Since returning to the screen, one of the most frequent topics of discussion among wrestling enthusiasts has been CM Punk’s physical transformation. His noticeably different physique has sparked significant speculation regarding the specific methods the “Second City Saint” used to achieve his new look.
During a recent appearance on “What’s Your Story?” with Stephanie McMahon, Punk opened up about his training regimen and how he underwent this transformation. His journey began after he discovered trainer Jay Ferruggia through Chad Gable’s online workout videos. Punk began working with Ferruggia to overhaul his nutrition in the six weeks leading up to WrestleMania 42. (H/T to F4WOnline for transcriptions.)
Punk On Meeting His New Trainer:
“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, 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 ‘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, I think we can do some damage.’”
“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.”
Punk revealed that his daily routine involves monitoring his weight and body temperature every morning. He sends this data, along with a daily selfie, to Ferruggia, who then prescribes his specific protein, carbohydrate, and fat intake for the day. While he allows himself cheat days for major milestones—such as his wife’s birthday or following his Undisputed WWE Championship victory—he returns to his strict regimen immediately afterward. Punk noted that although he gained twenty pounds during a vacation with his wife, he was able to reset his diet within just five days. Additionally, Punk mentioned that he has integrated more frequent ice baths and red light therapy into his recovery protocol.
You can listen to CM Punk’s full appearance on What’s My Story? here.