First I want to address the question that all you guys are wondering, “Is Dwayne Johnson juicing?”
The answer – most likely.
Now before you guys start hating, just think for a second. Look a Dwayne’s physique 5-8 years ago. Even then he already a very muscular body. And if you asked me back then if he was juicing, I probably would have said no.
But over the past few years, Dwayne reportedly gained anywhere from 10-20 pounds of additional muscle for Pain & Gain. You guys have to realize that this is physiologically impossible.
For a guy like Dwayne, gaining even 10 pounds of muscle after already training for so long simply isn’t possible for someone who’s natural.
But don’t get me wrong, I still love Dwayne Johnson. You guys just have to realize that you’ll never be able to naturally reach his level of muscularity.
The workout I outlined below isn’t the official Dwayne Johnson workout, but is instead it’s just an awesome workout to pack on muscle efficiently.
Dwayne Johnson workout
- Dumbbell bench press – 3 sets x 8 reps
- Pec fly – 3 sets x 12 reps
- Arnold dumbbell press – 5 sets x 8-10 reps
- Side to front lateral raises – 3 sets x 13-15 reps
- Skullcrushers – 3 sets x 12-15 reps
- Tricep pushdown – 2 sets x failure
- Bent over row – 3 sets x 8 reps
- Weighted chins – 3 sets x 8 reps
- 1 arm rows- 3 sets x 12 reps per arm
- Reverse curl – 3 sets x 13 reps
- EZ bar curl – 3 sets x 10 reps
- Preacher curl – 2 sets x failure
Day 3 (legs)
- Deadlift (or rack pull) – 3 sets x 4-5 reps
- Barbell front squat – 4 sets x 8-15 reps (start off at 15 reps and pyramid down)
- Dumbbell step-ups – 3 sets x 8 reps per leg
- Leg press – 3 sets x 12-15 reps
- Some type of calf raise variation – 6 sets x 12-20 reps
Day 4 (full body conditioning)
- High pull – 3 sets x 10 reps
- Dumbbell snatch – 3 sets x 8 reps per arm
- Dumbbell swing – 2 sets x 15 reps
- Shrugs – 3 sets x 8 reps
- Side lateral raises – 3 sets x 10 reps
- Superset cable curl and triceps overhead extension – 3 sets x 12 reps
- Lift with intensity. Most guys can lift 8 reps, but they do it with a non-challenging amount of weight. Make sure the weight you choose is heavy and challenging.
- Brace your abs on all exercises, especially on the deadlift, back squat, and 1 arm dumbbell row. Bracing your abs not only gives you a stronger harder core, but also insures that you’re doing the exercise with correct form.
- You’ll need to wait at least a couple weeks before you see results. Please stay consistent for at least 4-6 weeks before declaring this workout as crap.
[Just had to show this! The fight scene from Fast Five – probably the most awesome fight scene of 2011]
Dwayne Johnson diet
Some people want to build muscle, others want to lose fat, so here are 2 different dieting approaches depending on your goal.
Diet for building muscle
Although I’m not a huge fan of traditional bulking diets since they tend to put on more fat than muscle, you do need to eat in a caloric surplus to gain muscle, and there’s no doubt in my mind that Dwayne ate like a mad men to pack on that mass.
Here are my recommendations for dieting to build muscle without too much fat:
- If you’re under 25 and have never weight trained consistently before, then eat at a 500 caloric surplus every day
- If you’re over 25, then eat at your maintenance level on your non-training days and eat at a 400-500 caloric surplus on your training days.
As for protein, you don’t need to eat 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight like everyone says. Heck, I used to believe you needed a ton of protein to build muscle. But as long as you average around 0.6-0.8 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, you should be good to go.
Diet for fat loss
- Your only goal of this diet is to simply eat in a caloric deficit.
- A good fat loss goal would be 1 pound per week(3500 calorie deficit).
- To set your deficit, you could simply eat at a 500 caloric deficit per day, but that would leave room for few mistakes if you decide to indulge on the weekends. If you want to diet while still being able to enjoy yourself, you should give intermittent fasting a shot.
- If you’re looking for a list of foods you should and shouldn’t eat, then you’re not going to find it here. I’m not a fan of telling people what to eat. I only tell them how much to eat, because frankly, that’s one factor that the majority of people overlook.. You can eat whatever you want, just aim for a couple fruits and veggies per day and hit your protein requirements. That’s all.
