YOU GAIN STRENGTH, COURAGE, AND CONFIDENCE BY EVERY EXPERIENCE, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU STOP TO LOOK FEAR IN THE FACE. YOU MUST DO THE THING YOU THINK YOU CANNOT DO.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

"My Body Is Like An Army"

TRAIN LIKE A FOOTBALL LEGEND
"MY BODY IS LIKE AN ARMY"

Position: RB
Height: 6-1 Weight: 225 lbs.
Born: March 3, 1962 in Wrightsville, GA
College: Georgia


Herschel Walker was a highly celebrated and highly regarded college football player in the United States. He turned pro, having a career in the NFL playing for the Dallas Cowboys amongst a host of other teams before returning to the Dallas Cowboys where he retired. The most amazing thing about Herschel Walker from a fitness standpoint was the way he trained. Going against all conventional wisdom, the Herschel Walker workout is the most intense body weight workout I have ever heard of. Legend has it that Herschel Walker didn't touch weights at all until he arrived in the NFL - Instead he performed an intense body weight workout EVERY DAY since high school (as well as sprinting)! In College and the NFL, he was known by most players as being the best conditioned athlete. Apparently, Walker didn't always show signs of being genetically gifted. He mentions being a tubby kid who, more often than not, was picked last for teams. He even tells how his sister constantly beat him in races! And it was through his determination and hard work that he did everything to overcome these challenges.

"Herschel was 12 when he came to me wanting to know how to get big and strong," High School Coach Jordan says, "and I told him what I told the other kids who asked me. 'Do push-ups, sit-ups and run sprints,' I said. He just thanked me quietly and walked away. To be honest, I didn't give it much thought. Herschel was short for his age [about 5'3", 100 pounds], and he wasn't particularly fast, even though he had some older brothers and sisters who were excellent athletes.

"The next time I paid him any mind was that coming fall. I hadn't seen much of him during the summer and when I saw him in September I was amazed at how he'd muscled up. I asked him what he'd been doing and he smiled and said, 'Just running, Coach, and doing my push-ups.' He was getting faster, too, but back then I mainly remember how strong he was for a boy his age. Later that year, when he was 13, we had the tumbling mats out one day and he and I got to wrestling, and damned if he didn't flip me once, big as I was." But though young Herschel had grown larger, stronger and faster, he was still shorter than most of his classmates, weaker than his father and two older brothers and slower than not only a half dozen or so of the boys his age at school but also slower than one of his sisters, Veronica, 18 months his senior, who's now a sprinter for Georgia. Yet he was not discouraged, because he was gaining on them, and because he felt he knew how to gain still more. Coach Jordan had told him how, a year before. Push-ups, sit-ups and sprints. Push-ups, sit-ups and sprints.

But though young Herschel had grown larger, stronger and faster, he was still shorter than most of his classmates, weaker than his father and two older brothers and slower than not only a half dozen or so of the boys his age at school but also slower than one of his sisters, Veronica, 18 months his senior, who's now a sprinter for Georgia. Yet he was not discouraged, because he was gaining on them, and because he felt he knew how to gain still more. Coach Jordan had told him how, a year before. Push-ups, sit-ups and sprints. Push-ups, sit-ups and sprints.

During that first year Walker had done these exercises every day, unless rain kept him from sprinting along the road leading from his house down to the highway. Jordan had never said how much to do, just to do those three things, regularly. To Herschel, "regularly" meant every single day, and by the end of that critical first year he had done more than 100,000 push-ups, more than 100,000 sit-ups and had sprinted nearly half a million yards. He almost always did his push-ups and sit-ups in the evening, while he was either studying or watching television or, more usually, both. During every commercial break he would pump out a quick 25 push-ups and 25 sit-ups or would alternate the push-ups and sit-ups, doing 50 push-ups during one break, then 50 sit-ups during the next, until he had accumulated approximately 300 of each.

