Filed under: Other Sports
As kids we would tease anyone with a particularly thick neck by saying they had a neck like Herschel Walker. Seems like the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner has had the last laugh. At 48 years old, he is in better shape than the average boxer half his age in top physical condition.
Once a chubby kid, Walker became one of the greatest college running backs ever and arguably one of the greatest professional running backs.
For many retired football players, they get flabby once they lose the daily conditioning that keeps them in top physical shape. Walker, though, who stands at 6'1" and weighs 225 lbs., wakes up daily at 5:30 a.m. and does 750 to 1,500 push-ups (not the Good Humor ice cream kind) and about 2,000 sit-ups, according to CNN. He has also participated in Olympic bobsledding and track and field. He's also a vegetarian who has one meal per day.
For many retired football players, they get flabby once they lose the daily conditioning that keeps them in top physical shape. Walker, though, who stands at 6'1" and weighs 225 lbs., wakes up daily at 5:30 a.m. and does 750 to 1,500 push-ups (not the Good Humor ice cream kind) and about 2,000 sit-ups, according to CNN. He has also participated in Olympic bobsledding and track and field. He's also a vegetarian who has one meal per day.
And he continues to push his body by participating in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), where all of the proceeds from his fights go to a charity called "Project Turnaround" in Dallas, Texas.
While Walker has a 5th-degree black belt in Taekwondo, he says that MMA is completely different from that martial art, so he has had to start from scratch with an open mind-set. Walker also says that training for the MMA is much more intense than training for football or dancing ballet, which he did for 10 years, because you're not taking breaks and you're working every muscle in your body.
Of being chosen for ESPN the Magazine's second "The Body" issue, where athletes pose semi-nude showing off their muscular physiques, Walker said to StrikeForce.com:
"Being my age, I am fortunate to do this sport. I want to show people that anything is possible."
Walker's second MMA fight will be on Dec. 4th. In his first fight, he defeated Greg Nagy, a fighter half his age.
Watch Herschel Walker discuss his MMA experience here:
Watch Herschel Walker discuss his MMA experience here: