He wants to “raise the bar in terms of superhero movies”.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has shared details of the workout plan helping him get jacked for the upcoming Black Adam movie.
The Rock is set to portray Black Adam in a film adaptation directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. It was originally intended for release in December of this year, but filming has been pushed back to a start date of April 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
While cameras won’t begin rolling for another two months, The Rock is wasting absolutely no time in ensuring he looks the part.
The 48-year-old won’t have to beef up too much for the role of Black Adam, but he has still been making good use of his hugely-impressive portable home gym – which he calls the ‘Iron Paradise’.
In a series of clips posted to Instagram, The Rock explained the structure and content of his current workout routine.
The actor and former WWE Champion said he wants to “raise the bar in terms of superhero movies”.
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The Rock said he likes to begin each day with a fasted cardio session. That is, waking up and performing steady state cardio on an empty stomach.
He said his workout plan calls for two sessions per day: fasted cardio in the morning, and a gruelling weights routine later in the day.
In a second post uploaded later that day, he said his weight training incorporates a number of advanced techniques.
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“Today’s split tonight was back and biceps, and a lot of implementation of supersets, tri-sets, and giant sets.
“Four to five exercises per set, three sets of those. And it’s a son of a bitch.”
Supersets pair two exercises together back-to-back with no rest in between. Tri-sets combine three, and giant sets four.
By combining exercises together, you reduce rest periods. This is taxing on the body’s cardiovascular system, in addition to providing a pretty hefty muscle pump.
“I always liken the giant sets to the fourth and fifth rounds of a UFC fight,” The Rock said.
This method of training is particularly handy if you’re strapped for time. As the world’s highest-paid (and probably busiest) actor as well as a father, The Rock cannot afford to spend hours in the gym.
The rest of his weekly training routine follows a similar pattern.
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For his chest and triceps session, The Rock again calls upon giant sets. He combines the following four exercises into one monumental chest builder:
- Fly movement
- Chest press
- Incline press
- Finish with body weight dips until failure
If you’re not familiar with fitness programming, you might be wondering why The People’s Champion chooses to pair these particular muscle groups together in a single session.
Why back and biceps? Why chest and triceps?
It’s simple. Many of the main back exercises (such as pull ups and rows) also stimulate your biceps.
Similarly, while many ‘pressing’ exercises such as the bench press are targeted at the chest, your triceps also take a lot of the stress.
For many people, it therefore makes sense to train these muscle groups together in the same session.
Sundays are reserved for a cheat meal. The Rock has been known to put away as many as 12 pancakes in one sitting.
My cheat meal days are legendary. Round 1: 1 Rock vs 12 Pancakes
Rock Wins #LegendaryCheatMeals pic.twitter.com/LFvbTdWn— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) September 29, 2012
Commenting on the thought process behind his Black Adam training plan, he said:
“Obviously with the Black Adam prep, there is mythology, there’s character, there’s story study and things like that, but when it comes to the physicality part and the balance and energy of Black Adam I want to raise the bar with the character.”
