Building Strength and Character with Herschel Walker's Basic Training

As someone who's passionate about strength training and self-improvement, I always try to find and work on various things. Let's take a look at Herschel Walker's book Basic Training, Walker, a legendary NFL running back and Heisman Trophy winner, shares his insights on building physical and mental toughness through a rigorous training program.

The book is a no bullshit guide to getting in the best shape possible and developing a strong mindset that carries over to other aspects of life. The man draws from his own experiences in the NFL and being an entrepreneur to provide solid advice on how to push yourself to new heights and limits. He emphasizes the importance of discipline, hard work, and resilience in overcoming obstacles and achieving great success.

One of the key takeaways from the book is the importance of setting clear goals and creating a plan to achieve them. Walker stresses that having a clear vision of what you want to accomplish is crucial to making progress and staying motivated. He also provides tips on how to develop a strong work ethic and overcome self-doubt, which is essential for anyone looking to improve their physical and mental performance. Keeping that eye on the prize bro.

The training program outlined in the book is one of the most intense and challenging systems around, with a focus on building strength, endurance, and agility. It provides detailed workouts and training ideas that can be tailored to many individuals needs and goals. What I like about his approach is that it's not just about physical training, but also about building character.

(Some Key Takeaways)

- Set clear goals and create a plan to achieve them

- Develop a strong work ethic and overcome self-doubt

- Focus on building physical and mental toughness

- Create a training program that challenges you and helps you progress

Who is this book for?

Basic Training is for anyone looking to improve their physical and mental performance. Whether you're an athlete, entrepreneur, or simply someone looking to get in shape, this book provides incredibly valuable insights and practical notes on how to achieve your goals.

Herschel Walker's Basic Training is a must-read for anyone looking to build strength, character, and mental toughness. The book is an awesome and comprehensive guide to getting in bad ass shape and developing a strong mind, with practical & important advice and training routines that can be tailored to various people. If you're looking to take your training to another level and develop a stronger, more resilient mindset, Basic Training is definitely worth checking out.

Although it's based on principles of calisthenics and sprint style training, you can still get insane results. This system had made him one of the most conditioned players of his generation if not of all time. A rare find nowadays but it's worth the price. Be amazingly awesome. 

A Character That Brought Intensity

            This past week, another WWE Legend passed away and that was of Jim Hellwig also known as The Ultimate Warrior. He died at the young age of 54 and pretty much said his final goodbyes at his Hall Of Fame induction and his speech on Monday Night Raw. I grew up in the Attitude Era of the late 90’s and only saw Warrior’s final matches in WWE first at Wrestlemania against Triple H and a couple other ones. I wasn't much of a fan and didn't really understand his character. Now that I took a look at his career watching his new DVD set and knowing what I know now from training, I admire the guy.

            As a wrestling fan, my type of characters is the ones that are the in-ring technicians or guys who can wrestle more than just entertaining. I never really liked the muscle bound guys like Hulk Hogan or John Cena but I admire their intensity in the ring. Warrior was far from being a wrestler, he practically didn’t know a wrist lock from a wrist watch but his character was unique, intense and just flat out nuts (watch his promos and you'll know what I mean. As an athlete and a Physical Culturist, I thrive at intense training and focused intention on what I'm doing. I’m not a fan of guys on roids but that’s a different story.

            The man literally changed his name to Warrior a little over 20 years ago and at first like everyone else who watched him, I thought he was off his rocker and was a total nut job but I began looking at it from another angle; he was a man living on his own terms and built this intense passion for life and was a warrior at heart. I saw a video of Zach-Evan Esh talking about his many conversations with warrior and who the man was, it got me thinking and it’s awesome to find that even though a man had some inner demons still took the time to be apart of something that he felt was right to do. He truly was a warrior.

            In the end, it made me learn that when you have an intense passion for something, it makes life that much grander. Here is my version of an Ultimate Warrior Quote:

“Do you call upon the gods to bring forth the strength and will of your soul? It is no doubt that the power of the warrior is fueled like a rocket blasting into the atmosphere of parts unknown. The power of the warrior is unbreakable that nothing can shatter its strength to withstand the mightiest of powers and you will feel the wrath of my will when my unbreakable spirit runs through the soul that you shall no longer have as The Power of the Warrior will live forever.”

How’s that for the proud warriors?

Taking It To New Heights

           You my friend are far stronger than you believe. It’s within your DNA to have great strength whether it’s physical, mental, emotional or spiritual but yet you can have all of those if you apply to your goals and admiration. Strength is not always being tough and macho or one upping anyone, real strength comes from your attitude and your character as a human being. Being physically strong has its benefits but it’s the strength of your loving soul that endures more and grows.

            When you progress in your training whether for fitness, health, strongman, lecturer or whatever you choose to do, do it at your own pace. People assume when you start a fitness progress it’s push and push as hard as you can when in reality that can get them more set up for injury than to get fit. I understand the feeling of wanting to push someone to do their best but yet you need to let go of that ego trip and be giving and sharing info. Basics are key to training and they lay the foundation but if you’re going to push it, do it when you’re good and ready and at your own level. We all have different bodies, progression levels and strengths/weaknesses, if we were to create the strength we want, it takes time, patience and the will to build from the ground up.

            A key note to strength is the value of it. There are a lot of strong men and women in the world but very few know its value and shares compassion and wisdom to how to use that strength. There’s a scene in Captain America: The First Avenger where the doc is sitting with then a small, weak and skinny Steve Rogers and says “A strong man who has known power all his, may lose respect for that power, but a weak man knows the value of strength and that’s compassion.” It’s a very powerful scene and it’s true, if you want to become strong, you must understand the value for which you have built on it.

            It’s a lot of fun being strong and fit but it’s more important to use it wisely. I do like to show off every now and then for fun not because of one-upping anybody or make them feel weak, I do it to show how far I've come in my life because in my early years, I was weak, I was feeling like I was unworthy and didn't understand how to do it. I didn't grow up in poverty or anything like that but I was skinny because of what I was taking as a child and once I went off it as a pre-teen I shot up like a cannon with a few years but I became fat and hardly any muscle to call worthy. Ever since I was 18 years old, I made it my mission to become strong with positive and natural intentions. Enough of my bullshit but you get the idea. Becoming strong is a test of your character, where do you go from a certain point? When you develop strength in ways some people either admire or envy, you still make it a habit to use it for something that is bigger than yourself. You become a greater human being with heart and compassion for others. That’s the real fun part.