WWE Daily

Mens Fitness got an recent interview with WWE Wrestler John Cena. The WWE superstar talks about his fitness, training and the steroid controversy.

Here are a few highlights:

MF: How did you get into lifting?

JC: I was very unique as a child, dressed a certain way, acted a certain way, didn’t fit in with everybody. So I immediately got picked on, especially around the age of 12 and 13, when you start going to junior high and start mingling with the older kids. To counteract that, strictly for self-defense, I wanted to get bigger. So my dad bought me a Weider weight set, and off to the races I go.

I know MF fans will find this hard to believe, since you’re so jacked: 6′1, 240. But you used to weigh 120-something pounds.

Yeah, but that was when I was really young. My most string-beanish, I guess, is when I was 15 years old. From 15 to 16, I went from 155 pounds to 215. By the time I graduated from high school, I was between 235-250.

How many days a week do you work out?

We’re on a seven-day cycle right now…maybe 6 out of 7 days

You’re on the road 4, 5 days a week. How do you stay fit?

Text messages. I get my workout every morning from Rob and in between every set, I’ll let him know, “Hey listen. I just did 310 for a set of five on bench. What you think?” [Rob] “Try 320.” [Cena] “Maybe I think I can do 335.” [Rob] “No, 320 is all you can do.” People are thinking I’m checking scores or something, but I’m actually trying to get the most out of my workout.

Steroids has cast its shadow over the sport of wrestling. What’s your take?

Any time you have an event which is based upon athletic performance, you’re going to have somebody who wants to use performance enhancing drugs, because the drugs work. WWE has taken the best steps possible, better than the NFL, better than major league baseball. Only the Olympic Committee has a stricter substance policy. It’s one of those things that will always be around.

As a company, the best that we can do is not only penalize but rehabilitate. Speaking for myself, I’ve always been strong. I don’t need that club to put in my bag. This is a choice of the athlete not the sanctioning body. We do substance abuse testing, impact testing, cardiac testing, so we try to sniff out these problems before they even start. And if they do, we get a guy into a rehab program, we don’t just ostracize him. That’s a career choice. I get it, but I don’t get it. You’re risking your life, you’re risking your health. Read the complete article here.

Watch an video of an intense John Cena Workout