Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is arguably the buffest leading man in Hollywood right now, and he most definitely adheres to the age-old gym adage: never skip legs. He build such enormous quads while getting ready to film Black Adam last year that they very nearly broke the internet, and in a recent Instagram video, he shared a look at the “fun pain” he goes through to get those results on leg day (or in Johnson’s case, leg night, because he is all about those night owl training sessions).
The routine includes four giant sets of leg press, vertical leg press, chain lunges, and Pit Shark sumo squats, all performed non-stop. Johnson slows the sumo squats right down to finish off each round, making sure he is executing three-second negatives on every repetition to maximize time under tension and achieve the absolute best quality of eccentric contraction.
Johnson has spoken many times about how adopting this slow, controlled approach to the staple compound movements has helped him get the most bang for his buck in all of his workouts, even if that sometimes actually means using lighter weights to focus instead on technique and tempo.
In this specific workout however, Johnson is adding resistance to his giant sets in the form of heavy metal chains, which he drapes across his shoulders while performing walking lunges. This is one of the actor’s go-to lower body burners in the Iron Paradise which strength coach Dave Rienzi often programs into sessions as a finisher.
“Adding chains to otherwise normal lifts is an old school bodybuilding technique that has stood the test of time,” says Men’s Health fitness editor Brett Williams. “The links can simply add extra weight in moves like dips and pullups, or make balancing a barbell more difficult as you account for the shifting links.”
Philip Ellis is a freelance writer and journalist from the United Kingdom covering pop culture, relationships and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV.
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