John Cena’s Full Workout Routine and Diet

We all know John Cena for his reign as the world’s most famous professional wrestler and for his leading roles in various movies. But did you know that John Cena was a bodybuilder before he became a wrestler? Back in the day he was a competitive bodybuilder, and that foundation never left him.

The man is a legend both inside the WWE ring and outside of it. One of the few wrestlers still sporting an incredible physique today, John Cena works hard to keep the gains he has made over the years. He was not always big and strong though. In fact he was a skinny kid that was often bullied at school because of how he looked and dressed.

John started exercising at home first, and his parents bought him a weight set and a bench for Christmas. Three years later, at the age of 15, he joined a gym — and that decision changed his life.

The secret to his insane muscular body is the combination of intense training sessions and an equally challenging diet. John trains five days a week using high volume for building size. He occasionally changes the routine and lifts very heavy weights with low volume.

His usual workout incorporates light to medium weights, typically 3–5 sets per exercise with high repetitions (15–20). The exercises are mostly compound lifts, with some isolation work added for his weaker body parts.

John Cena’s Full Workout Routine

Day 1 — Legs and Calves

Calves:

Seated Calf Raises — 10 sets, 10–20 reps
Standing Weightless Calf Raises — 4 sets, 25 reps

Upper Legs:

Standing Single-Leg Curls — 4 sets, 20–25 reps
Leg Presses — 5 sets, 20 reps
Leg Extensions — 4 sets, 15 reps
Squats — 4 sets, 10 reps
Hack Squats — 3 sets, 15 reps
Single-Leg Extensions — 3 sets, 10 reps

Day 2 — Chest

Incline Barbell Press — 5 sets, 20 reps
Machine Flies — 3 sets, 15 reps
Incline Machine Press — 5 sets, 20 reps
Cable Flies — 3 sets, 15 reps
Bench Press — 3 sets, 10 reps

Day 3 — Arms

Biceps:

Standing Barbell Curl — 3 sets, 10–12 reps
Preacher Curls — 5 sets, 12 reps
Seated Dumbbell Curl — 3 sets, 10–12 reps
Standing Cable Curl — 3–4 sets, 12 reps

Triceps:

Overhead Cambered Extension — 3 sets, 20 reps
Rope Press Downs — 3 sets, 20 reps
Single-Arm Cable Press Downs — 3 sets, 10 reps
Lying Triceps Extension — 6 sets
Seated Barbell Extension — 3 sets, 20 reps

Day 4 — Shoulders

Rear Delt Machine Flies — 5 sets, 20 reps
Dumbbell Laterals — 3 sets, 12 reps
Machine Overhead Press — 5 sets, 20 reps
Machine Side Laterals — 5 sets, 20 reps
Seated Military Press — 3 sets, 10 reps
Standing Barbell Press — 3 sets, 10 reps

Day 5 — Back and Traps

Lat Pull Downs — 5 sets, 20 reps
Shrugs — 5 sets, 20 reps
Bent Barbell Rows — 5–12 sets, 20 reps
Pull-ups — 4 sets
One-Arm Dumbbell Rows — 5–12 sets, 20 reps
Deadlifts — 4–8 sets, 15 reps
High Rows — 4 sets, 20 reps

John also performs 600 crunches each day after completing his workout. This is an enormous amount of volume — but this guy is strong as a bull and the routine obviously works for him. Try it at your own risk.

John Cena’s Powerlifting Workout

Working alongside his personal trainer Rob MacIntyre, John shifted his focus to pure strength gains in later years — becoming the strongest he’s ever been while maintaining an astonishing level of aesthetic muscularity.

He trains four days a week on this program. Two days emphasize Olympic lifts, two days focus on powerlifting movements. Every six weeks he attempts a new max on his main lifts to ensure constant progress in both strength and size.

The following is John Cena’s upper-body powerlifting routine that helped him build a substantial portion of his current power and muscle mass.

1. Barbell Bench Press

Muscles: Chest, shoulders, triceps

Lie back on a flat bench with a medium-width grip. Unrack the bar with straight arms and hold it directly over your chest. Inhale as you lower the bar to your mid-chest, pause briefly, then exhale as you press it back up to lockout. Squeeze your chest at the top, hold for a second, then lower slowly. Keep your butt on the bench throughout. The lowering phase should take roughly twice as long as the press.

Prescription: 3 sets × 5 reps at ~70% of max | 90 seconds rest

2. Warrior Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

Muscles: Chest, deltoids, triceps

Set an adjustable bench to 30–45 degrees. Holding dumbbells, lie back and lift them directly above your shoulders with fully extended arms, pulling your shoulder blades together. Slowly lower both dumbbells to the sides of your chest, keeping your elbows close to your sides. Pause, then explosively press to full extension. Maintain a neutral back and tucked elbows throughout.

Prescription: 3 sets × 6 reps | 90 seconds rest

3. Skull Crusher

Muscles: Triceps, forearms

Lie on a bench and hold an EZ bar with a close grip, arms perpendicular to the floor. Without moving your upper arms, inhale and lower the bar by flexing your elbows until it’s directly above your forehead. Pause, then exhale and extend the elbows to power it back up — stop just before lockout to keep tension on the triceps. Avoid flaring the elbows.

