Why NFL great Herschel Walker still does 2,000 sit-ups a day

At 56, Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker says he still trains as if he is playing in the NFL despite being retired from pro football for 20 years.

“I like to be known as a person who can compete,” Walker tells FOX Business. “I’ve been at the top of the world at everything I do. So I don’t just go out to be a part of something, I go to take over.”

The former running back has morphed from football player to mixed martial arts fighter to poultry producer after retiring from the Dallas Cowboys in 1997. He credits a strict diet of one meal a day and a regular workout that include 2,000 sit-ups and push-ups as keys to his success.

“People always talk to me about my workout, and I always say that my workout came from reading books,” Walker says. “Particularly, reading about a Marine who did all these push-ups and sit-ups and really dedicated himself. And that’s what I try to encourage kids to do.”

The former two-time Pro Bowler says a lot of people don’t realize that a successful person dedicates oneself and never gives up.

“You've got to sacrifice for whatever you want in life,” he says. “Even in business, you have to sacrifice because it’s not going to be easy. Whatever you want, a thousand other people want. So that means if they get up at 6 a.m. in the morning, you’ve got to get up at 5 a.m., and if they get up at 5 a.m., you get up at 4 a.m., or just don’t go to sleep.”

Walker says that philosophy is solely for the ones “who want it,” but adds that it’s OK to not want those things.

“The first thing people talk to me about is my age,” Walker says. “Age is really just a number, but people like to use it as an excuse, and that is really sad.”Walker adds that there is still so much left for him to accomplish, including competing in another mixed martial arts fight down the road.

“I want to do one more fight,” he says. “I love competition, and I’m still able to do it. I can still win. And people are shocked that I can still do it.”