(CNN) -- To convincingly yell "I am Hercules!" in his new action movie, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson had to do more than warm up his vocal chords. As a former pro wrestler, The Rock was already approaching Greek demigod territory in terms of build, but even he had to change his diet and exercise to become mythologically ripped. According to USA Today, the 42-year-old actor had to endure a "Hercules diet" that consisted of seven meals a day, extremely heavy on protein. The Rock would start with a hearty breakfast of four egg whites, five ounces of oatmeal and a 10-ounce filet of steak. By meal No. 3, he'd have wolfed down another eight ounces of chicken breast; eight ounces of halibut; two cups of white rice and two cups of a green vegetable, like broccoli or asparagus.
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Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars as the titular hero in "Hercules"
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He had a "grueling" training plan, and ate seven meals a day
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He calls the role the most challenging he's ever taken on
It sounds like a lot -- and that would be because it is -- but The Rock told @placeholder the diet was pretty painless.
But it sounds like eating those eggs was like downing cake compared to the workout portion of his @placeholder training plan.