Dwayne Johnson Reveals Winning The Titan Games Is Not Just About Being In Good Shape

Dwayne Johnson on The Titan Games (2019)

The Titan Games is coming back to NBC and, with it, will come more athletes looking to put their bodies to the test and earn the title of Titan. Creator and producer Dwayne Johnson and his team have done an effective job of crafting challenges for contestants, as each obstacle requires competitors to channel their strength to persevere. However, Johnson is making it clear that one’s physical abilities alone won’t allow them to win the competition.

Dwayne Johnson clearly knows that physical endurance is a major aspect of The Titan Games, but he also believes that mental prowess is just as important. He emphasizes that a person’s resilient mindset will help push them past physical fatigue:

As you know physicality is that much [indicates a smidge]. Right? Because that’s something we can always prepare for, something that our competitors can prepare for. But it becomes a mental game with something like Titan Games because the fatigue is gonna set in. The lactic acid is gonna set in. Your legs are gonna get wobbly.

Dwayne Johnson really hit the nail on the head with his comments to E! News. Not everyone has the strength or physique to compete in extreme challenges, but everyone does hit a wall at some point. As Johnson mentions, that lactic acid is a powerful thing and, when it takes over, pushing forward almost seems impossible.

And that’s when one’s mental abilities kick in to lend a hand. The physical pain definitely doesn’t go away, but a fighting mindset can still make a world of difference.

Mental toughness is definitely needed for The Titan Games because physical pain really does come with the territory. The sports show includes a plethora of hardcore events that certainly wear on the participants. One event named “Heavy Metal” calls for contestants to drag 350 pounds of metal chains up a 30-foot incline, while another called “Power Vault” has them vault over 15-foot gap and push over 750 pounds of weight. One athlete was even injured during an event last season.

Needless to say, these events are not for the faint of heart, and Johnson has even admitted that he conceived some of them while he was drunk.

The contests may be taxing, but Johnson has also done what he can to make them equally challenging for everyone. Before the show even aired, he quickly shot down the idea that the female competitors wouldn’t get to compete in the same events as their male counterparts.

Amid the physical requirements that come with competing on The Titan Games, it’s nice to see that Johnson also views the show from a cerebral standpoint. Because let’s be honest, at the end of the day, the strongest muscle in the body is the brain. We’ll see how contestants utilize it when The Titan Games returns for its second season tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

Erik Swann
Senior Content Producer

Erik Swann is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He began working with the publication in 2020 when he was hired as Weekend Editor. Today, he continues to write, edit and handle social media responsibilities over the weekend. On weekdays, he also writes TV and movie-related news and helps out with editing and social media as needed. He graduated from the University of Maryland, where he received a degree in Broadcast Journalism. After shifting into multi-platform journalism, he started working as a freelance writer and editor before joining CB. Covers superheroes, sci-fi, comedy, and almost anything else in film and TV. He eats more pizza than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.