Don’t just watch your favorite WWE Superstars battle in the squared circle—sculpt a WWE-worthy physique with these workouts and tips from the greatest sports entertainers of all time.
You may never execute a Flying Clothesline in front of 20,000 screaming fans, but you can still soak up buckets of wisdom from the people who do. We took a look at the training methods, diet hacks, and winning mindsets that the greatest WWE stars of all time employ to perform at the highest level—and build bodies that resemble Greek gods.
Incorporate their tips into your own training—no ring required.
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Per Bernal
Dave Bautista
Training Secret: His diet is on point.
“With Drax always being shirtless, there’s no room to hide any fat,” Bautista tells M&F of his prep for the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers movies. So the former WWE star eats a steady diet of poultry, fish, eggs, red meat, veggies—and no junk food. “You can’t leave a gym and go eat like shit,” says Bautista, who normally chows down on protein and fats during the day and consumes a low-carb meal at night. “Diet is always going to be a huge factor for me.” Even though he recenty hit 50, Bautista mixes a clean diet with workouts like the below to ensure we’ll never see Drax with a galaxy-size gut.
Training Secret: He acts like he hasn’t made it yet.
Whether he’s shrugging 315 pounds or bench pressing 480, Cena behaves like a guy who’s still seeking his big break. “The moment you think you’ve made it, you’re done,” Cena tells M&F. “That’s when you need to go fishing.”
It’s this mindset that helps him stick to a workout regimen despite a ridiculous schedule that includes WWE shows, international flights, film and commercial shoots, Make-A-Wish appearances, and endless promotional events. No matter how busy he is, he always makes time for the gym. No excuses. “Consistency, consistency, consistency,” says Cena, who still pushes himself like a hungry up-and-comer when he tackles the routine below (or any routine).
Training Secret: Like Bruce Banner says in The Avengers, “My secret is, I’m always angry.”
McMahon—who talks about his “dirt poor” childhood—channels his “superaggression” and Hulks out in the gym. Daily. “Training helps me physically and gives me stability mentally,” he says. “If I don’t train, I’m an angry bear.”
We’re not saying this is always a good idea, but when you help run a multibillion-dollar company and still perform, train almost daily, and have three kids at home—something has gotta give. “My wife, Stephanie [McMahon], and I train every night at midnight. I don’t buy the whole ‘I don’t have time’ excuse,” says Levesque, who’s excited if he gets five hours of sleep. “If you really want to do it, you’ll make time and you’ll get it in. I understand the importance of sleep, but I think your body is remarkably adaptive and can function with a lot less sleep or rest than most people think.”
After Lesnar’s first retirement from the UFC in 2011 (and return for one bout in 2016), he switched his training style from conditioning-oriented to strength-focused. “I can train heavier than when I was preparing for UFC fights,” Lesnar says. “And I enjoy training more. I train smarter now. My workouts are more exciting, and there’s less pressure.”
Don’t think less pressure means easier work: Lesnar trains with 275 pounds for over-head presses and 550-plus for deadlifts.
“It’s tough to get into the gym when you’re on the road so much, but it’s so important that I make the time to keep up with it,” says Banks, who trains for 90 minutes on most days.
You remember that line in Central Intelligence when Johnson tells Kevin Hart how he got his body? “I just did one thing,” he says. “I worked out six hours a day, every day, for the last 20 years straight. Anybody can do it, right?”
The reason this line is funny is because it’s almost true. Johnson started pumping iron when he was 13 and hasn’t stopped since. He’s now 46. Do the math—that’s more than 30 years of consistent training. To acquire a body like Johnson’s, you have to be willing to bust your ass in the gym for not weeks or months but years.
He often rises at 3:45 in the morning to fit in a workout before he’s needed on a movie set by 7 or 8 a.m. “Yes, I’m busy, but we’re all busy,” he says. “We’re all on the treadmill of life, and it requires balance, but for me, training is a key part of that balance.”
Training Secret: The Bellas kick butt in the gym, but it’s how they recover that makes the difference.
This includes getting as much sleep as possible given their hectic schedules, as well as regular sessions of cryotherapy, acupuncture, yoga, and active-release techniques. “We train,” Nikki tells M&F, “but we also focus on taking care of ourselves at the same time.”
