SEC=UGA Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/10/11/hersc...dex.html?hpt=C2 (CNN) -- Javier Mendez, a mixed martial arts trainer for 32 years, scoffed when he heard that retired NFL star Herschel Walker, who's nearing 50, wanted to compete in ultimate fighting. "Yeah, I didn't think he could do it," Mendez said. "I thought it was a joke." Walker had been out of football for 12 years. Aging football players tend to get flabby, play golf or relive the spotlight under "Dancing With the Stars." But the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner always had an unorthodox streak. After stints of ballet dancing, Olympic bobsledding, running track and field, gaining a black belt in taekwondo and retiring from a celebrated football career, Renaissance jock Walker has dived into the most physically demanding and controversial sport of his career. At 48, Walker is training for his second Strikeforce mixed martial arts fight, scheduled for December 4. "I was in great shape when I was younger," he said. "This is the toughest thing I've ever done. I think that's the reason I'm in better shape than I've ever been in." He was chosen to pose naked for ESPN The Magazine's "The Body" issue, out last week, to show his muscular physique. "I'm going to do something different, to be a little different than the average person," he said. "You can't be in the same cookie cutter." Walker has never followed the fitness norms. He eats once a day, skipping breakfast and lunch. After a long, intense day of training, he eats salad and bread for dinner. He doesn't care for meat or fuss about getting enough protein. Walker's a vegetarian. "It's a mindset -- something I've been doing for a long time," he said. "I don't worry about protein. I don't worry about all that. I'm from old school. I grew up in south Georgia. They didn't worry about cholesterol or protein. They went out and worked and lived a long time, so I don't put a lot of worries in my mind. I just get it done." Sometimes, Walker doesn't have an appetite and will go through seven hours of wrestling, kickboxing, sparring and practicing jujitsu without having eaten for three or four days. "It's just unbelievable," said Mendez, who trains Walker at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California. "He shouldn't be able to do what he's doing. I don't think it's possible to eat as little as possible and work out the way he does. There's no way. He's an unbelievable athlete." Mendez doesn't try to change it either. "You can't fix it, because it's not broken," he said. "You can try to understand it -- good luck with that." And no, Mendez thinks it probably won't work for most people. At 5:30 a.m., Walker wakes up to do 750 to 1,500 push-ups and about 2,000 sit-ups. "I try to show the world at my age, I could do it," Walker said. "I'm not trying to be arrogant. My parents say you can't make excuses in life, you've got to get it done." And he did. In his first Strikeforce fight in January, Walker defeated Greg Nagy, a fighter almost half his age. Walker's genesis into a Renaissance jock sprang from chubby beginnings. He was a pudgy boy with a stutter who was picked on and shoved as a child. At 15, he said he "started working out after watching 'Love Connection' and started doing push-ups and sit-ups," he said. "I started doing it on my own -- that gave me confidence." As he developed into an athlete, his interests varied from two-man bobsledding to ballet. "When I started out as little kid, I didn't say I just want to run football. I wanted to be a great athlete," he said. "It's mind over matter. You got to work at it. You can't assume you're a great football player so you'll win in bobsledding. It doesn't mean you don't have to work." Walker's recent return to competition sends a different message to middle-aged men who believe that getting out of shape is the inevitable part of aging, his trainer said. "It doesn't matter your age," Mendez said. "You can do it at any age. Look at your desire. Don't let age be a barrier to prevent you from doing something you want to do." Shortly after his retirement from football in 1997, Walker began having symptoms of mental illness and struggled with dissociative identity disorder, or DID, formerly known as multiple personality disorder. Herschel Walker reveals many sides of himself Walker said he receives therapy to control the disorder. "I have problems and as long as you admit you have a problem, that's how you become better," he said. He even considered an NFL comeback before deciding on mixed martial arts. The high-contact, bloody sport has often been criticized for brutality as fighters can knee, elbow and kick each other in the face. Walker shrugs off the criticism about the sport. Fans attracted to 'forbidden fruit' of violence "The idea of football is just as physical as MMA," he said. "I don't worry about it." What if he gets knocked down by a younger, stronger, more nimble opponent in the ring? "I do this 'Walker shake,' " he said. "You got to get knocked down many times, shake it off. Life is about ups and downs, and you got to keep standing up." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMD Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 At 5:30 a.m., Walker wakes up to do 750 to 1,500 push-ups and about 2,000 sit-ups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moneymakers Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 he b bipolar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffraff Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Will be meeting him on November 4th at a Brain Injury Symposium. He's a guest speaker. The Director (Neurologist) of the clinic that is hosting is a Cowboys fan. He, a Neuro-Psychologist (Ravens fan), and a Psychometrist (Pats fan) are all giddy about meeting him. Pretty funny to see grown, professional men, turn into kids again. Oh, and I'll be having the meat entree for lunch. (Insert gay joke here) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cre8tiff Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 That has to be a typo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted October 11, 2010 Author Share Posted October 11, 2010 YEs, I know, we use the qualifier "750 to 1500" or "about" because we lose count after running out of fingers here in GA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cre8tiff Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 YEs, I know, we use the qualifier "750 to 1500" or "about" because we lose count after running out of fingers here in GA. Looked up the guiness record for non-stop push-ups after reading... 