CM Punk explains his WWE physique change
Just six weeks before WWE WrestleMania 42, CM Punk decided that he wanted to get into better shape and show up to the event with a noticeably different physique.
Punk’s physique change became a big talking point on social media when footage of him in the gym emerged a couple of months back. On Stephanie McMahon’s “What’s Your Story?” podcast, Punk explained that this process began when he reached out to trainer Jey Ferruggia — who calls himself “The Transformation King” — six weeks before WrestleMania. Ferruggia works with pro athletes and other WWE wrestlers, including Chad Gable. The timeline Punk gave him was tight, but they were still able to get results in time for Mania.
“Six weeks before WrestleMania — and I can’t really tell you what set it in motion. I know I would always see Chad Gable posting his workouts and it’s programmed by Jay Ferruggia and all this other stuff,” the 47-year-old Punk said. “And [I] was just motivated to go into WrestleMania looking physically different, looking like, ‘Oh, wow, okay, he really busted his ass.’ That was my only goal. It wasn’t a weight. It wasn’t a, ‘I need [a] six pack. I need to do this, whatever.’ I called up Jay and he was like, ‘I wish you would have got to me sooner, man. We only got six weeks.’ He’s like, ‘But if you listen to me and you do what I say and you eat what I tell you to eat.’ He’s like, ‘I think we can do some damage.’
“And we did some damage. I think I showed up in Mania — I didn’t say I was in the best shape of my career because I will always look back at like when I was 26 and I originally tried to get the job in the first place. Because my idea back then was, they’re going to say, ‘Look at his body.’ That’s the one negative they can say. So I really busted my ass so they couldn’t say no. Then I got a job, right? So I really kind of had that motivation to just look different showing up to WrestleMania.”
Punk said he’s counted calories before, but he never actually weighed out his food until now. He’s been eating meals that only have a few ingredients. Every morning, Punk sends a mirror selfie to Ferruggia along with his weight and temperature. Ferruggia will respond by telling Punk how much protein, carbs, and fat he should eat that day.
The main event of WrestleMania 42 saw Punk drop the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns. Shortly after Mania, Punk went on hiatus from WWE programing. He was gone for nearly three months before returning last week and defeating Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Punk admitted to gaining 20 pounds during a recent Hawaiian vacation with his wife AJ Lee, going from 204 pounds to 224. But he was able to lock right back in and return to normal within five days.
“I love it. Yeah, absolutely,” Punk said about his lifestyle change. “I did tell Jay to start, I was like, ‘I will get obsessive with this, and I don’t want that to affect my relationship with my wife.’ Because I will get crabby and I would rather just eat a doughnut and shut the f*** up than not say something snippy that doesn’t mean anything just because I’m cranky.”
When it’s a special occasion like his wife’s birthday, Punk will eat whatever he wants instead of sticking to his diet plan. He and Lee had a “pizza party” back at home last Monday after Punk’s title win.
“I was on my way home from the Allstate [Arena] Monday night and Ape texted me and she’s like, ‘I ordered you pizza.’ And I don’t argue with my wife. I said, ‘All right, cool. We’re having a pizza party.’ So I had a pizza party. And then the next day, dial back in.”
Punk noted that he’s also gotten into recovery methods like ice baths and red light therapy. While some people call the latter “junk science,” Punk is a believer because he can feel the benefits the red light therapy brings.
CM Punk back on the road with WWE —
Keeping up with his eating plan and gym regimen will be more challenging for Punk now that he’s back on the road, and he knows there’s going to be a lot of trial and error. Punk is advertised for all of WWE’s summer tour house shows in addition to now being a fixture on SmackDown. He’ll be defending the Undisputed WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam this August.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.