Today is John Cena’s 46th birthday, although rumour has it he kicked out at 45.

Having been in top shape for almost 30 years, his hybrid physique of lean muscle, sleeve-bursting size, and absurd strength represents the “holy grail” of what most guys want from the gym.

He’s celebrating his big day just like he would any other day – by smashing the iron! – and we’ve been invited along to his Hard Knocks South Gym to witness one of his trademark strength-based workouts.

Over the course of this article we’ll also discuss his approach to nutrition, supplementation, and the big changes he has made to his workout program as he transitioned out of WWE and into Hollywood.

Hit the entrance music!

A Foundation Of Strength

John Cena is a very strong individual.

Heck, I’d place a bet right now that he can gargle peanut butter.

Cena’s workouts usually draw a crowd – not of fans, but of other gym users – because of the impressive amount of weight he can lift and the speed at which he moves, so it makes sense that his chosen career path involves picking up giants, doesn’t it?

But what most people don’t know is that John almost didn’t join WWE.

Instead, as a young weightlifter he was focused on becoming a champion powerlifter.

You’ll still find many of his old personal records scrawled on the dusty walls of the original Hard Knocks Gym (Massachusetts), including an impressive 480lb bench press and a 600lb deadlift, which date back to his days as a college athlete in the late 1990s.

This powerlifting background inadvertently laid the foundations for his eventual foray into the wrestling world, but he then switched to a bodybuilding-style program in order to build a physique which would “put bums on seats”, and he would return to this style of training in the later years of his career when injuries (and an insane schedule) began taking their toll.

Watching how The Undertaker adapted his training to continue wrestling from 2013 onwards, Cena made a similar move and took his training back to basics to focus purely on strength (so if you think he’s looked differently in the last 5-6 years, now you know why).

Here’s a short video of him nailing a set of 485lb deadlifts in the build-up to his match against ‘Taker at Wrestlemania 34.

(Even more impressive than the technique is the fact that Cena put this much effort into preparing for a match he was scheduled to lose in just 8-minutes!)

From A Strength Monster To “Big Match John”

Soon after breaking through the ranks in WWE, John decided to swap out his powerlifting workouts for a classic bodybuilding program.

WWE is the land of big muscles and great bodies, so this move made a lot of sense.

He set up a 5-day bro split where each large muscle group is trained once per week (e.g. chest day), and each workout lasted about one hour. He would mainly focus on high rep sets. This was a useful tactic for steering clear of injury, because it enabled him to add plenty of muscle mass without placing a huge amount of stress on his central nervous system.

(Of course, it’s worth noting that John Cena was able to perform 15-20 reps with the kind of weight most people would struggle to hit 5-6 reps with!)

He stuck to this high volume training program for 15 years straight, only deviating from it when he was rehabilitating from knocks he’d sustained in the ring, and somehow managed to balance it alongside his daily regimen of wrestling (including live shows, rehearsals, and practice), accepting more Make A Wish requests that anybody (ever), and having one of the craziest travel schedules I’ve ever seen. The man is a machine.

You can find the workout program down below.

John Cena’s Classic WWE Workout Program (2000-2015)

Day 1: Legs & Abs

Day 2: Chest & Abs

Day 3: Biceps, Triceps & Abs

Day 4: Shoulders & Abs

Day 5: Back & Abs

Eating Like John Cena

As you’ve probably gathered, Cena doesn’t do things by half.

So if you want to eat the way he ate during his WWE days it’s going to require less of a diet and more of a lifestyle change (or day we say an Attitude Adjustment).

He likes to strip out all of the unnecessary “fluff” from his nutrition plan and stick to the proven basics. The end result is a rigid, somewhat robotic meal plan. But while most people struggle with “old school” nutrition plans like this, Cena actually draws comfort from the struggle, having seen the results it can produce several times throughout his career.

“I can be a bit robotic, I guess.

I’ve always preferred to set a deadline for my goals and then just do what needs to be done, no question, and I’ve always gotten my best results this way.

I’ll typically commit to a nutrition plan for 2-3 months, hit the goal, and then have just a few days off before finding a new project.

And this next part might sound weird to most people, and I get it I really do, but I’ve never really seen the fascination with “cheat days”, you know?

I think they can be the start of a slippery slope.

I mean, I’ve known guys who took a few days off and it became weeks, and before they knew it they were completely out of shape!

Believe me, I like pizza and donuts as much as the next person, but you have to make a choice.”

– John Cena

Breakfast:

Oatmeal with applesauce and raisins.
2 whole eggs with 6 egg whites.

Mid-morning snack:

Protein bar.

Lunch:

2 chicken breasts with brown rice and vegetables.

Mid-afternoon snack:

1 can of tuna with a whole-wheat pita bread.

Pre-workout:

1 scoop performance pre-workout.
1 scoop pump pre-workout.

Post-workout:

1 banana.
3 scoops of whey protein.
2 scoops creatine.

Evening meal:

Chicken/fish with pasta/brown rice, vegetables, and salad.

Late night snack:

2 scoops casein protein.
Low fat cottage cheese.

Which Supplements Does John Cena Use?

Cena has used Performix Nutrition supplements throughout his WWE career, and eventually announced a business partnership with them in 2019.

You can see his WWE supplement stack below.

• Performix Whey Protein
• Performix Creatine Monohydrate
• Performix SST V2X Pre-Workout
• Performix Supercharged Pump Pre-Workout

Cena’s Return To Strength Training (2015-)

Cena ditched the bodybuilding-style approach in 2015, reverting back to the strength-based programs of his youth.

He had watched The Undertaker make a similar move in 2013, and figured it would be a good way to prolong his in-ring career whilst helping him balance his insane workload.

This turned out to be a good decision.

Cena was able to make frequent returns to WWE whilst establishing himself in Hollywood, and he did so while steering clear of the old injuries which had dogged him throughout his late 30s.

Reverting back to a strength program meant that he carried significantly less muscle mass during his later years, but he still retained all of his trademark strength – he even set a new deadlift PR of 650lbs at age 43! – and he revelled in the chance to go back to his roots.

His program consists of a series of 6-week blocks which stay in the lower rep ranges.

He has reduced the total number of workouts per week, and he now takes much longer recovery time between each set.

He’s also started to place extra emphasis on developing his hamstrings, which he has considered a weak point throughout his career.

You can see his modern day training program below.

“We can easily get caught up in trying to do everything, all at once.

It’s a mistake which you can make when you’re young, but not when you’re old!

Nowadays I just do what I must do in order to be the best I can be at my job. Part of that is to focus on my weaknesses, which for me is my hamstrings. If you have disproportionate hamstring strength, don’t ignore it. Face it and prioritize it by making it a focal point of your plan. It’s not hard to do. My modern day training isn’t flashy (anyone who isn’t a fan would probably think it’s boring AF), and that’s fine – as long as I get to perform at my best for WWE I’ll do whatever I have to do.”

– John Cena

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Further Reading:

If you enjoyed this blog, then you’ll probably also like reading these.

>> So You Wanna Train Legs Like The Rock?
>> How The Undertaker Got In The Shape Of His Life At 42
>> Take A Look At Mark Walberg’s Crazy Daily Routine