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The Rock's Leg Workout Is Hardcore Motivation For Us All

Johnson reveals he's learned how to train "harder" and "smarter."

If you're looking for a Rock-hard, toned, built body, look no further than, well, The Rock! Dwayne Johnson's build and overall fitness is awe-inspiring, to say the very least. The 49-year-old actor and former professional wrestler clearly knows how it's done. The Rock recently shared his leg workout with his 305M followers on Instagram as he motivates fans with some hearty mind stimulation. "Hardest workers in the room, win the race. Smartest workers in the room, win the journey," he writes in the caption. Read on to learn the specifics about The Rock's leg workout and his never-ending fitness motivation. Next up, be sure to check out The 6 Best Exercises for Strong and Toned Arms in 2022, Trainer Says.

The Rock puts in the effort to "raise [his] personal bar"

The Rock posted an outright impressive Instagram carousel of photos in his gym, and it understandably generated likes from more than 3.8 million people. The first picture shows The Rock's totally defined legs and body. The post is accompanied by so much positivity in the caption, which reads, "Absolutely brutal leg training today but, always grateful to put the work in and do my best to raise my personal bar."

He's worked out through many injuries and damages to his body, including a ruptured Achilles, five knee surgeries, shoulder reconstruction, a torn ab wall, and a torn quadriceps. Because of it, he explains, "You'll see the weight I use is never an insanely heavy amount. Tons of guys who are WAY stronger than I am, because of all my injuries."

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Johnson has learned how to train "harder" and "smarter"

dwayne johnson
Kevin Mazur / Contributor

Johnson continues in his caption, "Truth is, over the years I've actually learned to train HARDER. But, in order to train harder, I had to learn how to train SMARTER." The star clearly has a positive, work-hard attitude and puts an emphasis on quality over quantity, explaining, "I've learned it's not how much weight we use, but rather the quality of the reps and mind/muscle connection that matters most."

The Rock also gives a shoutout to his strength and conditioning coach, Dave Rienzi, founder of Rienzi Strength "for always seeing the big picture, health & fitness journey." Johnson's followers loved responding, including trainer Dave Rienzi, saying, "Cheat meal earned for sure after this brutal leg workout brother! That finisher of Lunges and RDL's after the giant sets really takes it home. Next level burn." Michael Phelps also commented, "The pit shark (heart emojis). Sounds like a good one today!!!! Get it!!"

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His leg workout includes "GIANT SETS," and they are as intense as they sound

dwayne johnson at super bowl
Kevin C. Cox / Staff

The Rock shares his workout in the caption, and ends with, "You guys keep getting' after your health & fitness goals—and I always got your back," adding the most relatable concluding sentence ever: "It's cheat meal time!!!"

Johnson's leg training session kicks off with a 25 to 30-minute warm-up, consisting of core work, use of a foam roller, and stretching. The warm-up continues with activating the quads, hamstrings, and glutes with leg curls, leg extensions, single leg glute drives, and glute abductions.

"GIANT SETS" come next (4 to 5 sets of 4 to 5 exercises for each set, at a rep range of 15 to 20), and they are as hardcore as the name suggests. Johnson notes, "No rest between exercises," and continues to explain, "Slow, intense, controlled reps with multi second negatives—increasing weight every set. Single leg reps to double leg and moving foot positions and stance to hit all angles and muscles effectively." He wraps things up with walking chain lunges (120 pounds) "to failure" along with "superset with Romanian deadlifts." He does the deadlifts in a controlled and slow manner, pausing for 1 second at the bottom.

For more…

serious athletic man performing plank
Shutterstock

For more mind and body news, check out The 3 Cardio Exercise Tricks To Get Lean Faster With Each Step and The 5 Best Floor Exercises For "Exercise Snacking," Trainer Says.

Alexa Mellardo
Alexa is the Mind + Body Deputy Editor of Eat This, Not That!, overseeing the M+B channel and delivering compelling fitness, wellness, and self-care topics to readers. Read more about Alexa