Herschel Walker Workout Routine

Former Heisman trophy winner and NFL superstar running back Herschel Walker may have come up short in his race to represent Georgia in the United States Senate, but no one can dispute this guy is a boss in the bod department.

The sixty year old footballer defies the odds, outgunning guys a fraction of his age. He does it by sticking to carefully considered workouts. A few years back, he was quoted as saying he was fit as many of the guys still playing pro ball. And he may be right. In his fifties, he was regularly doing 2,000 – 3,000 push-ups and sit-ups. Every. Single. Day.

So is it genetics or training? Probably both. His track record is nearly unmatched. A two-sport, star athlete at the University of Georgia, Walker ran track along with playing football. But that’s not all. This baller earned a 5th degree black belt in Taekwondo. He now pours in a lot of manpower in to MMA training. He was also an Olympic bobsledded back in the day, and even laced up his shoes to dance with the Fort Worth Ballet.

Clearly, getting physical is a priority even as he goes through middle age. Walker recently shared insights on how he keeps going strong.

He told the NFL Network that he is less focused on weights these days, preferring to focus on body weight exercises. It lessens the impact and keeps his joints intact.

But you’ve got to wonder how he stays so buff without moving metal. Walker says he sticks with the fundamentals. Once he started MMA training, he cut back push-ups down to 1,500 a day, but still tops the 3,000 mark by adding sit-ups.

Instead of monster weights he counts on monster numbers. Repetition is at the core of his workout regimen. As is evident with his thousands of push-ups and sit-ups, he uses massive reps to refine his body.

He also varies up his routine with a wide range of physical activities. Using martial arts, tennis, yoga and dance to utilize and train new muscle groups.

Consistency is another part of of his secret sauce. Walker says he does some sort of exercise every day. In addition to his old-school style exercise routine, he also does calisthenics in the water. Using the resistance to add a strength element. And, he still runs.

Mostly though, it’s the body weight work. Walker described using a playground approach; from monkey bars to rope climbing and using bars for chin ups and dips. We’ve already established he does a ton of push-ups using variations in arm and leg positions. But here’s a look at his playground routine excerpted from the Art of Manliness fitness site: