John Cena discusses his physical and mental health.
John Cena, before his days in WWE, was a bodybuilder. For John Cena, his physical fitness was a huge role in his eventual stardom in WWE. Eventually, John Cena transitioned into Hollywood and one of his first major roles was a film with Jackie Chan that has yet to be released.
Titled “Snafu”, the movie was filmed in China and John Cena went over to Jackie Chan's homeland the train with to martial arts master. This eventually led John Cena to find enjoyment in yoga. Cena revealed that when he went over to China, he was stretched "like taffy,” nearly losing 20 pounds immediately.
John Cena explained, in a new interview with GQ, that the weight loss was very difficult for him and he fell into a depression. However, John Cena eventually began seeing the positive benefits of stretching, leading him to become a fan of yoga.
"I say yoga because that’s the closest, but it’s like a stretch routine. I did a movie with Jackie Chan about three to four years ago and they could care less about how strong I was. 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. I immediately lost 20 pounds, which was very difficult for me. I even fell into a weird depression because it was like I’m losing everything that I worked on for 30 years! But I begin to walk taller, begin to have less pain, I was more flexible, and that experience changed my life in many ways, and it taught me the value of making sure your body moves okay."
Cena added, "In yoga, the concept is that you need to be present because we’re going to stretch you farther than you think you can go. If you’re afraid, then you’re tense. You need to be relaxed and present. Just those two things; relax a little bit and be present. That’s why I relate it to yoga: It's helped me balance a lot of what life throws at you."
John Cena also spoke about how his fitness regimen has changed now that he is no longer a full-time WWE Superstar. Cena says that now, his goals are based more on longevity and being able to still lift weights into his later years.
"If anything, [wrestling] allows you to be healthier because you have to be there for the shows, but you have so much time during the day. You’re on the road all the time but I have such a network across the world of gyms to go to and healthy places to eat that the road actually becomes your home.
"But my training has switched a lot because I’m old. I’m going to be 45 this year. I started lifting weights in a dedicated fashion when I was 12 years old. If you do the math, I’m coming up on 35 years of that. That’s a long time. The biggest shift when I was in the WWE is, every day, I tried to be the strongest version I can be that day. Now, I’m trying to be able to lift weights when I’m 80, so I need to take a little bit more care of myself for the long term. I have a 40,000-foot perspective. It’s a lot more work on flexibility and a lot more warming up. The stuff that I hated to do? I’ve learned to like just because it gets me feeling good for the stuff that I like."
John Cena last appeared in WWE at WWE SummerSlam 2021 where he lost to Roman Reigns and was subsequently taken to Suplex City by Brock Lesnar. Since then, John Cena has promised that we have not seen the last of him in WWE. Learn more here.
