Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has held WWE Championships, ruled the Hollywood box office, and even wowed critics with his gritty performance as MMA icon Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine. But what really drives him to hit the gym when it’s early, and cold, and no one would notice him stealing a bit of extra shut eye? The star took to Instagram to share the details.
“Good morning,” offered ‘The Great One’ as he made the walk from his house to the famous private gym known as the “Iron Paradise.” This is the space where Johnson has chiseled his physique for the screen in recent years, but while social media commentators often enter the chat here to suggest it’s easy for multimillionaires to build muscle, because they have the extra time and resources, the reality is usually much different. For example, this particular workout has a start time of around 4.45 a.m., on a cold and dark Saturday morning. “You ever wake up so early, you’re like, am I f***ng crazy,” joked Johnson, heading into a gutsy cardio session. “And you go, ‘yeah, a little bit.’”
Of course, extremely late night and ultra early gym sessions are nothing new to The Rock, who has weathered the roads travelling the globe with WWE, and has maintained an incredible physique despite the random hours of movie shoots. During Johnson’s impromptu Instagram live video, he shared an affinity for Waylon Jennings’ song, “I’ve always been crazy.” But most observers would suggest that he’s got things well worked out.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Shares His Evolving Philosophy at 53
The Rock is rounding out a year of mixed fortunes. While The Smashing Machine failed to make the kind impact at the box office that he’d hoped for, he ultimately got something far more elusive in the form of mass critical acclaim. “A question that I get asked a lot about, ‘What’s the hack?’” shared Johnson as he headed toward his gym. “What’s the life hack to success? Well, there’s no life hack,” confirmed the eight-time WWE Champion. “Work begets work.” To date, Johnson’s movies have generated more than eleven billion dollars worldwide, solidifying him as one of the most successful actors of all time, but the star shares that winning is mostly about what you do when no one is watching. “You gotta put in the work, but I used to think that ‘oh, what am I willing to do that other’s aren’t willing to do?”
As a struggling footballer, then a fledging wrestler, and a budding actor, the man they now call ‘The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment,’ understood that to stand out from the pack, he would have to dig deep. “And it served, me, and I think it serves a lot of us out there,” he reflected. Now that he’s an established icon, however, that philosophy, as relates to training and life, has undergone some reconstruction. At 53, Johnson is now leaning into what he can bring to the table. “Sure, you can compare yourself to others, but what served me even better, and more, and really became invaluable, was the collapsing of that philosophy,” shared The Rock with his almost 400 million Instagram followers. “And, not comparing what others do, but really, what I’m willing to do, period, full stop, that’s it.”
Johnson now begins his prep for each task by putting his faith into himself. This legendary pro wrestler and actor no longer wants to know what others are willing to do, he simply asks himself what he’s willing to do. “And that’s get up at 4am, and get my ass in the gym, and do the work when nobody’s watching,” explained the Jumanji star. “It’s easier to do the work when the sun comes up and everyone’s watching and it’s part of the routine,” said the star. “But the harder work, I found, is the stuff you do when no one watches. In the quiet of the night, or the super early in the morning.”
Now inside the Iron Paradise, Johnson pointed to a sign that he has on the wall, consisting of two lines: Stay Humble and Stay Hungry. “And I’m gonna put a third one right here”, he joked, “and Stay The F**k In Bed.” Of course, there’s no chance that The Rock will rest on his laurels, but The Great One’s impromptu IG chat gave a rare glimpse into the inspirational insanity that keeps him crazy for crushing it in the gym.
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