWE star has put more pressure on himself to look better than ever before, despite being aged 49.
“Been working extremely hard dieting, training and conditioning unlike any other role of my entire career,” he wrote on Instagram. “Manipulating water, sodium, cardio but also having to push and pull real iron to have dense, dry, detailed muscle.
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"It’s a real science that takes months and months to dial it all in with my strength and conditioning coach @daverienzi who keeps a very watchful eye, constantly fine tuning our strategy daily.”
Meal #1
- 10 oz cod
- 2 whole eggs
- 2 cups of oatmeal
Meal #2
- 8 oz cod
- 12 oz sweet potato
- 1 cup veggies
Meal #3
- 8 oz chicken
- 2 cups white rice
- 1 cup veggies
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Meal #4
- 8 oz cod
- 2 cups rice
- 1 cup veggies
- 1 tbsp fish oil
Meal #5
- 8 oz steak
- 12 oz baked potato
- spinach salad
Meal #6
- 10 oz cod
- 2 cups rice
- salad
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Meal #7
- 30 grams casein protein
- 10 egg-white omelet
- 1 cup veggies (onions, peppers, mushrooms)
- 1 tbsp omega-3 fish oil
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As you can see, The Rock takes in enough food to feed a regular family of four over the course of three days, but he needs the fuel with the amount he works out.
The Hollywood A-Lister needs protein to make sure his muscles get the nutrients they need and after doing this for a decade, the man is approaching 50 and is in better shape now than when he was top of the WWE mountain in his mid-to-late 20s.