The Rock Has Somehow Managed To Get Even Bigger

Next level. Workin' extremely hard to come into FAST & FURIOUS 8 and do what the studio has asked of me – raise the bar. This will be my FOURTH rodeo with the franchise – that's a lot of screen time – and the character of "Luke Hobbs" must grow and evolve. Otherwise its a waste of time. And I don't waste my time;). Hobbs' is comin' in hot and he ain't f*ckin' around. #FF8 #Hobbs #SteppinOnSet #OneWeekAway #RaiseTheBar #AndNoWastedTime ???

A photo posted by therock (@therock) on May 16, 2016 at 11:26am PDT

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has built some serious muscle in a relatively short space of time as filming is set to begin on Fast and Furious 8.

The wrestling icon is set to reprise the role of Luke Hobbs for a fourth time in the franchise’s latest installment, but off the back of sculpting a beach bod for Baywatch, Johnson was faced with a serious challenge to regain mass in just four weeks.

Never one to be outdone, the ‘Brahma Bull’ focused on getting lean to play Mitch Buchannon so as not to be upstaged by ripped co-star, Zac Efron.

We are the reason you feel safe in the water… We are the reason you feel safe on the sand. We are also literally running iconically in slo-motion because apparently that makes everyone's kibbles and bits look sexy. WE ARE #BAYWATCH. #AvengersOfTheBeach #MinusTheCoolSuperpowers #AFamilyFullOfDysfunction #AndBadAssToTheBone MAY 19, 2017. ps – the dude all the way on the end is @thejonbass. He is my brother, a legend and deeply knows karate.

A photo posted by therock (@therock) on Apr 26, 2016 at 5:56am PDT

The 44-year-old has explained all via his instagram. He wrote:

From Mitch Buchannon to Luke Hobbs.. For #BAYWATCH I came in at 238lbs of lean, mean, rated R comedy machine. Plus, I had to be leaner cause we had to look at my boy @zacefron’s insanely ripped 28 pack abs every day.. *yawn. For #FastAndFurious8 I’m stepping on set 260lbs of the meanest, strongest and most highly funny & entertaining shit talkin’ version of Hobbs the franchise has ever seen.

Talk about gains!

That is a whopping growth of 22 pounds in just four weeks.

Fun transition begins. Final weeks of shooting #BAYWATCH, and today I start my prep for #FastAndFurious8 which I start shooting in 4 weeks. Physically for #BAYWATCH I wanted "Mitch Buchannon" to come in lean, mean and a dysfunctional superhero of the beach. And full of raunchy Rated R humor. Mission accomplished. For FAST8, the character of "Hobbs" will come in like an animal – bigger, lethal, meaner and tougher than a $2 dollar steak. 530am breakfast. Grass fed buffalo, whole eggs and 80grams of Cream of Wheat. (trust me, if I could cook up Vin, Statham and the rest of the Fast dudes I'd eat them too). This is gonna fun. #FF8Prep #HobbsTheBeast #FinelyTuned #2DollarSteakSucksButEadible #INeedACheatMeal

A photo posted by therock (@therock) on Apr 25, 2016 at 8:44am PDT

Johnson stopped short of giving away all his bulking secrets, but he did reveal he consumes 6000 calories each day as part of his new diet and fitness regime.

He wrote:

The 6,000 calorie per day diet, training and focus is hard core. When you see #Fast8 it’ll all make sense. And when you see where we’re going with the character in the future it’ll really make sense – and you guys’ll reaaaaallly dig it.

From Mitch Buchannon to Luke Hobbs.. For #BAYWATCH I came in at 238lbs of lean, mean, rated R comedy machine. Plus, I had to be leaner cause we had to look at my boy @zacefron's insanely ripped 28 pack abs every day.. *yawn. For #FastAndFurious8 I'm stepping on set 260lbs of the meanest, strongest and most highly funny & entertaining shit talkin' version of Hobbs the franchise has ever seen. The 6,000 calorie per day diet, training and focus is hard core. When you see #Fast8 it'll all make sense. And when you see where we're going with the character in the future it'll really make sense – and you guys'll reaaaaallly dig it. #Hobbs #1GraveDigger #AhOOO #Fast8 (s/o to my brotha @therealtechn9ne.. we out here handlin' this business).

A video posted by therock (@therock) on May 24, 2016 at 9:55am PDT

In an earlier post he suggested he would weigh in at ‘somewhere between 252-255lbs’ for Fast 8, so it appears he has exceeded his own expectations by at least 5 pounds.

Phenomenal week of hard training as I'm 18 days away from steppin' on set for Fast & Furious 8. Should be fun. The tricky part this whole time is I have a week left of shooting #BAYWATCH where the character was roughly 235-238lbs the entire shoot. Today I tipped the scales at 252lbs. When I step on set for #Fast8 I'll land somewhere between 252-255lbs. The shirtless scenes have all been shot for #BAYWATCH so with clothing Im able to cover up this final week of production. For #Fast8 – after havin' long chats with Universal and my good bud/director F. Gary Gray, the character of "Hobbs" has been hired to do three things: Raise the bar, dominate and destroy… and chew bubble gum. And Hobbs is always out of bubble gum. Thank you Rowdy One for that line. A lot of you guys out there (many pro and amateur athletes as well) know how f'n challenging it is to dial in and "make weight" for a performance or contest. Not fun, but hopefully it becomes all worth it in the end when you achieve your goals. Respect. In this case, Fast & Furious 8 will be my fourth rodeo with this franchise. The character has got to evolve – bad ass, focused, bounty hunter mentality and above all else – funny. In a winking way for the audience to enjoy. If there's no character growth, then it's over. And it ain't ever over 'til Hobbs says it's over. I think that line needs to be in the movie;). Promise to do my best to deliver the goods. Until then, we all keep makin' it happen with hard ass work and our own two hands. While chewin' bubble gum and drinkin' some blue gorilla urine concoction that puts apparently puts hair on your chest. Yum. #ExcellentWeekOfWork #IronParadise #FromBaywatchToFastAndFurious #BlueDrinkMakesDaddyWannaSlapSomebody (and thank the Lord I'm shooting JUMANJI and BALLERS in the fall. Tired of eating so damn much;)

A photo posted by therock (@therock) on May 7, 2016 at 10:53am PDT

What an absolute machine!