As for his running, throughout each summer and on almost every school day in clement weather he would run series after series of short sprints, most of them 30 yards or less, most of them up the hill to his house.Walker also trained with a tire that was a device rigged up by Jordan; it involved putting a 16-pound shot inside a truck tire and attaching the tire to a 15-foot steel cable, which was then tied to a leather belt around the runner's waist. Dragging the tire developed Herschel's leg and hip power, as did his run-without-ceasing assault on the slight grade leading 110 yards up to his house from the highway. "I wish I had a dollar for every time Herschel ran up that hill," his mother says. "Him and Veronica and the other children would race and race. Even me and my husband would get into it. Later on, some of the time when Herschel couldn't get nobody to race him, he'd go out back to the field and chase those horses around. Herschel wanted to be good mighty bad."

Throughout junior high Herschel was to follow this remarkable regimen every day, every year. He grew taller, and by the ninth grade he stood about 5'10" and weighed 185 pounds, and the muscles of his chest and shoulders and thighs were thick and full. But a couple of boys in his grade still could outrun him. And he had yet to beat Veronica. The prescription? Push-ups, sit-ups and sprints; push-ups, sit-ups and sprints. And prayer.
"One of the things I used to pray for every night was for God to let me beat Veronica," Walker recalls. "I promised that I'd train hard and live a Christian life if only He'd let me get faster." Finally, after his sophomore year in high school, he (and maybe He as well) raced Veronica for perhaps the thousandth time, and this time Walker beat her. And then he beat her again.

And, of course, as everyone knows by now, in his junior and senior years Herschel out-or overran everybody else in Georgia. But even during the heaviest workouts of his track and football seasons, he never failed to do his push-ups and his sit-ups and, when he had the time and the light, his sprints. He never lacked the will. Later on, he even added a little distance work. Says Jordan now, "I remember telling him one day early in his senior year that we were concentrating so much on his sprinting, he'd have to get any distance work on his own. Then, a few months later, I called out to his house late one evening and his mother told me he was out for his after-supper run—about four miles. He'd been doing it for months, she said. And all I'd done was mention it."

When assessing the path to his present eminence, the one phrase with which Walker is most comfortable is Hard Work. "I keep hearing and reading about all this talent they say I've been blessed with," he says, "but I don't see it that way. For a long time I never understood I was blessed, except for having such a good family and all. But I do see I have been blessed, though not in the way people think." He pauses, then points to his head. "This is where I've been blessed. Not in my body. People can't believe how little and slow I was. But I was, and I remember. And I know Coach Jordan showed me the way and God gave me the strength to carry on through all those years.

"My mind's like a general and my body's like an army. I keep the body in shape and it does what I tell it to do. I sometimes even feel myself almost lifting up out of my body and looking down on myself while I run sprints. I'll be coaching myself from up above. 'Come on Herschel,' I'll say to myself out loud, 'pick up those knees. Pump your arms.' If an army stopped training it wouldn't take long for it to fall apart. An army needs discipline, just like a man does."

One of the ways Walker trains his almost frighteningly disciplined mind is through the practice of karate. "I got into it from watching those Bruce Lee films, just like everybody else," he says, "but once I began reading and thinking about it, I saw it as a way to discipline myself, my power. Sometimes I train with a local instructor in Athens, but I always do it for an hour or so every night in my room, by myself. I never miss. I think it helps me in sports as well as in my studying. At first I did it because I wanted to be tough, but I think I can say I'm beyond all that now."
If Walker has gone beyond the "get tough" stage—and both his subsequent behavior and his face, which in repose is so very still as to seem somehow Oriental, would tend to support his assertion—he is one of the few Westerners to have so quickly internalized the Zen foundations of karate and transcended the initial generative hostility of most American boys to whom the activity appeals.

He's amazingly disciplined. He always sits in the exact same chair in our team meetings and he sits up straight and doesn't fidget. He pays close attention to everything that's said and he never forgets a thing. Also, he's often the first one to the workouts, and he always does more than he's asked to do in practice or in a game.

"I think that what happened back in Wrightsville when he was a boy—being outrun by Veronica and being small and everything—might have been the best thing that could have happened to Herschel. That feeling he had of not being the best may have given him just enough of a complex to instill that powerful drive to succeed."

The idea gives pause. Physiologists and sprint coaches agree on one thing—the ability to run truly fast is a natural gift; training is said to only marginally enhance performance. A physically mature individual can expect training to provide little more than a 5% improvement in sprinting speed—from a 10 flat 100-yard dash to a 9.5, for example. So, unless the experts are all mistaken. Walker was born with a genetic predisposition for extraordinary speed. Other premier sprinters almost without exception remember having always been faster than their age-mates.

To lift or not to lift, that's the question for Walker, free to choose his own training program. His answer is startling. "Nobody ever really asked me why I don't lift. They only ask me how I got so big without lifting. The truth is, I knew weights would help me. I've seen them help too many football players and too many track men. But up to now my body's gotten stronger and faster every year on my old program, and what I reckon I'll do is to try and see how long I can keep improving without the weights. 

One thing's sure. Soon as I don't make gains, I'm going on a good weight program. The way I figure it, all the other guys my age have lifted for years and they've already just about reached their physical potential. I figure that when I kick in with a weight program, it ought to add some solid weight and really give me a lot more power." He smiled as he finished this distinctly thought-provoking statement, made at least partly to himself. Scores of defensive players can testify to the percussive force Herschel already produces, especially when he has the time to take a step or two. When those opponents are either overcome by, or forced to gang up to contain, the shock of a head-on hit by Walker, they at least have the satisfaction of knowing they were bested by a man whose combined size and speed—whose power—is unmatched in history. And is growing, because of a continued genetic flowering and further refinements, zealously pursued, in his basic exercise program. To his regular push-ups Walker has added hand-stand press-ups and push-ups done with someone on his back to increase the resistance. During the past summer he also has included sprint swimming in his routine of upper-body work. The swimming was added when Walker, in the pool by himself one day, noticed that a modified form of the breaststroke, in which his body surges more upward than forward, gave his chest, shoulders and upper back a terrific workout. This past summer he swam every day he was able to get to a pool.

THE PHILOSOPHY
Walker’s philosophy on working out is simple: start every day very early in the morning before the distractions of the day come around, and do that work out without quitting every single day, 365 days a year, 366 on leap years, no matter what. What Walker’s freakishly difficult workout regimen shows is that dedication is the absolute most important part of any workout program. When Herschel Walker was an NFL player he never lifted weights, but still performed at a high level. How many tailbacks get strong enough in “old age” in their thirties to effectively play fullback? That’s exactly what Walker did in his last season with the Dallas Cowboys. Dedication and mental toughness are the hardest parts of Walker’s workout plan. He is adamant that these two factors will do more to insure your success than anything else, and he’s lived the life to prove it. For nearly thirty years he has done the same workout, and he’s never skipped a day.

Of course, it is true that body weight exercises, such as push-ups and sit-ups can do a lot for the human body but these are exercises that need to be respected by those who are going to do them intensely. Doing too many push-ups can easily lead to over training injuries and a lot of muscle soreness. If you do them smart, however, you can really grow your strength and even your size, without ever lifting any weights. That is the magic of the Herschel Walker workout routine, the fact that it allows you to gain the size and strength that you want without having to spend all of your time at the gym.

Just get on the floor every once in awhile and do sit-ups and push-ups until you are at failure. Some people even set their watch to go off every 30 or 60 minutes to remind them to do these exercises. It’s an excellent way for you to get in shape and to do so without ever stepping foot in the gym.
HERSCHEL WALKER’S WORKOUT
Push Ups
2000 reps
Sit Ups
3000 reps
Pull Ups
1500 reps
Dips
1000 reps
Herschel Walker: I didn’t grow up with a lot of money. My high school didn’t have a lot of money to afford a lot of the expensive weights. You know all this stuff. They used that as an excuse. I started doing push-ups and sit-ups during commercials as I was watching TV. And started doing about, sometimes 2,000 push-ups, 3,000 sit-ups, 1500 pull-ups, 1000 dips, or different things like that. I started creating different hand positions for all that, and I learned that could work you out.


