How Dwayne Johnson Achieved His Physique for Hercules?

After watching Hercules, Dwayne Johnson wanted you to walk away with just one notion in your mind: that you just saw the biggest, meanest, baddest, and, most importantly, most definitive version of Hercules ever seen on big screens.

Most of Hollywood's action stars would find it difficult to play a real life ancient Greek demigod than it would be for the mythical son of Zeus to do all 12 of his labors at once. Even for Johnson, who already weighs 260 pounds and is 6 feet 5 inches tall, it was going to be no easy task.

However, he had spent most of his life in the gym training to be a pro football player, a world-famous pro wrestler, and one of Hollywood's highest-earning movie stars of all time, So he had all the tools he needed to get through it.

Here, in his words, Johnson tells us how he muscled up for the role and explains why nutrition is the most important part of getting big:

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Dwayne Johnson's Herculean Effort

To look the part for 'Hercules', Dwayne Johnson stepped up his training a lot. For six months, he worked out six days a week and rested for a day. Johnson would start each morning with a 50-minute cardio session. Then, depending on the day, he would work on a different body part. His legs were the only muscle group that got more than one workout per week.

Johnson would start working out pretty early, around 4 am. When he was filming, he would do cardio and lifting before going to set. He trained about six days a week, and even when he was not filming, he'd get up between 3 and 5 am. just to train.

Dwayne Johnson loved training when the sun came up, as it allowed him to "put on his headphones and step off the crazy treadmill that is everyone's life". He's 100 percent focused when he has his headphones on and listening to music. There's no wasted time or effort when it comes to Johnson and his weights.

He would work out for about 90 minutes, or maybe an hour and 45 minutes. While other actors may slack off with their training schedules once they've got a movie in the can, Johnson is among the minority who would be in the gym all year round.

"Working out anchors my day," he says. "For me, training is my meditation, my yoga, hiking, biking, therapy all rolled into one. I love it. It makes me feels good."

Dwayne Johnson will be the first to tell you that his hard workouts have helped him get physically where he needs to be. However, he also has a very strict diet before and while he's filming.

Nevertheless, he felt he had to step up his game for 'Hercules'. So Johnson and his nutrition team made the '12 Labors' diet, which is high in protein, carbs, and fats, to make sure he was in the best shape of his life.

Generally, Johnson eats six or seven times a day. He tries to have enough protein so that they can aid in muscle growth. His diet is generally rich in protein, good carbs, and vegetables. Nutrition is quite important; its role can't be stressed enough in building up the body.

For 'Hercules,' Johnson underwent a 22-week full-on diet. He would eat a bunch of egg whites, filet mignon, chicken, fish, oatmeal, broccoli, asparagus, baked potato, cream of rice, salad, and complex carbs — all of them measured and weighed.

Johnson's 'Hercules' workout and diet was all about hard work, discipline, and balance. He had carbs with every meal, so there was always a balance of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Part of his daily regime was taking supplements like glucosamine, a multitude of multivitamins, glutamine, branched-chain amino acids, and chondroitin. He also had a protein shake every day after training.

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Takeaway

Dwayne Johnson worked out for six months to get ready for the role of Hercules, which would have been challenging for even the most dedicated athletes and bodybuilders. It was true for Johnson, too, who followed his strenuous routine for the role and succeeded amazingly.

Whether his workout and diet are sustainable for someone looking for long-term fitness is another question altogether. If you're looking to become fit, you can definitely take inspiration for meals and workout ideas, but following Dwayne Johnson's long-term plan would not be advisable.