How To Train Your Legs Like The Rock

It’s not every day you get to share the gym with “The People’s Champ”, “The Brahma Bull”, “The Great One”, “The Most Electrifying Man In All Of Entertainment”, and “The Final Boss” all at the same time…

… so let’s train legs!

Yes, today we’re in the gym with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson; a man who, despite being among the busiest people on the planet, always finds time to start his day with a gruelling 2-hour combination of weights and cardio.

And leg day just happens to be his favourite.

“I’ve always had an affinity for leg day. I save it for Saturday, as a kind of sick treat for myself to look forward to all week long.

The burn… the pain… the struggle… there’s really nothing like it!”

– The Rock

I honestly can’t remember the last time I met someone who was so giddy with excitement at the prospect of a puke-inducing leg session.

His eagerness to punish his lower body is written all over his face, as he fondly reminisces about brutal sessions from the past, and talks of the never-ending “Man versus Iron” mental battle which takes place in his mind every day.

Show him a a new twist on a classic exercise and you’ll see his eyes sparkle like a child on Christmas morning, having just discovered a new way to switch on the pain.

Of ourse, Dwayne Johnson is not like “most people”. This is a guy who almost made it into the NFL, then went on to become one of the most revered WWE Superstars of all time, and then carved out another career as Hollywood’s most popular actor.

When we add in his more recent ventures into the business world, which include a tequila brand, a sports clothing brand, and an energy drink, it’s clear that at this point The Rock is just completing side quests.

The leg workout below is part of a training program which he’s used for several years. It helped him to carve the physique we saw on the big screen in Pain & Gain, Central Intelligence, Jumanji, and most recently Red One.

Breaking Down The Rock’s Leg Workout

The Rock has changed a LOT since he transitioned out of WWE and into movies.

Gone are the heavy weights and explosive movements, and in their place is a bodybuilding-style program which focuses on high reps, burnouts, and increased time under tension.

And it’s difficult to argue with his results, isn’t it?

Hell, The Rock looks better at 52 years old than most people ever look. He’s bigger and leaner right now than during his wrestling career in the early 2000s, and the man seems to defy the aging process.

When high rep training is done correctly it can be just as effective as low rep training for muscle growth, and it necessitates a whole different level of mental fortitude (trust me, a 20+ rep burnout set with a very light weight will humble even the most stubborn of egos – I know!).

So I guess what I’m saying here is don’t make the mistake of thinking this is gonna be easy just because we won’t be lifting super heavy.

The Rock is prepared to endure the horrible-ness of those high rep burnout sets because he knows this training style is perfectly suited to his body and his schedule.

You see, high rep phases come with the added benefit of significantly faster recovery times as they won’t fatigue the central nervous system anywhere near as much as a heavy workout (a gamechanger when you regularly work 18 hours days and do lots of travelling), and let’s not forget that his body was ravaged from wrestling (4 knee surgeries, 3 lower back disc ruptures, a ruptured Achilles tendon, a torn abductor, torn quadriceps, a hernia, and a torn abdomen!) so lowering the amount of stress which is placed upon his joints is another key factor why he enjoys this style of training.

Now it’s time to get in the gym!

The Workout

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest
Barbell Box Squat	5	20	90 sec
Leg Press * The final set is a dropset.	5	25 20 18 16 25/25	60 sec
Smith Machine Lunges * Each leg.	4	16	60 sec
Lying Leg Curl * The final set is a dropset.	4	12 10 8 6/12	60 sec
Smith Machine Calf Raise * The final set is a dropset.	6	16 16 16 16 16 16/20	45 sec

Here’s a handy infographic you can save:

Additional Training Tips

Pay close attention to the first exercise on today’s card.

Dwayne performs barbell box squats instead of regular squats because it’s easier on his knees and lower back. This is a great exercise in terms of safety, but it also allows the trainee to load the bar with a heavier weight, producing more force through the quadriceps.

Another thing you’ll notice is that the majority of exercises finish with a dropset/burnout.

Considering we’re using higher rep ranges and avoiding lifting max weights here, these are a very good way of ensuring the target muscles reach failure. After completing your final set of XX reps, you’ll reduce the weight by about 30% and immediately force out another XX reps. The only recovery time you have is however long it takes you to quickly switch the weights, so as you can imagine, these sets are the ones that’ll make your legs sore for a few days!

Further Reading:

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

>> How The Undertaker Got In The Shape Of His Life At 42
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