Below is a more realistic workout to begin with and then increase as your body adapts to this intense daily training.
Herschel Walker Workout - Basic Training
Push Ups
1000 reps
Sit Ups
1000 reps
Pull Ups
1000 reps
Squats
1000 reps

Don't ever underestimate what you are capable of doing...challenge yourself always. Try Herschel Walker's Workout...for fun or to test your mental and physical strength. Just be and if you want to try something..then just GO FOR IT.

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Abdominal Challenge #1

  • NO REST Between Exercises/Keep hands on your head at ALL TIMES when you perform each Sit-up/Keep your legs bent on all Sit-ups/Watch your form and make sure you engage your belly button AT ALL TIMES/Control your motion and DO NOT USE MOMENTUM!
  • Unassisted Sit-ups- 10x/Hold #10 at the Halfway Mark for 20sec
  • Core Plank- 30 seconds
  • Unassisted Sit-ups- 15x/Hold #15 at the Halfway Mark for 20sec
  • Core Plank- 1 minute
  • Unassisted Sit-ups- 20x/Hold #20 at the Halfway Mark for 20sec
  • Core Plank- 1 minute 30 sec
  • Unassisted Sit-ups- 25x/Hold #25 at the Halfway Mark for 20sec
  • Core Plank- 2 minutes

Abdominal Challenge #2

  • DO NOT REST BETWEEN EXERCISES UNLESS IT IS STATED/USE THE SAME RULES FOR ABDOMINAL CHALLENGE #1/Substitute One Crunch + One Sit-up Twist/Twist for Plate Stand-ups if needed/Substitute Roman Chair Leg Raises for Hanging Leg Raises if needed
  • Medicine Ball Sit-ups (Unassisted)- 25 times/Explosive on the UP- 10 second count on the DOWN/Keep M.B. on your chest AT ALL TIMES
  • Hanging Bent Leg Raises- 3x15/Rest 10 seconds between sets/DO NOT SWING
  • Plate Standups/25 times/DO NOT MOVE YOUR FEET/Tempo- Moderate Pace/The lighter the plate the harder the exercise...CHALLENGE/PUSH!
  • Side Core Plank- Hold 30 seconds/25 Ups and Downs/Do one side at a time
  • Hanging Straight Leg Raises- 3x15/Rest 10 seconds between sets/DO NOT SWING
  • Plate Stand-ups + Sit-ups/(2=1) 35 times/DO NOT MOVE YOUR FEET/Tempo- Moderate Pace/The lighter the plate the harder the exercise...CHALLENGE YOURSELF
  • Side Core Plank- Hold 1 minute/35 Ups and Downs/Do one side at a time

CONDITIONING DRILL #1

  • PERFORM 5 SETS/NO REST BETWEEN EXERCISES/REST 30 SECONDS BETWEEN EACH CIRCUIT
  • Burpees x 30 seconds
  • Mountain Climbers x 30 seconds
  • Split Squat Jumps x 30 seconds
  • Mountain Climbers x 30 seconds
  • Split Squat Jumps x 30 seconds
  • Burpees x 30 seconds

CONDITIONING DRILL #2

  • PERFORM 5 SETS/NO REST BETWEEN EXERCISES/REST 3O SECONDS BETWEEN EACH CIRCUIT
  • Wall Sit with Medicine Ball Between Knees x 30 sec
  • DB Split Squat Jumps x 30 seconds
  • Mountain Climbers On Forearms x 30 seconds
  • DB Burpees x 30 seconds
  • Diamond Shape Push-ups On Medicine Ball x 30 seconds
  • Medicine Ball Squat Jump Toss x 30 seconds

