John Cena on His Love of Wine and His Obsession With Tic Tacs

Published on Jan 25, 2017 at 7:15 PM

John Cena always looks great, and if you take just one look at his dedication to health and fitness, it's easy to see why. I recently had a chance to chat with the WWE superstar on the phone as he promoted the new Tapout fitness line at JCPenney in NYC, and it's safe to say that he's not messing around. In addition to revealing his favorite workout moves and healthy snacks, John also shared what motivates him to work out and offered up advice for beginners who are just starting to exercise. If John was already on your radar, prepare to love him even more after reading what he had to say.

On the first thing he does after waking up: "I start the day with water. You go without water for that amount of time [you are sleeping], and I'm getting on in years, so like every guy who is getting on in years, I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, which means I lose more water, so I always start the day with water."
On his three favorite workout moves: "I love squats, pull-ups, and the third would be one of the Olympic lifting movements."
On his favorite things to eat: "I love sautéed vegetables, it's weird. I love burnt brussels sprouts. They taste like weird potato chips. Junk food, ice cream and pizza, and red wine. She [Nikki Bella] introduced me to wine at the beginning of our relationship and she created a monster out of me, so now I truly love wine and it's been great. We truly enjoy wine together."

On working out with girlfriend Nikki Bella: "We differ in philosophy a little bit, but we both like the lower-body stuff. We both like squat-based workouts and the moving around to break a sweat type of stuff. She's also really into Pure Barre, which would absolutely smoke me. I don't think I could last five minutes. That's kind of where we differ, but it's actually great because she'll go to a Pure Barre class and I'll go do my workouts, but we both have that good feeling after, and then we'll get together for the rest of the day."
On his current workout playlist: "That's weird because I'm getting in the lane where I may be one of those guys that's too old. They say if the music is too loud, you're too old. A lot of the times in the gym I will work out to silence. [Other] times also I will work out to Nicole's playlist because she'll come in and workout with me and hers is really upbeat stuff — a lot of Rihanna is in there, a lot of Britney Spears in there, she's got some Kanye in there — so I just let her have control of the radio."

On what he likes to do right before and after a match: "Instinctively, as a force of habit, I eat Tic Tacs before a match and I don't know why. I think it's because I get so nervous that I need to crunch on something. Afterwards, I'm so excited that I spend a few seconds appreciating what just happened because I really do. If you've been watching for years, you know how much I love to do what I do, and every time I'm out there, it's really special. I know as the days go by, my time is getting less and less, so I really do appreciate what just happened."
On what advice he has for beginners who are just starting to exercise: "Keep it simple and be consistent."

On what motivates him to work out when he doesn't feel like it: "It's something I like to do and I think that's the biggest hurdle with people. They view it as, 'Aw, man, I have to get in there and work out.' I really genuinely like it, and if I could use Nicole as another example, she's tried so many forms of fitness, but Pure Barre for her is the one I would equate with weightlifting to me. It's an example of two different personalities, but finding their way in what they like to do in fitness. There are some runners that just like to get out of bed and run, and I couldn't do that if you were chasing me with a weapon, so it's one of those things that you just have to find something you like to do."
On what he would tell his 19-year-old self: "Get ready for one hell of a ride. I wouldn't ask my 19-year-old self to change anything. I have zero regrets in life. I take every moment in life as learning experience. I would just kind of tap myself on the shoulder and say, 'Get ready for one hell of a ride.'"