John Cena Fell Into Weird Depression After Losing 20 Pounds Training For Jackie Chan Role

John Cena was an avid bodybuilder before his WWE days. For him being physically fit was always important. This was a key factor for his eventual rise to prominence in WWE. Nevertheless, being at peak male physique meant glory and prestige.

John Cena’s transformation from a pro wrestling star to a Hollywood actor has been quite an emotional rollercoaster. He reflected on his fitness routine and body; he told GQ

However, the 44-year-old Cena’s primary exercise routine was yoga, for which he went over to China to train with martial arts master Jackie Chan. Cena said he was stretched “like taffy,” which made him lose nearly 20 pounds immediately. Together they trained and filmed for the movie titled “Snafu” expected to release in 2022.

Surprisingly, the 6-foot-1 John Cena began to feel positive effects of flexibility and stretching exercises leading him to fall in love with 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.”

Cena pointed out how his goals now are more focused on longevity and lifting weights into his later years. And as he is no longer a full-time WWE Superstar, therefore, the change in his fitness regime.

“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.” Cena said

“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.”