John Cena On How His Workouts Have Changed Since Leaving Wrestling Full-Time
WWE legend and 16-time World Champion John Cena has been busy promoting his new HBO Max show, Peacemaker, which has received generally positive reviews from critics. In a recent conversation with GQ, Cena gave some insight on how things are on the set with COVID-19 protocols in place.
"COVID protocols have certainly taken away a lot of the interactions that happen on a set, and connections with castmates can be difficult. But when you get someone like [Peacemaker director and creator] James Gunn, who allows you the freedom to improv and do these long takes, you kind of build those moments in," John explained. "James does always get the material that he has scripted, but he also allows for the relationship-building of these giant improv takes that we'll never use.
"A lot of times it's probably just to establish a connection, get the crew to laugh so they're not feeling isolated and away from us as it seems because it's literally like, mask on, isolate from everyone, and here we go...Act! The idea is to extend that time a little bit more, let everyone enjoy it for a hot second—it allows us to bond for a little bit.
"Food is a totally different thing now, but I always kind of bring my own stuff to set," Cena continued. "I just want to make sure I know where it's coming from, and it allows me to hit the numbers and the nutrients that I want to get."
Since he hasn't competed much in the squared circle in recent years, Cena's approach to consistent exercise has evolved in certain ways. But he also attributes a large portion of that to growing older, as he hopes to be lifting weights in his 80s.
"If anything, [wrestling] allows you to be healthier because you have to be there for the shows, but you have so much time during the day. You're on the road all the time but I have such a network across the world of gyms to go to and healthy places to eat that the road actually becomes your home.
"But my training has switched a lot because I'm old. I'm going to be 45 this year," Cena said. "I started lifting weights in a dedicated fashion when I was 12 years old. If you do the math, I'm coming up on 35 years of that. That's a long time. The biggest shift when I was in the WWE is, every day, I tried to be the strongest version I can be that day. Now, I'm trying to be able to lift weights when I'm 80, so I need to take a little bit more care of myself for the long term. I have a 40,000-foot perspective. It's a lot more work on flexibility and a lot more warming up. The stuff that I hated to do? I've learned to like just because it gets me feeling good for the stuff that I like."
John took some time to explain his approach to a typical workout now that he's in his mid-40s.
"I would start with a 15-minute cardiovascular warmup, then probably an hour of physical weight training—which would be compound movements, Olympic weightlifting, and power movements. I still do the same stuff, just not as heavy as I used to when I was a younger guy. Then 40 minutes to an hour of stretching at the end, and that's non-negotiable because that allows me to walk out of the gym upright and feeling good. With the principles of yoga, it actually keeps me present and in tune with my body. If I had anything in my mental backpack on the way into the gym, it's gone by the time I leave."