John Cena entered the Hollywood industry with a bang proving that he had the talent and determination that any regular actor might have as well. However, his career as a wrestler began much before and that too was a successful and glorious era for him. While the film industry has requirements far different than that of the wrestling industry, Cena was never afraid to take up a challenge.
His journey from a normal kid to a wrestler and then an actor began in perhaps the most mundane way possible. John Cena got into weights so that the bullies won’t bother him anymore due to his scrawny figure. Since then, he has been an icon to many in terms of fitness.
John Cena Gained Muscles To Defend Himself From Bullies
His path to gaining muscles and becoming a wrestler began even before John Cena was a teenager. As a kid, the actor was bullied a lot and in order to defend himself, he took to weights as a solace.
“As you’re an adolescent, social cliques form and I didn’t fall into any one of those. So I got tired of getting beaten up and I asked my dad for a weight set and he got me one at 13. I started working out and I haven’t stopped since.”
He started working out so that his bullies would stay away from him and not trouble him anymore. He would have never thought that an attempt at self-defense would lead to his rise in fame as a wrestler and as an actor. Even though working out began with the motive to find strength and gain more strength; the Peacemaker actor stated that his goals changed after he entered his 30s. He has since then been working towards wellness rather than strength so that he would be able to work out for decades more.
Losing Weight Because Of Hollywood Pushed John Cena Past His Limits
While John Cena is extremely strict about his workout regimen, he did have to switch things up because of a movie. The actor had been working on a movie with Jackie Chan, one that never got released. The film required him to lose massive amounts of weight.
“They just wanted me to kick over my head, which was impossible. I went over there to train with him for about three months and they stretched me like taffy.”
Due to the required flexibility, John Cena lost 20 pounds. The movie needed the actor to be more flexible than powerful and so he had to work on losing weight rather than gaining more. This had been a new yet unwelcome experience for him because everything he had worked on for 30 years was slowly fading away in front of him. This thought did eventually turn when Cena noticed that he was experiencing less pain and was walking much taller than usual.
Source: People
