Fitness at 50: Herschel Walker

Over the past weekend I caught the tail end of a documentary about Herschel Walker. For those of you who are not familiar with Herschel here's a quick summary of his life and accomplishments.

Herschel played running back for the University of Georgia from 1980-1982. In those three seasons Herschel rushed for over 5200 yards on 994 carries, averaging 5.3 yards a carry and rushed for 49 touchdowns. Herschel was on the Heisman trophy ballot all three years of his college career and won the Heisman in 1982.  Herschel was also a consensus All-American his entire college career.  Herschel left college early to play pro football. First, for the now defunct USFL and then for the NFL. Herschel ended up playing a total of 15 pro seasons and if you combined both his USFL and NFL numbers he would have rushed for over 13,000 yards putting him at number 5 in the NFL's all time rushing list. 

Herschel in his 20's

After retiring from football Herschel pursued various fitness related endeavors including a black belt in Taekwondo and competed in the Olympics at bobsledding. Eventually Herschel started a career in MMA at the age of 48. He ended up winning both of his fights, as knockouts.

Herschel at 48

One of the craziest things about Herschel is his training style/program. Herschel has always maintained that he never touched a weight before he went to college and even today prefers bodyweight exercises. Herschel has a daily regimen of 750-1000 pushups, 2500-3000 sit ups, and 500 dips.  He also jogs about 5 miles a day.

Herschel's a certified B.A. but it's funny to hear how he started working out. According to Herschel he was an overweight kid in a poor part of town with no access to gyms. Instead of whining about it Herschel began the pushup/situp routine that he does today. To a degree Herschel is just a genetic freak, I doubt many of us could obtain his physique following his routine. But my favorite thing about Herschel has got to be his drive/desire to try and master new things. Most would be content with being one of the best college football players ever and then just sit around getting fat but Herschel went out of his way to stay in shape.  Herschel wouldn't let his age be an excuse. At this point it's not just about fitness it's really about an attitude. We all know people at work and other areas of life who for lack of a better word give up when they reach a certain age. You don't have to do Herschel's routine it can be as simple as walking, weight lifting, hiking, biking, slow pitch softball etc. to a degree we're like sharks if we stop moving/learning, that's when we truly die.