Prescription: 3 sets × 5 reps | 90 seconds rest

4. Single-Arm Dumbbell Row

Muscles: Middle back, lats, shoulders

Place your right knee and hand on a flat bench for support, torso parallel to the floor. Pick up a dumbbell with your left hand, palm facing your torso. Pull the dumbbell straight up to the side of your chest while keeping your torso stationary. Squeeze your back at the top, then lower with control. Complete all reps on one side before switching.

Prescription: 4 sets × 5 reps | 90 seconds rest

5. Machine Row

Muscles: Middle back, biceps, lats, shoulders

Sit at a low pulley row machine with a V-bar. Place your feet on the platform with knees slightly bent, lean forward with a neutral back and grip the handles. Pull your torso back until perpendicular to your legs — back slightly arched, chest out. Then pull the handles toward your abs, contract your back, hold a second, and return to start.

Prescription: 3 sets × 8 reps | 90 seconds rest

6. Barbell Shrug

Muscles: Traps, forearms

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart holding a barbell with a pronated grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width. Exhale and raise your shoulders as high as possible, hold the contraction for a second, then slowly lower. Avoid using your biceps to lift the bar. You can rotate the shoulders slightly at the top if flexibility allows.

Prescription: 4 sets with 6-6-5-5 rep pattern | 90 seconds rest

7. Landmine Twist

Muscles: Abs, glutes, lower back, shoulders

Load one end of a barbell into a landmine attachment. From a wide-stance position, grab the bar with both hands and extend your arms to raise it to shoulder height. Rotate your trunk and hips to swing the bar all the way down to one side, keeping your arms extended, then swing to the opposite side. Alternate for the prescribed reps.

Prescription: 2 sets × 10 reps | 90 seconds rest

John Cena’s 8 Rules of the Gym

John Cena has become a legend not only because of his WWE showmanship but because his name has become synonymous with discipline and dedication. Every successful lifter builds their strength and size on a set of rules, and John is no different.

These aren’t fancy or overly scientific — they’re simple, which is exactly what makes them effective.

1. Eliminate the Smith Machine Cena likens the Smith machine to a coat rack. He says it’s not only ineffective — in the long term it creates serious muscle imbalances because it restricts your body to moving in fixed planes, removing the stabilizer muscles from the equation entirely.

2. Learn to Love the Squat You must have heard this a thousand times. It bears repeating. Not doing squats is simply out of the question. It’s the ultimate training absolute. If you’re still reluctant, find another sport.

3. Fix Your Weak Points For whatever muscle group needs fixing, incorporate specific exercises to target it. Weak links create muscle imbalances and carry injury risk over time. If hamstrings are your weak point, add Romanian deadlifts or good mornings to your program.

4. Put the Weights Back This is not your home. Gym etiquette requires putting weights back after use. Taking the time to do it shows you’re an experienced lifter who respects the space and the people in it.

5. Recovery Changes as You Age When you’re young you can train 6 days a week, party all night and still recover. As you get older, you’ll be forced to lower both training frequency and intensity. Learn to recognize the symptoms of overtraining before they set you back.

6. Don’t Be Afraid to Try New Exercises Adding new exercises is enough to reignite stalled progress and make training interesting again. It’ll take a while to get the hang of them — but that learning curve is where the new gains come from.

7. Do What Needs to Be Done Training is hard work and lots of times it isn’t fun. Nobody got strong and big by lifting light weights. Be smart, progress slowly, have a good system and set realistic goals — then go smash the weights.

8. No Music During Training John never listens to music during training, and doesn’t during WWE performances either. He says it’s the audience’s energy that gives him his drive. Decide what gives you yours.

John Cena’s Gym: Hard Nocks South

John Cena doesn’t train at your average commercial gym. Hard Nocks South, located in Tampa, Florida, is a haven for wrestlers and serious strength athletes looking for top-notch training.

“We named it Hard Nocks South after Hard Nocks, which is a gym owned by Dave Nock up in Massachusetts where John first started lifting,” says trainer Rob MacIntyre.

When you walk in, there are no treadmills everywhere and the walls aren’t painted. What it has — that most modern gyms lack — is the right atmosphere. Intensity. Focus. The kind of environment where serious work actually gets done.

Cena set it up specifically as a place where young up-and-comers in the sport could train alongside serious athletes.

John Cena’s Diet

John’s diet is described as “bland on flavor” by Men’s Health magazine — but it gets results. He consumes 7 meals a day totalling approximately 3,600 calories: 290g of protein, 450g of carbs, and 65g of fat. The diet is built around lean meats, vegetables, cereals and grains to fuel his training and support recovery.

Daily Meal Plan

Meal 1

4 scrambled eggs, Swiss cheese, bacon, mixed vegetables
or 100g oatmeal with raisins and apple sauce, 6 egg whites, 2 whole eggs

Meal 2

200–250 calorie protein bar
or 2 scoops of whey protein with 2 cups of water

Meal 3

2 chicken breasts
100g brown rice
Green salad

Meal 4

Whole wheat pita bread
One can of tuna

Meal 5

200–250 calorie protein bar
or 2 scoops of whey protein with 2 cups of water

Meal 6

Pasta or brown rice
Vegetables or salad
Chicken or fish

Meal 7

Low fat cottage cheese
Casein protein shake

If you want proof of how strong Cena is, look no further than his 611lb squat personal record on video.

John Cena’s Workout Routine and Diet (Full Program)

John Cena’s Full Workout Routine and Diet