Hershel Walker is a particularly famous American football player both for his on field success and more uniquely because of his extremely uncommon workout routine which includes no traditional free weights and a strict regime of pushups, sit ups, and martial arts. In his forties when the bodies of most former NFL running backs are completely shot Walker has taken up the highly intense, physical, and dangerous sport of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) against opponents half his age.
Herschel was an extremely successful running back for both the University of Georgia Bulldogs and later the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL. While playing college football Hershel set numerous NCAA football records and won the iconic Heisman Trophy which is given out annually to the top college football player in the nation. Amazingly Walker accomplished all of these collegiate feats while also actively practicing martial arts, even during the football season. For most athletes either playing Division I football or participating in highly competitive martial arts competitions is a full work load, Walker however was able to regularly compete in both sports at an extremely high level – often on consecutive days. In his youth it was common for Hershel Walker to play an intense football game on a Saturday against a tough SEC opponent like the University of Florida where he might receive over 30 carries and then to get up on Sunday morning and spar all day in a martial arts competition at a time when most running backs would be unable to move from soreness and be confined to a ice baths to heal their bruises.
Whereas most world class athletes abide by regular strength programs that emphasize lifts like the bench press and squats Herschel had his own unique workout regime that has been extremely successful for him. In many respects the workout routine that Walker sticks to is nearly as unique as his lifetime of athletic success. In addition to martial arts and cardiovascular conditioning Walker builds muscle mass by literally doing thousands of pushups and thousands of sit ups every day, a feat that seems almost impossible to even most high performance athletes. The uniqueness of the conditioning Walker puts his body through does not end with his involvement in martial arts and the incredible amount of pushups and sit ups that he does every day. Health physicians continue to be amazed that Walker claims to have only slept four hours a night for nearly every night over the past 20 years. Of further curiosity is the fact that Walker states that he only eats one meal a day which usually consists of something light like bread and soup or a salad in the evening.
Having competed in his first professional MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) competition in 2010 (defeating Greg Nagy by TKO) at the age of 47 Hershel Walker truly has been and continues to be an athletic freak of nature in the most complimentary sense possible. MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)