If you want to grow up to be a big, strong professional wrestling champion like John Cena, make sure to eat your Tic Tacs, kids.
The WWE superstar said on "The Kelly Clarkson Show" Friday that his rise to becoming a 16-time champion has included a prematch superstition in which he downs massive amounts of the tiny, hard mints.
Forget 10,000 hours of practice. Cena went with "pretty much 10,000 calories and straight sugar" to get prepared for a big performance.
"My thing was always Tic Tacs," he told Clarkson. "It's a nervous superstition that I always have before we go on a broadcast."
He was piling down so many that he eventually had to dial it back.
"I've had to wean myself off of them," he said. "I was up to like three boxes a day, and it's right in the 20 minutes before broadcast."
At least Cena had the courtesy to give opponents a nice blast of minty fresh breath before finishing them with his Attitude Adjustment move.
"You're in a small, confined space," Cena said. "The ring is 20 feet by 20 feet, and you're with a group of guys, so you always want to try to smell your best."
However, his Tic Tac habit isn't exactly health-conscious.
"It's pretty much 10,000 calories and straight sugar,'' he said.
Considering Tic Tacs are about 2 calories apiece and each box contains about 36-38 mints, to actually eat 10,000 calories of them would mean downing at least 132 boxes before the match.
That's not ideal before a wrestling match on national television. Or for sustaining human life.
Superstitions are nothing new for athletes like Cena. Whether it's growing beards, listening to certain songs or dancing before competition, sometimes that's just what they need to deliver a sparkling performance.
Now all Cena needs is a finishing move to go with his superstition. We can't wait to see him hit The Flying Tic Tac in the ring.