6,006 Charles Linster (USA) 05-Oct-1965 7,026 Robert Louis Knecht (USA) 05-Feb-1976 7,650 Henry C. Marshal (USA) 01-Sep-1977 10,507 Minoru Yoshida (JAP) Oct-1980 10,507?!?!?!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 (edited) Looked up the guiness record for non-stop push-ups after reading... 10,507?!?!?!?! The article didnt say he does them non stop. Maybe he does them in sets of 75-100 like I do Edited October 11, 2010 by whomper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackass Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Looked up the guiness record for non-stop push-ups after reading... 10,507?!?!?!?! no way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 The article didnt say he does them non stop. Maybe he does them in sets of 75-100 like I do I'm pretty sure he does them non-stop. I read a book about Walker that was written shortly after the trade between Dallas and Minnesota. That has been his routine since college. Every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 I'm pretty sure he does them non-stop. I read a book about Walker that was written shortly after the trade between Dallas and Minnesota. That has been his routine since college. Every day. Wow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delicious_bass Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 The Human body will fail if its consistently pushed/over-exerted and not replenished. I dont doubt Walker is capable of amazing athletic feats even at his age. I do doubt he's doing it eating one meal a day of bread and salad... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted October 11, 2010 Author Share Posted October 11, 2010 The Human body will fail if its consistently pushed/over-exerted and not replenished. I dont doubt Walker is capable of amazing athletic feats even at his age. I do doubt he's doing it eating one meal a day of bread and salad... Supposedly, he never lifted a weight until after college, supposedly (for some reason I want to say he has never lifted weights). He is a freak of nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SayItAintSoJoe Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 beans and cornbread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 I was at the Florida-Georgia game in 1982 when Georgia won 44-0. As I recall, there were consistently 26 Gators on the field and Georgia only sent out Walker. I have never, ever seen a display of football dominance (in person) the way that Walker gashed Florida. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted October 11, 2010 Author Share Posted October 11, 2010 I was at the Florida-Georgia game in 1982 when Georgia won 44-0. As I recall, there were consistently 26 Gators on the field and Georgia only sent out Walker. I have never, ever seen a display of football dominance (in person) the way that Walker gashed Florida. You weren't at the game where Spurrier hung "half-a-hundred" on us? You might be right though, that was more of a team effort... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cre8tiff Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 I was at the Florida-Georgia game in 1982 when Georgia won 44-0. As I recall, there were consistently 26 Gators on the field and Georgia only sent out Walker. I have never, ever seen a display of football dominance (in person) the way that Walker gashed Florida. And so, a myth of "Chuck Norris" proportions is born. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delicious_bass Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Supposedly, he never lifted a weight until after college, supposedly (for some reason I want to say he has never lifted weights). He is a freak of nature. I have heard that as well. No weights...just pushups, situps, pullups, etc. Still, whether he's in a gym on the bench or doing pushups in his home, he's taxing his muscles and they will need nourishment to recover. I have no doubts a person can be a big, strong, powerful, etc athlete as a vegetarian. My doubts come more from the "one meal a day of bread/salad" claim. Through his workouts, he's gotta be burning a ton of calories and I would be surprised if he's able to offset that(in a healthy way) with one feeding a day. My guess is he is supplementing but that got left out of the story. It would be bucking some serious science if he truly can perform at that level physically with that type of diet schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Walker is such a bad ass, he single-handedly killed a NFL franchise for over a decade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polksalet Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 He used weights along with bodyweight routines in college and the pros. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildcat2334 Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 I call bullchit he is a freak of nature, but there is no way in hell he goes thru a full day of MMA training surviving on nothing but bread and salad for dinner and no protein Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJoTheWebToedBoy Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Walker is such a bad ass, he single-handedly killed a NFL franchise for over a decade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polksalet Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 How cool would it be if I could fight Herschel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 How cool would it be if I could fight Herschel? I imagine growing up he always dreamed of kicking a rednecks ass with out any repercussions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polksalet Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 I imagine growing up he always dreamed of kicking a rednecks ass with out any repercussions. I would take my beating with pride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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