MARK KERR HAD a peculiar challenge when it came time to make The Smashing Machine, the Dwayne Johnson-starring A24 MMA drama. Kerr had to get in shape to help with fight coordination for the film. He needed to be in good condition to help The Rock, one of the most successful actors in Hollywood, convincingly move and fight like the title character. In other words, Kerr was training to help another fight sports icon play himself.
The highly-lauded film is based on Kerr's fighting career. The 56-year-old was an MMA pioneer from the sport's formative years, winning heavyweight titles in the fledgling UFC and fighting for other promotions. Now retired, Kerr—who was a champion collegiate wrestler before transitioning to MMA as the sport was being formalized in the 1990s—still maintains a similar approach to fitness as he did during his fighting career. The difference is he's more focused on goals other than than building strength or stamina for the cage.
"Everything that I did when I fought was purposeful, and I had to get back into the gym with that same intention: what's purposeful," he tells MH. "I'm working towards quality of life, I'm working towards longevity, being able to stay active."
With that in mind, Kerr's workout isn't filled with heavyweight compound movements. Instead, he's mostly focused on mobility and strength, training with kettlebells to reinforce the types of movements he'll perform on the mats and in everyday life.
But Kerr is still a competitor. He says he's grown to know Johnson on a "very personal level,"—but that hasn't stopped them from imagining what might happen if they put on gloves and matched up against one another.
"If the Rock and I were to get into an MMA fight, we said it would be a draw, because he's determined, I'm determined," Kerr says. "We just kind of said we'll leave it up to everybody else to decide who's the toughest."
Here, Kerr demonstrates some of the exercises he used to move better for The Smashing Machine's high-level MMA action scenes.
10 to 12 reps per side
5 to 6 reps per side
2 sets of 10 to 12 reps
2 sets of 10 reps per side
30 seconds
8 to 10 reps
8 to 10 reps per arm
8 to 10 reps per arm
2 minutes
Want more celebrity workout routines? Check out all of our Train Like videos.
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