The Rock Says His ‘Grueling’ Workouts Help Him Think More Clearly

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has cultivated a reputation as one of the hardest working people in showbusiness, juggling movies, TV shows, and brand deals with a strict and physically demanding training routine.

In a new Instagram video shot in his Iron Paradise home gym at the end of a particular “motherfucker” of a leg workout, Johnson shared how his most challenging workouts can actually help him in other areas of his life, as pushing his body hard can help him clear his mind.

“It allows you to take mental inventory,” he said. “Yes, you can push yourself hard, you can push past your limits, or your perceived limits, and get on the other side of that pain. There’s usually a little bit of greatness waiting for you. But then you can also take that mental inventory a lot of times.”

“I don’t know about you guys,” he continued, “but sometimes when I’m right in the middle of a set, especially when you’re really grueling to get through that son of a bitch, a lot of times I find the answer, like ah, that’s the answer to that thing, that’s the clarity I need to get that decision, whatever it is. It happens right here in the gym. I get it. Burning that midnight oil.”

Johnson has spoken before about the philosophy and outlook he uses to help motivate himself, and how he powers himself with gratitude. “When it comes to hard work and things I’m passionate about, years ago, I stopped saying ‘I have to’ and started saying ‘I get to,'” he wrote earlier this year. This “psychological shift,” he explained, has enabled him to focus on “grind, gratitude and growth” each and every day.