But what about supplements?
In all honesty, you probably don’t even need supplements to get a body like Dwayne Johnson. But in terms of general health, these are ONLY supplements I recommend:
- A multivitamin – t0 safeguard against any vitamin or mineral deficiencies. Almost any multivitamin should do.
- Fish oil (6-10 grams per day) – the reason I recommend them is because most people are taking in more omega 6 fatty acids and the omega 3’s helps balance that out.
- Protein powder – if you’re unable to hit your requirements (0.7 grams) through real food.
A serious muscle building workout
Dwayne Johnson is no doubt in amazing shape, whether he’s juicing or not.
And if you really want to take your workout and muscle building journey to the next level I recommend checking out the Muscle Gaining Secrets 2.0 by Jason Ferruggia.
When it comes to getting guys jacked, there are few guys who do it better than Jason.
Drop a comment and let me know what you think about the Dwayne Johnson workout program.
P.S. If you need some badass workout apparel, I recommend checking out Borntough.
mate I have been modelling my workout regime and diet off what Dwayne actually posted on mens health (I think it was mens health he did that interview for) either way its amazing, and ive achieved some great goals with it, but its different to what you have here, I’ll give yours a go and post back here how it goes if you like.
Cool, this workout isn’t the “official” workout Dwayne used, but it should definitely help you build a body similar to his. Let me know how it goes.
the lower body movements won ruin the nice v tapor look will it?
Not really. As long as you don’t have super high levels of bf and as long as your shoulders and back grow as well in proportion, it won’t ruin the v-taper look.
how will this produce optimal results if your only hitting each muscle group once every week?
The number of times you hit each muscle group per week is dependent on the intensity of each workout. This workout is intense enough so that you only need to hit the muscles once per week.
In the maintanance phase, how long would you recommend doing the workout for phase 2. Is that something that I could just continue to use in order to maintain the muscle I built or will I have to change it up. If changing it up is needed could you outline a routine in order to do so.
It really depends. As long as it takes until you’re around 10% body fat.
just curious but why did you change the workout when going into phase 2. Why not just keep the phase 1 workout but just tweak the set/rep scheme?
Phase 1 is about gaining muscle so I put more exercises and more volume. Phase 2 is about mainly about maintaining your strength and doing so many exercises at more volume is a bit pointless…
So I wont lose my gains?
Right, just make sure you’re not losing too much strength.
how does phase 2 hit the triceps?
By lifting heavy with the military/inlcine press.
How hard should you push yourself? I mean, should you be able to do another set after say the 2×8 Flat Dumbell Press? Just not sure if I push myself too hard in the first excersizes, I won’t be able to do the last, since they hit similar muscles/areas…
Push yourself with 100% intensity.
for the dieting in phase 1 and 2, what foods would you recommend?
Too many to list here. In general eats fruits, veggies, proteins (beef, chicken, whey, fish), cheese, avocado…the choices are endless, just make sure the majority of your calories aren’t coming from ‘junk’ food.
Hey, fantastic post! I was wondering in phase 1 and 2on Tuesdays and Thursdays would you be resting or doing cardio? If cardio then what type? (HIIT?). Many thanks in advance.
just rest, you can do some light stretching and soft tissue work (foam roller, tennis ball…) if you want.
Why all the sets of 13 on biceps?
Because biceps respond better to higher rep ranges
Ive been dealing with weight issues throughout my life. ive been successful with dropping pounds but need something different. i have a lot of natural muscle mass but ihave too much fat mass over it. i dont want to bulk up. i want to shred the fat and be lean. i gain muscle very easily so i need a plan to get the fat off without gaining too much more muscle.
Just continue lifting weights to maintain your muscle and go on a diet.
The Rock is truly a star.
My Legs I feel are a little on thinner side!
Which exercises would suit me?
squats, deads, leg presses, lunges
Dwayne Johnson physique was in the best shape from the start..
One thing that you really need to know about him is :
He was 24 years of age with no job, no money and nothing to his name. He was broke and just have $7 to his name!
He went from Canadian Football League to WWE SmackDown to the highest grossing actor of Hollywood for the year 2013.
Isn’t that mind-blowing? 😀
What’s your take on creatine…….should it be incorporated with your work out or is it overated?
Creatine mono is great.