So, for a crucial man-to-man primer on the pillars of gym life—man laws, if you will—we asked none other than one of the biggest, most experienced gym rats of all time: John Cena, 16-time WWE champion and chief American exporter of Attitude Adjustments.
Cena might play a tough guy in the ring, but he’s also one in real-life and nowhere is that more apparent than in the gym. The 43-year-old wrestler and movie star has hit a 611-pound squat, 463-pound bench press, 650-pound deadlift, 353-pound power clean, and 305-pound snatch.
Just a reminder that he doesn’t lift for a living, but those PR’s have certainly helped him in lifting big men like the Big Show and The Great Khali during his many epic matches in the squared circle. Talk about Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect.
We mention all of that to show you why Cena’s the best man to go to for gym advice. Sure, he’s no Mr. Olympia but the Doctor of Thuganomics knows his way around the weight room better than most.
Here, the All-American icon dishes on his five most absolute, fundamental gym commandments.
The gym is a fantastic place. I call it church, for me, because it’s a place where I just forget about everything else. If I’m not focused on what I’m doing, I’m going to hurt myself. I see folks casually trudge along going through the basics. Now, you don’t have to be training for the Olympics. But you should be using your time to become a better individual.
If you want to socialize, there are a ton of other places that have happy hours. There should be some form of social activity in the gym, but there should be some work getting done. And when that balance shifts to more of a place to hang out and less of a place to do work, that’s when my temper boils over a little bit.
You want a real man code law? That’s it. If you’re certainly doing something incorrectly, you don’t need me to correct you—you’ll know it because you’ll be injured.
If you don’t know how to do a new exercise, or you’re just not sure you’ve mastered the technique, then search out someone who has proper certification to show you the right way. There’s no harm in asking for help. Otherwise, stick to what you know.
Nutrition is so much more paramount than actual athletic activity. If you just regulated nutrition, you could completely redefine your physical presence. When you add exercise, it’s like a hyperbooster. I had a great understanding of this when I was 12 years old. Put some gas in the tank and then run the car. That’s pretty much it.
We all know what crap is. Don’t eat crap all the time. Only a little bit.
Training is simple. Training is really, really simple. Obviously, you guys at Men’s Fitness like to get into the nitty gritty. But if you continuously go to the gym and do something every time you’re there, and you give some effort to get better, you will see a physical transformation.
Every gym is different. Whether you’re at a private gym, or an MMA gym, or an NFL or NBA locker room, or a CrossFit box, you need to learn what people expect of you there. If you go to Hard Nock South—that’s kind of our little shack—the protocol is in a giant vinyl banner that is printed next to the American flag. It’s easy for everybody to read and it’s pretty self-explanatory.
