How a Legendary Football Player Was Transformed By His Daily Pushup Routine
Here’s how one of the greatest running backs rose above adversity and used one of the simplest bodyweight routines to get himself there.
Growing up, school was a painful experience for Herschel Walker.
He was slow, uncoordinated and had a stuttering problem. He was also overweight which made him “fresh meat” for bullies. They’d chant, “Herschel is a gir-schel!” and physically attack him.
At first the chants were irritating, but after a while he didn’t mind because it was at least some form of connection with his classmates. Others just ignored him altogether. They avoided him like the plague out of fear of being associated with him, which made him crave their connection even more.
But for the most part, he felt like the kid who was “shuffled to the bottom of the deck”.
Eventually Herschel found solace in running.
He used it as a vehicle to run away from the ridicule… the isolation… the physical beatings. He could escape it all. Then he started standing in front of the mirror repeating tongue-twisters like “she sells sea shells by the sea shore.” And then devoted himself to working out vigorously every day.
Eventually he:
- Overcame his speech impediment.
- Became valedictorian.
- Developed an uncommon level of athleticism — especially in track and football.
By the time Herschel was in college, he became one of the most dominant running backs in football — capable of bowling over multiple players at once. Then he brought this same level of dominance to the NFL and was later recruited for the US Olympic bobsled team. Today he is considered one of the greatest running backs of all-time.
What’s even more amazing about Hershel’s accomplishments is how he did it.
How did he get so strong and dominant in his sports?
One thing is for sure, he didn’t lift weights (until a few years into the NFL). He only did bodyweight exercises which included an impressive push-up routine. In fact, he worked so hard at push-ups that he was doing 1,500… 2,000… and then 3,500 every single day.
The inspiring thing is that we can all build an impressive amount of strength with simple bodyweight exercises like this. Now you may not care to do 3,500 pushups. Maybe you just want to get more toned… increase your upper body strength… or shed a few pounds.
Whatever the case, push-ups are one of the most underutilized tools in your arsenal. The problem is, so many people have been exposed to them and they are so familiar that they take them for granted. They’ve either lost sight of their power or they’ve never taken a good look at how they can really help them. Either way, there’s no better time than now to get cranking on these again.
So here are 5 reasons to bring them back into your workout routine:
5 Reasons to Maximize Push Ups
#1: Build Upper Body Strength
Some exercises only work a few muscle groups. Not push-ups. When you do push-ups you’re working many muscles such as the chest (pecs), shoulders (deltoid) and back of the arms (triceps). And if you do enough of them and challenge yourself you can build impressive upper body strength. A perfect example is our friend Herschel. When he arrived at the University of Georgia he broke the school record at the time by bench pressing 375lbs — despite never bench pressing before!
#2: Build Core Stability
When you are cranking out push-ups you’re also training the core. Your core has to hold your body inline as you press your body off the ground. If your core is lacking (or not firing at the right time) you may peel off the ground instead of keeping the body moving as one unit. In fact, you can test your core stability by doing push-ups with one leg up (and straight) and then try with one leg bent. This can exploit any core weaknesses you may have.
#3: Measure of Cardiovascular Health
2019 research published in JAMA Network Open discovered that those who could do more pushups were less likely to have cardiovascular disease. Researchers found that male firefighters who could do more than 40 pushups had a 96% less chance for heart disease, heart attack, and heart failure over a ten year period compared to those who did less than ten pushups!
#4: Shoulder Health
Think about throwing… punching… or reaching to grab something. All of these require the arm to move with the shoulder blade. When the shoulder blade moves with the arm (like in push-ups) the shoulder joint has more clearance which keeps the shoulder healthy.
However, when the shoulder blade and arm do not move together, you’re more likely to have impingement in the shoulder which can cause pain and rotator cuff damage over time. That’s one reason why bench pressing can be problematic because it involves the arms moving while the shoulder blades are pinned to the bench.
#5: Versatile Exercise
Push-ups can be modified in many different ways. According to a 2005 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning, when you do regular pushups you are lifting 66.4% of your bodyweight and if you do modified (from the knees) then it’s 52.9% of your bodyweight. However, if regular is too easy you can elevate your feet… use a weighted vest… use bands… or do them with a 10 second lowering.
So how many push-ups should you be able to do?
According to the previous firefighter study 40 was the number where they saw significant reductions in cardiovascular disease. There are other general push-up standards as well. However, let’s set our sights higher and strive for standards of the elite:
Army’s 2-Minute Test (Basic Training Physical Fitness Test):
- Men (ages 17–21): 35
- Men (ages 22–26): 31
- Women (ages 17–21): 13
- Women (ages 22–26): 11
Army Ranger’s 2-Minute Test:
- 49
Navy Seal’s 2-Minute Test:
- 42 (But top scores are 80–100)
Coast Guard’s 1-Minute Test:
- Men: 29
- Women: 15
Men’s Air Force’s 1-Minute Test:
- Under 30 years old: 33
- 30–39 years old: 27
Highest Awards:
- Liberator: 45
- Thunderbolt: 62
- Warhawk: 75
Women’s Air Force’s 1-Minute Test:
- Under 30 years old: 18
- 30–39 years old: 14
Highest Awards:
- Liberator: 27
- Thunderbolt: 37
- Warhawk: 40
If these seem like a longshot, keep in mind how Herschel started. When he first tried push-ups he couldn’t even do one! But he kept at it until he could crank out 25… 50… 100… then gradually built his way up to thousands per day.
You can do the same. Stick with them. Look for the little improvements. And just keep bettering your best. Wherever you’re starting at, use this as an excuse to start taking this simple exercise seriously again.
“No matter what I have to go through, what I have to do, I will be good enough.”- Herschel Walker
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