Being The Rock Is Exhausting and Utterly Epic

If you are a red-blooded dude with a pulse and aspirations of weightlifting excellence—and you probably are, if you're reading this—there's a good chance you've imagined how unequivocally awesome it would be to live a day in the outsized shoes of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

For example: His office is the beach (at least for the Baywatch movie debuting in 2017).

 

The iconic "Mitch Buchannon" sand sculpture. (and some photobombing tatted up bald dude who's always screwing up perfectly good pics). #OnSet #LifesABeach #TilTheSandmanEnters #BAYWATCH

A photo posted by therock (@therock) on Mar 3, 2016 at 9:51pm PST

His co-workers are people like Kelly Rohrbach.

 

The two most iconic #BAYWATCH characters of all time. "Mitch Buchannon" and "CJ Parker". Embodied by the dope and talented @kellyrohrbach and some big, brown inked up bald dude who keeps showing up in these epic shots. #OnSet # #MitchAndCJ #EverythingSheDoesIsAlwaysInSloMo #WatchYourEyesBoys #BAYWATCH SUMMER 2017

A photo posted by therock (@therock) on Mar 4, 2016 at 5:12pm PST

Also, people like Priyanka Chopra:

 

Every great story starts with a great villain... My sistah @priyankachopra is one of the biggest and most beloved stars in the world. When I asked her how she felt about playing opposite me as our main #BAYWATCH villain she simply said with a sly and seductively evil smile, "Oh you're going down..." Cool is the rule, but sometimes bad is bad. Thank you PC for the strong work week and see you on the rebound in GA. #GoodLordIGotMyHandsFull #ChopraDontPlay #BAYWATCH SUMMER 2017.

A photo posted by therock (@therock) on Mar 3, 2016 at 11:04am PST

So, yeah: His life seems pretty freaking cool.

But you don't build a personal brand so successful that Under Armour creates a custom line of gym gear with your logo on it without hitting the gym in the first place. Nor do you build film career so successful that Saturday Night Live nicknames you "Franchise Viagra" without first reviving the franchises.

And that, as The Rock will tell you, takes plenty of hard work. (And, yes, talent. But mostly hard work.)

Wearing multiple hats, spinning many plates and no stop button on life's treadmill. Let's get to work.. (insert pick up truck emoji).

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) March 8, 2016

Case in point: His workout and nutrition program. To keep his body in Fast and Furious shape, Johnson eats a titanic amount of protein, veggies, and complex carbs each day—about 5,000 calories, including roughly a trawlerload (okay, 2.3 pounds) of cod, according to Muscle & Fitness. To burn all that off, he wakes up at 4 a.m., hits the gym for an hour of cardio in the morning, and then does another hour and a half of weightlifting. (And that's in addition to starring in Fast and the Furious movies or rescuing Alexandra Daddario in San Andreas or whatever.)

What happens when a mortal man tries to do that? Mark Webster, a decidedly normal guy, set out to find out. On his blog, Rock'ing for 30 Days, Webster documented his attempt to train and eat like the Rock—the cardio, the weightlifting, the cod. He realized it was a ton of effort just to prep his meals, let alone make time for all the training and hold down his job. The upside? He got in seriously good shape, even though he was tired pretty much all the time, according to this FiveThirtyEight feature.

So yes: The Rock's life is awesome, but don't think for a cod-filled second that he doesn't work his ass off to get there. But fear not, mortals, for The Rock does allow himself a cheat day:

 True story. But only 'cause I'm not a candy or chips guy. I will however destroy brownies and pizza weekly. https://t.co/qb6N9hjSmt

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) March 7, 2016

Related: The Rock and Zac Efron Are Getting Absurdly Jacked for the New Baywatch Movie >>>