CONDITIONING DRILL #3

  • PERFORM 4 SETS/NO REST BETWEEN EXERCISES/REST 30-45 SECONDS BETWEEN EACH CIRCUIT
  • Traveling Forward Burpee- 10x
  • Traveling Forward Burp + Burpee- (2=1)- 10 x
  • Traveling Backward Burpee- 10x
  • Traveling Backward Burp + Burpee- (2=1)- 10x

CONDITIONING DRILL #4

In order to MASTER this conditioning drill, each exercise must be performed with perfect form and without STOPPING!

**Be sure that the BURPEES are ALL EXPLOSIVE...JUMP AS HIGH AS YOU CAN AT THE START/LAND IN A LOW PUSH-UP POSITION/EXPLODE BACK UP, LEADING WITH YOUR LEGS

**Make sure that the SQUAT HOLDS ARE LOW (THINK OF AN L-SHAPE/DO NOT LET YOUR BUTT FALL TOO CLOSE TO THE FLOOR)...SIT BACK ON YOUR HEELS AND ALWAYS KEEP YOUR BACK STRAIGHT

1) BURPEES- 15 TIMES
2)LOW SQUAT HOLD (15TH BURPEE)- 10 SECONDS
3) BURPEES- 12 TIMES
4) LOW SQUAT HOLD (12TH BURPEE)- 10 SECONDS
5) BURPEES- 10 TIMES
6) LOW SQUAT HOLD (10TH BURPEE)- 15 SECONDS
7) BURPEES- 8 TIMES
8) LOW SQUAT HOLD (8TH BURPEE)- 15 SECONDS
9) BURPEES- 6 TIMES
10) LOW SQUAT HOLD (6TH BURPEE)- 20 SECONDS
11) BURPEES- 4 TIMES
12) LOW SQUAT HOLD (4TH BURPEE)- 20 SECONDS
13) BURPEE- 2 TIMES
14) LOW SQUAT HOLD (2ND BURPEE)- 20 SECONDS

DEFINITION OF EXERCISES/LANGUAGE IN EXERCISE

1) Straight-legged to Heels-to-Butt Sit-ups- lie flat on the ground with your legs straight and your hands on your head. As you start to do a sit-up bring your heels in to your butt and tap the floor (*the closer the heels come to the butt the harder). As you come out of your sit-up and begin to roll-down straighten out your legs and make sure the heels touch the floor. It should be a smooth, contolled one motion.
2) Burpee In Place-start by jumping straight in the air and then landing in a squat position with hands on the ground. Kick your feet back into the downward position of a push-up. Thrust the feet up and push up with the arms simultaneously.
3) Traveling Forward Burpee- the same concept as the Burpee In Place the only difference is jump forward instead of straight up.
4) Traveling Backward Burpee- the same concept as the Burpee In Place the only difference is jump backward instead of jumping straight up.
5) Burp- also known as a stripped down burpee. Start low and tucked toward the floor. Kick feet out to the bottom portion of a pushup. Then, push with your hands, while thrusting the feet back to the beginnning position (which is low and tucked toward the floor). It is only a half way motion minus without the jump in the air.
6) M.B. or Plate Stand-Ups- lie flat on the ground with your feet planted on the ground. Beginners should use two dumbbells and place on feet. Hold a m.b. or plate over your head (*the heavier the db/plate the easier...the lighter the db/plate or no weight the harder). Quickly move your arms forward and start to sit up. It is very important that you use your arms for momentum and engage your abdominals. Once your arms pass your knees, quickly push forward with your legs, moving into a standing position.
7) Mountain Climbers- start with your body in a push-up plank position. With the hands stationary, alternate the feet back and forth. One leg should be tucked with the knee coming close to your chest and the opposite leg extended. Make sure to place your weight on the balls of the feet.
8) Grasshoppers- your body will begin in the same position you used for mountain climbers. The movement starts by bringing your left foot underneath the body until it touches your right hand. After touching your hand, return the left foot to the starting position and repeat the movement by bringing your right foot across the body to your left hand. You will be on the balls of your feet but when you bring your foot toward your hand you will land on the side of your foot.
9) Wall Sit- place yourself up against a wall and squat down until the thighs are parallel to the floor. Think about forming an L with the bottom portion of your body. Your back is supported against the wall. Hold this position for time. Do not place your hands on your thighs because this takes off the pressure in your legs. Absolutely no movement with this exercise.
10) Bridge- a great exercise that will develop strength and flexibility. It is a static hold that helps improve lower back strength. Start by lying down on the floor with your knees bent and your hands on the floor close to your ears. Lift yourself up with your abdomen pointing upward and with only the hands and the feet on the floor. Your body should create an arched position and you will maintain the upright position for time.
11) Aerobic exercise- means with oxygen. An activity in which demands of muscle for oxygen are met by circulation of oxygen in blood. Distance running, cross-country, skiing, distance cycling are all examples of aerobic activities.
12) Anaerobic Exercise- means without oxygen. Activity in which oxygen demands of muscles are so high that they rely upon an internal metabolic process for oxygen. Short burts of "all-out" activities such as sprinting or weightlifting are examples of anerobic exercises.
13) Burn- also known as "going for the burn." For instance, in endurance exercise, working muscles until lactic acid buildup causes a burning sensation.
14) Concentric- when muscles contract or shorten.
15) Delts- an abbreviation for deltoids, the large triangular muscles of the shoulder which raise the arm away from the body and perform other functions.
16) Eccentric- when muscles lengthen while maintaining tension.
17) Fast-Twitch- refers to muscle cells that fire quickly and are utilized in anaerobic activites like sprinting and powerlifting.
18) Glycogen- can be referred to as a full tank full of stored carbohydrates. Some of it is stored in the liver and some of it is stored in the muscles themselves.
19) Hybrid Lift- is two or more exercise done in one single movement. It is the inverse of a combo lift. For istance, performing a bicep curl while lunging.
20) Interval Training- is a short, high-intensity cardio exercise alternated with longer periods of lower-intensity cardio. It allows you to burn more calories, increase your speed, improve your power, and much more. It is more effective at burning fat while maintaining muscle mass. Combine this type of training with intensity will also increase your metabolic rate to amazing levels. This is because the work you do utilizes a greater percent of the body's muscles.



If You Want To Be Tough, You Are The Only One That Can Get You There!

If You Want To Be Tough, You Are The Only One That Can Get You There!

POWER THOUGHT OF THE DAY

TRADE AFFIRMATION FOR ACCOMPLISHMENT: Accolades fade quickly, but your accomplishments have the potential to make a positive impact on the lives of others.

TRADE IMMEDIATE PLEASURE FOR PERSONAL GROWTH: It takes an oak tree decades to grow, but it takes a squash only weeks. Which do you want to be?

TRADE EXPLORATION FOR FOCUS:  The younger you are, the more experimenting you should do. But once you have found what you were created to do, STICK WITH IT!

TRADE QUANTITY OF LIFE FOR QUALITY OF LIFE: Your life is not a dress rehearsal. Give it your best because you won't get another chance.

POWER THOUGHT OF THE DAY

NEVER GIVE UP IN WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN.

POWER THOUGHT OF THE DAY

"I CHOOSE TO LOVE MY LIFE

Find a balance between your creativity and your responsibility to the world. Share your innovative ideas and inspire others.

POWER THOUGHT OF THE DAY

"When change seems frightening, remember that it's the mother of new life, the one story line that we can count on to bring us home to our essential nature and our interconnectedness with the wholeness of life."

Borysenko, J. Saying Yes to Change. Pg. 173.

DOFITNESS TRAINING STATION

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